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The Pirates of Malabar, and an Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago

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Title: The Pirates of Malabar, and an Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago

Author: J. Biddulph


        
Release date: March 1, 2004 [eBook #11399]
                Most recently updated: October 28, 2024

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PIRATES OF MALABAR, AND AN ENGLISHWOMAN IN INDIA TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO ***

THE PIRATES OF MALABAR
AND
AN ENGLISHWOMAN IN INDIA TWO
HUNDRED YEARS AGO


[Illustration: MAHRATTA GRABS AND GALLIVATS ATTACKING AN ENGLISH SHIP.]


THE
PIRATES OF MALABAR
AND
AN ENGLISHWOMAN IN INDIA
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO

BY
COLONEL JOHN BIDDULPH

1907


PREFACE

For most people, interest in the doings of our forefathers in India dates
from our wars with the French in the middle of the eighteenth century.
Before then their lives are generally supposed to have been spent in
monotonous trade dealings in pepper and calico, from which large profits
were earned for their masters in England, while their principal
excitements were derived from drinking and quarrelling among themselves.
Little account has been taken of the tremendous risks and difficulties
under which the trade was maintained, the losses that were suffered, and
the dangers that were run by the Company's servants from the moment they
left the English Channel. The privations and dangers of the voyage to
India were alone sufficient to deter all but the hardiest spirits, and
the debt we owe to those who, by painful effort, won a footing for our
Indian trade, is deserving of more recognition than it has received.
Scurvy, shortness of water, and mutinous crews were to be reckoned on in
every voyage; navigation was not a science but a matter of rule and thumb,
and shipwreck was frequent; while every coast was inhospitable. Thus, on
the 4th September, 1715, the _Nathaniel_, having sent a boat's crew on
shore near Aden, in search of water, the men allowed themselves to be
inveigled inland by treacherous natives, who fell upon them and murdered
twelve out of fourteen who had landed from the ship. Such an occurrence
now would be followed by a visit from a man-of-war to punish the
murderers. Two hundred years ago it was only an incident to set down in
the ship's log-book. But all such outrages and losses were small in
comparison with those to which traders were exposed at the hands of
pirates.

It is difficult to realize, in these days, what a terrible scourge piracy
was to the Indian trade, two hundred years ago. From the moment of losing
sight of the Lizard till the day of casting anchor in the port of
destination an East India ship was never safe from attack, with the
chance of slavery or a cruel death to crew and passengers, in case of
capture. From Finisterre to Cape Verd the Moorish pirates made the seas
unsafe, sometimes venturing into the mouth of the Channel to make a
capture. Farther south, every watering-place on the African coast was
infested by the English and French pirates who had their headquarters in
the West Indies. From the Cape of Good Hope to the head of the Persian
Gulf, from Cape Comorin to Sumatra, every coast was beset by English,
French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Arab, Malay or other local pirates. In
the Bay of Bengal alone, piracy on a dangerous scale was practically
unknown.

There was no peace on the ocean. The sea was a vast No Man's domain,
where every man might take his prey. Law and order stopped short at
low-water mark. The principle that traders might claim protection and
vengeance for their wrongs from their country, had not yet been
recognized, and they sailed the seas at their own risk. Before the close
of the seventeenth century the buccaneers had passed away, but their
depredations, in pursuit of what they called "free trade," were of a
different nature from those of the pirates who succeeded them. Buccaneer
exploits were confined to the Spanish main, where they ravaged and burnt
Spanish settlements on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, moving with large
forces by sea and land. According to Esquemeling, Morgan sailed on his
expedition against Panama with thirty-seven sail and two thousand
fighting men, besides mariners and boys. But the Spanish alone were the
objects of their attack. So long as Spain claimed a monopoly of South
American trade, it was the business of Spain alone to keep the marauders
away; other Governments were not disposed to assist her. Hardly had the
last of the buccaneers disappeared from the Western seas, when a more
lawless race of rovers appeared, extending their operations into the
Indian Ocean, acting generally in single ships, plundering vessels of
every nationality, though seldom attacking places on shore.

