Thus, Lord Ellenborough feared that the Russians might reuse their old tactics, starting with frequent activities by Russian merchants, followed closely by Russian troops under the guise of protecting commerce, thereby executing expansion.
To prevent this situation from occurring, Lord Ellenborough believed he had reason to thoroughly investigate and map the ever-extending Russian trading ports in Central Asia and North India, as mastering these would enable monitoring of the Russian advance route into India.
To achieve this goal, he painstakingly devised a brilliant, though slightly unorthodox, plan.
At that time, to congratulate the British King William IV on his accession, the Punjab King Ranjit Singh presented him with a batch of luxurious Kashmir shawls, while William IV was pondering what to offer in return.
