Tales from later Mughals

pets. Working hours were from 10 am to 12 am and then
from 4 pm to 8 pm.
The president was the head of the administration. He
was assisted by a council of eight members. It was required
that at least five of them should reside at the Surat factory.
The next important post was of the accountant. After him
came the in-charge of stores who kept a record of all those
goods which were sent to Europe. Another officer, known as
mariner Bursar, documented the export and import of goods
and paid salaries to the naval staff of the company. Last was
the secretary and it was his responsibility to oversee the day
to day management. All of the officers were members of the
council.
A newly recruited worker was known as an
apprentice. After working for a fixed period he was
promoted to the post of writer. His salary was 10 pounds
annually. After five years he became a factor with an annual
salary of 20 pounds. After serving three years, his next
promotion was senior factor. After that it was the post of
senior merchant; lastly, he was given the assignment to
oversee a newly set-up factory.
Except for the accountant and writer half of the salary
of the servants was deposited in England as a surety. In case
of some wrongdoing or violation of some rule the amount
was confiscated by the authorities of the company. Besides
this staff, there was a chaplain, doctor and surgeon. A
munshi (meaning scribe but here it applied to researcher)
was appointed to teach the staff local languages.
In 1698, Ovington, a British traveller, visited the
factory and pointed out some changes which had occurred in
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