Anglo-Portuguese “War” of 1612-30
1612 CE to 1630 CE
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Captain William Hawkins, leading the first voyage of the British East India Company to India, had sailed into the Gujarat port of Surat on August 24, 1608, carrying with him twenty-five thousand pieces of gold and a personal letter to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir from King James I seeking trade concessions.
He had persisted for over two years, however Portuguese pirates had stolen his gold, and had tried several times to murder him while on shore.
He had returned to England empty-handed.
The next envoy, Paul Canning, had lasted only a few months.
The Company had by 1611 managed to build its first factory (as the trading posts are known) in the town of Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, the major port of Golconda kingdom.
This is one of the earliest known British settlements in the Indian subcontinent.
The high profits reported by the Company after landing in India (presumably owing to a reduction in overhead costs affected by the transit points), had initially prompted King James I to grant subsidiary licenses to other trading companies in England, but in 1609 he had renewed the charter given to the Company for an indefinite period, including a clause which specified that the charter would cease to be in force if the trade turned unprofitable for three consecutive years.
Two British ventures, The Company of Merchant Adventurers (established 1551), which had become the Muscovy Company in 1555, and the East India Company also known as "John Company", (established 1600) have been desperately attempting to find routes to the East Indies and the spice trade, (as is the Dutch Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, organized in 1602).
The East India Company had initially struggled in the spice trade due to the competition from the already well established Dutch.
The Company had opened a factory in Bantam on the first voyage, however, and imports of pepper from Java are to be an important part of the Company's trade for twenty years.
The initial voyages of the British East India Company are not necessarily to India.
Each voyage is almost a venture in itself, separately funded by issuance of subscription stock.
An eighth voyage had been led in 1611 by Captain John Saris to Japan.
The ninth voyage, which began in February 1612 and will not be completed until 1615, is to India and Sumatra.
The tenth voyage, led by Captain Thomas Best, had on February 1, 1612, set out from Gravesend.
Captain Best’s expedition arrives on September 3, 1612, at Daman ...
...eventually reaching Surat on September 5.
The principal port for the Mughals, Surat is at this time situated at the mouth of the river Tapti.
Surat had eclipsed Khambhat as the major port of western India, when Khambhat's harbor began to silt up by the end of fifteenth century.
The Portuguese traveler Duarte Barbosa in 1514 had described Surat as an important seaport, frequented by many ships from Malabar and various parts of the world. (There still today a picturesque fortress on the banks of the river built in 1540.)
A village in the suburbs of Suat is Barbodhan Village, possibly named after the explorer Duarte Barbosa (it derives from "Bab-ul-Aden"—Doorway to Aden, Yemen—where it has strong cultural and trading links).
During the reigns of the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir, Surat has risen to become the chief commercial city of India and an imperial mint has been established here.
As the major port on the west coast of India, Surat also serves as the port for the Hajj to Mecca.
The Portuguese at the end of the sixteenth century had been undisputed masters of the Surat sea trade.
Coincidentally, a squadron of sixteen Portuguese barks sails into Surat on September 13, 1612.
Captain Best decides on September 22 to send an emissary to the Emperor asking for permission to trade and settle a factory at Surat.
If refused he plans to quit the country.
This may have been partly because King James I had extended the Company's charter in 1609 on the basis that it would be canceled if no profitable ventures were concluded within three years.
Captain Best receives word on September 30 that two of his men, Mr. Canning (the purser) and William Chambers, had been arrested while on shore.
Fearing the worst, Captain Best detains a ship belonging to the Governor of Gujarat and offers to release it in exchange for his men.
Captain Best and his ships sail on October 10, to Suvali, a small town about twelve miles north of Surat.
This may have been because the Governor (Sardar Khan?) is battling a Rajput rebellion at a fort situated in the town.
Amid negotiations between October 17 and 21, Best manages to obtain a treaty with the Governor allowing trading privileges, subject to ratification by the Emperor.
Best is on November 27 advised by his men on shore that a squadron of four Portuguese ships is sailing up to attack him.
The Portuguese ships (four great galleons and some twenty-six oared barks) arrive on the 28th, and anchor outside the roadstead placing the English vessels between themselves and the town.
A skirmish takes place between the two navies on the 29th without much damage to either side.
Best, in Dragon, sails at daylight on the 30th through the four larger Portuguese ships, running three of them aground, and is joined by Hosiander on the other side.
The Portuguese manage to get the three galleons refloated.
At nine PM this evening, in an attempt to set the English ships alight, a bark is sent towards them as a fire ship, but the English watch is alert, and the bark is sunk by cannon fire with the loss of eight lives.
A standoff remains until ...
...Best sails on the 5th of December for the port of Diu.
This event sufficiently impresses the Sardar (Governor) of Gujarat, who reports it to the Emperor.
The Emperor will hereafter be more favorable towards the English than the Portuguese.
Another factor that may have influenced him is that the Portuguese are very anti-Islam, and often harass Mecca-bound pilgrim ships along the West coast of India.
This relatively small naval engagement, known as the Battle of Swally, is historically important as it marks the beginning of the end of Portugal's commercial monopoly over India, and the beginning of the ascent of the British East India Company's presence in India.
This battle also persuades the British East India Company to establish a small navy to safeguard their commercial interests from other European powers and also from pirates.
This small beginning is regarded as the root of the modern Indian Navy.
The Battle of Swally had sufficiently impressed the Sardar (Governor) of Gujarat, who had reported it to the Emperor.
Hereafter, the Emperor is more favorably disposed towards the English than the Portuguese.
Another factor that may have influenced him is that the Portuguese are very anti-Islam, and often harass Mecca-bound pilgrim ships along the West coast of India.
Captain Best receives a letter from the Emperor ratifying the treaty, which is presented by the Governor on January 6, 1613.
Best now orders one of his men, Anthony Starkey, on January 16 to leave for England, via land, carrying letters of their success.
Best then continues on to Ceylon on January 18, then onward to Sumatra; he will return to England around April 1614 without returning to India.
Sir Thomas Roe, who had sailed in the Lyon under the command of captain Christopher Newport, best known for his role in the Virginia colonies, now serves as emissary from the court of King James.
He presents his credentials to Jahangir, in Ajmer Fort, thus opening the door to the English presence in India.