William Methwold

William Methwold was an English merchant and colonial administrator in India who is credited with identifying the site of Bombay as a strategic port.

He began his career at age 16 as apprentice to an English merchant spending four years in London and the next five in Middelburg, Netherlands. During his apprenticeship Methwold gained knowledge of Latin, and became fluent in Dutch and French what would be of great use in later period.

In 1615 Methwold entered the service of the East India Company in the function of linguist, and sailed to Surat, India the next year. At base in Masulipatam on the Coromandel Coast he was engaged in trade and prospered as the Company’s merchant. It seems that he was also involved in private trading which was strictly forbidden by the Company’s rule. After he was called to England to answer charges, he left the company. The next several years Methwold acted as an independent trader, but in the end he turned back to East India Company and became its shareholder in 1628.

Skillful negotiator and linguist, versed to Persian, a language of the Mughal court and high officials, Methwold was appointed president of Surat in 1633. His diplomatic skills were reflected in 1635 when he negotiated a pact with the Portuguese which ceased hostilities and gave English ships access to Portuguese resources. Furthermore, he began to lobby for the acquisition of Bombay from the Portuguese because of its favorable position for trade on west coast of India. After King Charles II got it as part of dowry in the marriage to the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza the Company acquired Bombay in 1688.

In 1649 Methwold also negotiated the amalgamation of the East India Company's with the rival Assada Company, an English trading company founded in 1635 in an attempt to break the monopoly of the East India Company in trade with India.

He was elected deputy governor of the East India Company in 1643 and was re-elected annually thereafter until his death.