Of these men, chiefly English, the most notorious were Teach, Every, Kidd,
Roberts, England, and Tew; but there were many others less known to fame,
who helped almost to extinguish trade between Europe, America, and the
East. Some idea of the enormous losses caused by them may be gathered
from the fact that Bartholomew Roberts alone was credited with the
destruction of four hundred trading vessels in three years. In a single
day he captured eleven vessels, English, French, and Portuguese, on the
African coast.

War in Europe, and the financial exhaustion that ensued, rendered it
almost impossible for the maritime powers to put an effective check on
the pirates either in the East or the West. With peace their numbers
increased by the conversion of privateersmen into freebooters. Slaver,
privateers-man, and pirate were almost interchangeable terms. At a time
when every main road in England was beset by highwaymen, travellers by
sea were not likely to escape unmolested. But the chief cause of their
immunity lay in the fact that it was the business of nobody in particular
to act against them, while they were more or less made welcome in every
undefended port. They passed themselves off as merchantmen or slavers,
though their real character was well known, but they paid royally for
what they wanted; and, as gold, silver, and jewels were the principal
booty from which they made their 'dividend,' many a rich bale of spices
and merchandise went to purchase the good will of their friends on shore,
who, in return, supplied their wants, and gave them timely information of
rich prizes to be looked for, or armed ships to be avoided. They prided
themselves on being men of honour in the way of trade; enemies to deceit,
and only robbing in their own way. The Malabar coast was scandalized when
Kidd broke the rule, and tricked or bullied people out of supplies.
Officials high in authority winked at their doings from which they drew a
profit, and when armed squadrons were sent to look for them, the
commanders were not always averse to doing business with the freebooters.

The greatest sufferers among European traders in India were the English;
for not only were the greater number of pirates of English blood, but
pirate captains of other nationalities often sailed under English colours.
The native officials, unable to distinguish the rogues from the honest
traders, held the East India Company's servants responsible for the
misdeeds of the piccaroons, from whom they suffered so grievously. Still,
whatever their nationality might chance to be, it is fair to say that the
generality of them were courageous rascals and splendid seamen, who, with
their large crews, handled their ships better than any merchantmen could
do. When a pirate ship was cast away on a desolate coast, they built
themselves another; the spirit of the sea was in their veins; whether
building and rigging a ship, or sailing and fighting her, they could do
everything that the most skilful seamen of the age could do. As was said
half a century later of La Bourdonnais, himself a true corsair in spirit,
their knowledge in mechanics rendered them capable of building a ship
from the keel; their skill in navigation, of conducting her to any part
of the globe; and their courage, of fighting against any equal force.
Their lives were a continual alternation between idleness and extreme
toil, riotous debauchery and great privation, prolonged monotony and days
of great excitement and adventure. At one moment they were revelling in
unlimited rum, and gambling for handfuls of gold and diamonds; at another,
half starving for food and reduced to a pint of water a day under a
tropical sun. Yet the attractions of the life were so great that men of
good position took to piracy. Thus, Major Stede Bonnet, of Barbados,
master of a plentiful fortune, and a gentleman of good reputation, fitted
out a sloop and went a-pirating, for which he was hanged, together with
twenty-two of his crew, in November, 1718. Even women, like Anne Bonny
and Mary Read, turned pirates and handled sword and pistol. Desperate,
reckless, and lawless, they were filled with the spirit of adventure, and
were the forerunners of the men that Hawke, Nelson, and Dundonald led to
victory.

