Sir John Child, whose autocratic behavior as president of Surat, where the British East India Company had established their first Indian factory (trading post) in 1612), had led in 1683 to Keigwin's unsuccessful rebellion in Bombay, had been made a baronet in 1684.

The first person to be placed in control of all the Company's trading establishments in India, he is, like Sir Josiah Child, the powerful governor of the company in London, utterly unscrupulous and has a passion for intrigue (the two Childs are stated by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography to be unrelated).

Following orders from London, Child becomes involved in war with Aurangzeb, whose troops capture Surat and force Child to make peace.

One of the peace terms requires Child to leave India, but he dies in 1690 while the matter is still pending.