<P> In 1634, the Mughal emperor extended his hospitality to the English traders to the region of Bengal, and in 1717 completely waived customs duties for their trade . The company's mainstay businesses were by then cotton, silk, indigo dye, saltpetre, and tea . The Dutch were aggressive competitors and had meanwhile expanded their monopoly of the spice trade in the Straits of Malacca by ousting the Portuguese in 1640--41 . With reduced Portuguese and Spanish influence in the region, the EIC and VOC entered a period of intense competition, resulting in the Anglo - Dutch Wars of the 17th and 18th centuries . </P> <P> In 1657, Oliver Cromwell renewed the charter of 1609, and brought about minor changes in the holding of the company . The restoration of monarchy in England further enhanced the EIC's status . </P> <P> In an act aimed at strengthening the power of the EIC, King Charles II granted the EIC (in a series of five acts around 1670) the rights to autonomous territorial acquisitions, to mint money, to command fortresses and troops and form alliances, to make war and peace, and to exercise both civil and criminal jurisdiction over the acquired areas . </P> <P> William Hedges was sent in 1682 to Shaista Khan, the Mughal governor of Bengal, to obtain a firman, an imperial directive that would grant England regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal Empire . However, the company's governor in London, Sir Josiah Child, interfered with Hedges's mission, causing Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to break off the negotiations . </P>

Who came to be known as the india's unofficial ambassador in england