Long after they had disappeared from the seas the Indian trade continued
to be exposed to the ravages of native pirates, who were not finally
coerced into good behaviour till well into the nineteenth century. Of the
European pirates Kidd, the most ignoble of them all, is alone remembered,
while the name of Angria is only recalled in connection with the
destruction of Gheriah by Watson and Clive. The long half-century of
amateur warfare waged by Bombay against the Angrian power is dismissed in
a few words by our Indian historians, and the expeditions sent forth by
Boone against Angrian strongholds are passed over in silence. An account
of some of them is given in Clement Downing's curious little book "Indian
Wars," valuable as the relation of an eye-witness; but the work,
published in 1737, is inaccessible to the general reader, besides shewing
many omissions and inaccuracies.

The early records of the East India Company have furnished the foundation
on which this neglected chapter of our Indian history has been compiled.
If the Company's servants appear at times in an unfavourable light, the
conditions of their service must be considered, while the low standard of
conduct prevailing in England two hundred years ago must not be forgotten.
They were traders, not administrators, and the charter under which the
Company traded was of very insecure duration. Twice the Crown broke faith
with them, and granted charters to rival associations. As the stability
of the Company became assured, the conduct of its servants improved.

It is not intended in these pages to give an exhaustive account of all
the pirates who haunted the Indian seas, but to present some idea of the
perils that beset the Indian trade--perils that have so entirely passed
away that their existence is forgotten.

Scattered among the monotonous records of the Company's trade are many
touches of human interest. Along with the details relating to sugar,
pepper, and shipping, personal matters affecting the Company's servants
are set down; treating of their quarrels, their debts, and, too often, of
their misconduct, as ordinary incidents in the general course of
administration. At times a bright light is turned on some individual, who
relapses into obscurity and is heard of no more, while the names of
others emerge again and again, like a coloured thread woven in the canvas;
showing how much romance there was in the lives of the early traders. One
such thread I have followed in the account of Mrs. Gyfford, from her
first arrival in India till her final disappearance in the Court of
Chancery, showing the vicissitudes and dangers to which an Englishwoman
in India was exposed two hundred years ago.

To Mr. William Foster, of the India Office, I am especially indebted for
aid in directing my attention to old documents that would otherwise have
escaped notice, and who has generously placed at my disposal some of the
results of his own researches into the history of the Company in the
seventeenth century, as yet unpublished.

My thanks are also due to Sir Ernest Robinson for permitting me to use
his picture of an engagement with Mahratta ships, as a frontispiece.

J.B.



CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

RISE OF EUROPEAN PIRACY IN THE EAST

Portuguese pirates--Vincente Sodre--Dutch pirates--Royal
filibustering--Endymion Porter's venture--The Courten Association--The
Indian Red Sea fleet--John Hand--Odium excited against the English in
Surat--The _Caesar_ attacked by French pirates--Danish depredations--West
Indian pirates--Ovington's narrative--Interlopers and permission
ships--Embargo placed on English trade--Rovers trapped at Mungrole--John
Steel--Every seizes the _Charles the Second_ and turns pirate--His letter
to English commanders--The Madagascar settlements--Libertatia--Fate of
Sawbridge--Capture of the _Gunj Suwaie_--Immense booty--Danger of the
English at Surat--Bombay threatened--Friendly behaviour of the Surat
Governor--Embargo on European trade--Every sails for America--His reputed
end--Great increase of piracy--Mutiny of the _Mocha_ and _Josiah_
crews--Culliford in the _Resolution_--The _London_ seized by Imaum of
Muscat.


CHAPTER II

CAPTAIN KIDD

Measures to suppress piracy--The _Adventure_ fitted out--Warren's squadron
meets with Kidd--His suspicious behaviour--He threatens the
_Sidney_--Waylays the Red Sea fleet--Captures the _Mary_--Visits Carwar
and Calicut--His letter to the factory--Chased by Portuguese
men-of-war--Chases the _Sedgwick_--Chivers--Action between _Dorrill_ and
_Resolution_--Kidd captures the _Quedah Merchant_--Dilemma of European
traders at Surat--Their agreements with the authorities--Experience of
the _Benjamin_--News of Kidd's piracies reaches England--Despatch of
squadron under Warren--Littleton at Madagascar--Kidd sails for New
York--Arrested and tried--His defence and execution--Justice of his
sentence--His character--Diminution of piracy--Lowth in the _Loyal
Merchant_--Act for suppression of piracy--Captain Millar ...


