Captain Henry Every, an English pirate on…
1695 CE
The Mughal convoy includes the treasure-laden Ganj-i-Sawai, reported to be the greatest in the Mughal fleet and the largest ship operational in the Indian Ocean, and its escort, the Fateh Muhammed.
They are spotted passing the straits en route to Surat.
The pirates give chase and catch up with Fateh Muhammed some days later, and meeting little resistance, take some £50,000 to £60,000 worth of treasure.
Every continues in pursuit and manages to overhaul Ganj-i-Sawai, which resists strongly before eventually striking.
Ganj-i-Sawai carries enormous wealth and, according to contemporary East India Company sources, is carrying a relative of the Grand Mughal, though there is no evidence to suggest that it was his daughter and her retinue.
The loot from the Ganj-i-Sawai has a total value between £325,000 and £600,000, including 500,000 gold and silver pieces, and has become known as the richest ship ever taken by pirates.
In a letter sent to the Privy Council by Sir John Gayer, governor of Bombay and head of the East India Company, Gayer claims that "it is certain the Pirates ... did do very barbarously by the People of the Ganj-i-Sawai and Abdul Ghaffar's ship, to make them confess where their money was."
The pirates set free the survivors who are left aboard their emptied ships, to continue their voyage back to India.
When the news arrives in England it causes an outcry.
In response, a combined bounty of £1,000 is offered for Every's capture by the Privy Council and East India Company, leading to the first worldwide manhunt in recorded history.
The plunder of Aurangzeb's treasure ship has serious consequences for the English East India Company.
The furious Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb orders Sidi Yaqub and Nawab Daud Khan to attack and close four of the company's factories in India and imprison their officers, who are almost lynched by a mob of angry Mughals, blaming them for their countryman's depredations, and threatens to put an end to all English trading in India.
To appease Emperor Aurangzeb and particularly his Grand Vizier Asad Khan, Parliament exempts Every from all of the Acts of Grace (pardons) and amnesties it will subsequently issue to other pirates.
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