CHAPTER III

THE RISE OF CONAJEE ANGRIA

Native piracy hereditary on the Malabar coast--Marco Polo's
account--Fryer's narrative--The Kempsant--Arab and Sanganian
pirates--Attack on the _President_--Loss of the _Josiah_--Attack on the
_Phoenix_--The _Thomas_ captured--Depredations of the Gulf
pirates--Directors' views--Conajee Angria--Attacks English
ships--Destroys the _Bombay_--Fortifies Kennery--Becomes
independent--Captures the Governor's yacht--Attacks the _Somers_ and
_Grantham_--Makes peace with Bombay--His navy--Great increase of
European and native piracy ...


CHAPTER IV

AN ACTIVE GOVERNOR

Arrival of Mr. Boone as Governor--He builds ships and improves defences of
Bombay--Desperate engagement of _Morning Star_ with Sanganians--Alexander
Hamilton--Expedition against Vingorla--Its failure--Hamilton made
Commodore--Expedition against Carwar--Landing force defeated--Successful
skirmish--Desertion of Goa recruits--Reinforcements--Landing force again
defeated--The Rajah makes peace--Hamilton resigns Commodoreship--A
noseless company--Angria recommences attacks--Abortive expedition against
Gheriah--Downing's account of it--Preparations to attack Kennery ...


CHAPTER V

THE COMPANY'S SERVANTS

The Company's civil servants--Their comparison with English who went to
America--Their miserable salaries--The Company's military
servants--Regarded with distrust--Shaxton's mutiny--Captain
Keigwin--Broken pledges and ill-treatment--Directors' vacillating
policy--Military grievances--Keigwin seizes the administration of
Bombay--His wise rule--Makes his submission to the Crown--Low status of
Company's military officers--Lord Egmont's speech--Factors and writers as
generals and colonels--Bad quality of the common soldiers--Their bad
treatment--Complaint against Midford--Directors' parsimony ...


CHAPTER VI

EXPEDITION AGAINST KENNERY

Sivajee's occupation of Kennery--A naval action--Minchin and
Keigwin--Bombay threatened--The Seedee intervenes--Conajee Angria occupies
Kennery--Boone sails with the expedition--Manuel de Castro--Futile
proceedings--Force landed and repulsed--Second landing--Manuel de Castro's
treachery--Gideon Russell--Bad behaviour of two captains--Defeat--Attack
abandoned--The _St. George_--The _Phram_--Manuel de Castro
punished--Bombay wall completed--Angria makes overtures for peace--Boone
outwitted ...


CHAPTER VII

EXPEDITION AGAINST GHERIAH

Trouble with the Portuguese--Madagascar pirates again--Loss of the
_Cassandra_--Captain Macrae's brave defence--The one-legged
pirate--Richard Lazenby--Expedition against Gheriah--Mr. Walter Brown--His
incompetency--Gordon's landing--Insubordination and drunkenness--Arrival
of the _Phram_--General attack--Failure--The Kempsant's alliance--Attack
on Deoghur--The Madagascar pirates, England and Taylor--Ignominious
flight--Fate of the _Phram_--Brown despatched south again--The pirates at
Cochin--They take flight to Madagascar--Their rage against Macrae and
England--England marooned--Taylor takes Goa ship--Rich prize--Governor
Macrae ...


CHAPTER VIII

EXPEDITION AGAINST COLABA

Measures taken in England against pirates--Woodes Rogers at the
Bahamas--Edward Teach--Challoner Ogle--Bartholomew Roberts
killed--Matthews sent to the East Indies--Naval officers' duels--Portuguese
alliance--Expedition against Colaba--Assault--Defeat--A split in the
alliance--Plot against Boone--His departure--Matthews' schemes--His
insulting behaviour--He quarrels with everybody--Goes to Madagascar--The
King of Ranter Bay--Matthews goes to Bengal ...


CHAPTER IX

A TROUBLED YEAR IN BOMBAY

Loss of the _Hunter_ galley--Quarrel with Portuguese--Alliance of
Portuguese with Angria--War with both--A double triumph--Portuguese make
peace--Angria cowed--Matthews reappears--Trouble caused by him--He
returns to England--Court-martialled--The last of Matthews ...


CHAPTER X

TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF CONFLICT

The case of Mr. Curgenven--Death of Conajee Angria--Quarrels of his
sons--Portuguese intervention--Sumbhajee Angria--Political
changes--Disaster to _Bombay_ and _Bengal_ galleys--The _Ockham_ beats
off Angria's fleet--The Coolees--Loss of the _Derby_--Mahrattas expel
Portuguese from Salsette--Captain Inchbird--Mannajee Angria gives
trouble--Dutch squadron repulsed from Gheriah--Gallant action of the
_Harrington_--Sumbhajee attacks Colaba--English assist Mannajee--Loss
of the _Antelope_--Death of Sumbhajee Angria--Toolajee Angria--Capture
of the _Anson_--Toolajee takes the _Restoration_--Power of
Toolajee--Lisle's squadron--Building of the _Protector_ and
_Guardian_ ...


CHAPTER XI

THE DOWNFALL OF ANGRIA

Toolajee fights successful action with the Dutch--He tries to make peace
with Bombay--Alliance formed against him--Commodore William
James--Slackness of the Peishwa's fleet--Severndroog--James's gallant
attack--Fall of Severndroog--Council postpone attack on Gheriah--Clive
arrives from England--Projects of the Directors--Admiral
Watson--Preparations against Gheriah--The Council's instructions--Council
of war about prize-money--Double dealing of the Peishwa's
officers--Watson's hint--Ships engage Gheriah--Angrian fleet burnt--Fall
of Gheriah--Clive occupies the fort--The prize-money--Dispute between
Council and Poonah Durbar--Extinction of coast piracy--Severndroog
tower ...



       *       *       *       *       *



AN ENGLISHWOMAN IN INDIA TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO


ILLUSTRATIONS

MAHRATTA GRABS AND GALLIVATS ATTACKING AN ENGLISH SHIP.
MAP OF MALABAR COAST.



       *       *       *       *       *



THE PIRATES OF MALABAR



CHAPTER I

_RISE OF EUROPEAN PIRACY IN THE EAST_

Portuguese pirates--Vincente Sodre--Dutch pirates--Royal
filibustering--Endymion Porter's venture--The Courten Association--The
Indian Red Sea fleet--John Hand--Odium excited against the English in
Surat--The _Caesar_ attacked by French pirates--Danish depredations--West
Indian pirates--Ovington's narrative--Interlopers and permission
ships--Embargo placed on English trade--Rovers trapped at Mungrole--John
Steel--Every seizes the _Charles the Second_ and turns pirate--His letter
to English commanders--The Madagascar settlements--Libertatia--Fate of
Sawbridge--Capture of the _Gunj Suwaie_--Immense booty--Danger of the
English at Surat--Bombay threatened--Friendly behaviour of the Surat
Governor--Embargo on European trade--Every sails for America--His reputed
end--Great increase of piracy--Mutiny of the _Mocha_ and _Josiah_
crews--Culliford in the _Resolution_--The _London_ seized by Imaum of
Muscat.


From the first days of European enterprise in the East, the coasts of
India were regarded as a favourable field for filibusters, the earliest
we hear of being Vincente Sodre, a companion of Vasco da Gama in his
second voyage. Intercourse with heathens and idolaters was regulated
according to a different code of ethics from that applied to intercourse
with Christians. The authority of the Old Testament upheld slavery, and
Africans were regarded more as cattle than human beings; while Asiatics
were classed higher, but still as immeasurably inferior to Europeans. To
prey upon Mahommedan ships was simply to pursue in other waters the
chronic warfare carried on against Moors and Turks in the Mediterranean.
The same feelings that led the Spaniards to adopt the standard of the
Cross in their conquest of Mexico and Peru were present, though less
openly avowed, in the minds of the merchants and adventurers of all
classes and nationalities who flocked into the Indian seas in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. With the decadence of buccaneering
and the growth of Indian trade, there was a corresponding increase of
piracy, and European traders ceased to enjoy immunity.

In 1623 the depredations of the Dutch brought the English into disgrace.
Their warehouses at Surat were seized, and the president and factors were
placed in irons, in which condition they remained seven months. This
grievance was the greater, as it happened at the time that the cruel
torture and execution of Captain Towerson and his crew by the Dutch took
place at Amboyna. It was bad enough to be made responsible for the doings
of their own countrymen, but to be punished for the misdeeds of their
enemies was a bitter pill to swallow. In 1630, just as peace was being
concluded with France and Spain, Charles I., who was beginning his
experiment of absolute government, despatched the _Seahorse_, Captain
Quail, to the Red Sea to capture the ships and goods of Spanish subjects,
as well as of any other nations not in league and amity with England.
There were no Spaniards in the Red Sea or the Indian Ocean, but
international arrangements in Europe were not regarded when the equator
had been crossed. Quail captured a Malabar vessel, for which the Company's
servants at Surat were forced to pay full compensation. The _Seahorse_
returned to England in 1633, but in view of the new field of enterprise
opened up, Endymion Porter, Gentleman of the King's bedchamber, embarked
on a piratical speculation, in partnership with two London merchants,
Bonnell and Kynaston, with a licence under the privy seal to visit any
part of the world and capture ships and goods of any state not in league
and amity with England. Two ships, the _Samaritan_ and _Roebuck_, were
fitted out with such secrecy that the East India Company were kept in
ignorance, and sailed in April, 1635, for the Red Sea, under Captain Cobb.

The _Samaritan_ was wrecked in the Comoro Islands; but Cobb, continuing
his cruise with the _Roebuck_, captured two Mogul vessels at the mouth of
the Red Sea, from one of which he took a large sum of money and a
quantity of goods, though the vessel had a pass from the Surat factory.
Again the Company's servants at Surat were imprisoned, and not released
till they had paid full compensation. Some small satisfaction was
experienced when it became known that John Proud, master of the _Swan_,
one of the Company's ships, had encountered the _Roebuck_ in the Comoro
Islands, and had attacked the freebooter. He was unable to capture it,
but succeeded in procuring restitution of the captured goods; the
treasure, however, was carried off to London, where it must have seemed
as if the days of Drake and Hawkins had come again.

The Company laid their grievance before the King, who expressed much
concern, promising to write to the Great Mogul and explain matters; so
the Company commenced an action against Bonnell and Kynaston in the
Admiralty Court. Porter was too highly placed to be struck at. Bonnell
evaded arrest and escaped to France, but Kynaston was arrested and lodged
in gaol; upon which Charles ordered his release on bail, saying he would
try the case himself at his leisure.

But Porter's views went beyond a single piratical voyage. Hardly had Cobb
started on his cruise, when he entered into partnership with Sir William
Courten for an association to establish a separate trade to the East
Indies. A royal grant was obtained, and the King himself was credited
with a share to the nominal extent of £10,000. The grant was a flagrant
breach of faith, and was the inauguration of the system of interlopers
that in after years caused so much loss and trouble to the Company. Four
ships were equipped and sent out, and before long it became known that
two vessels from Surat and Diu had been plundered by Courten's ships, and
their crews tortured. Again the Company's servants at Surat were seized
and thrown into prison, where they were kept for two months, being only
released on payment of Rs.1,70,000, and on solemnly swearing to respect
Mogul ships.

The Civil War brought these courtly piracies to an end, and the decay of
the Spanish power drew the more turbulent spirits of Europe and America
to the Spanish main, so that for a time there was a diminution of
European piracy in Indian waters. As buccaneering became more dangerous,
or less lucrative, adventurers of all nations again appeared in Eastern
waters, and the old trouble reappeared in an aggravated form. The Indian
Red Sea fleet offered an especially tempting booty to the rovers. Lobo, a
Jesuit priest, writing in the seventeenth century, tells us that so vast
was the commerce of Jeddah, and so great the value of the ships trading
to that place, that when, in India, it was wished to describe a thing of
inestimable price, it was customary to say, 'It is of more value than a
Jeddah ship.' Every year during the winter months, Indian traders, and
pilgrims for Mecca, found their way in single ships to the Red Sea. On
the setting in of the monsoon, they collected at Mocha, and made their
way back in a single body. All Indian trade with the Red Sea was paid for
in gold and silver, so that the returning ships offered many tempting
prizes to freebooters.

In 1683 John Hand, master of the _Bristol_, interloper, cleared his ship
with papers made out for Lisbon and Brazil, and sailed for Madeira. There
he called his crew together, and told them he intended to take his ship
to the East Indies. Those who were unwilling were overawed, Hand being a
mighty 'pastionate' man. He appears to have been half pirate and half
trader; equally ready to attack other traders, or to trade himself in
spices and drugs. On the Sumatra coast, finding the natives unwilling to
do business with him, he went ashore with a pistol in his pocket to bring
the 'black dogs' to reason. The pistol went off in his pocket and
shattered his thigh, and that was the end of John Hand.

In the same year, six men, of whom four were English and two Dutch, while
on passage in a native merchant's ship from the Persian Gulf to Surat,
seized the ship, killing the owner and his two wives. The lascars were
thrown overboard, six being retained to work the ship. Their cruise did
not last long. Making for Honore, they threw the six lascars overboard
when nearing the port. The men managed to get to land, and reaching
Honore, gave information of the would-be pirates to the local authorities,
who seized the ship, and soon disposed of the rogues.

Three years later, two ships under English colours, mounting respectively
forty-four and twenty guns, were reported to have captured vessels in the
Red Sea, to the value of Rs.600,000. The Seedee of Jinjeera, who styled
himself the Mogul's Admiral, received a yearly subsidy of four lakhs for
convoying the fleet, a duty that he was quite unable to perform against
European desperadoes. Public opinion at Surat was at once excited against
the English, and further inflamed by the Dutch and French, who were only
too anxious to see a rival excluded from the trade. Sir John Child, to
pacify the Governor, offered to send a man-of-war to look for the pirates;
but the Dutch and French factors continued to 'spitt their venom' till
the Governor laughed in their faces and asked why they did not join in
sending vessels to look for the rogues, since the matter seemed to them
so serious.

In the same season a gallant engagement was fought against pirates,
though not in Indian waters. The Company's ship _Caesar_, Captain Wright,
bound from England for Bombay, was chased off the coast of Gambia by five
ships, carrying each from twenty to thirty guns, under French colours.
Wright had no intention of yielding without a struggle, so put his ship
before the wind, to gain time for getting into fighting trim. The
_Caesar_ was carrying soldiers, and there were plenty of men to fight the
ship. The boats were cut away, the decks cleared, ammunition and arms
served out, three thousand pounds of bread which cumbered the gun-room
were thrown overboard, and the tops were filled with marksmen. As soon as
all was ready, the mainsail was furled, and the ship kept under easy sail.
Before long the two smaller ships came up, hoisted the red flag, and
began firing, one on the _Caesar's_ quarter and one astern. Soon the
three other ships, two of which Wright styled the Admiral and
Vice-Admiral, came up. The Admiral ranged up on the quarter and tried to
board, but was obliged to sheer off, with the loss of many men and a
bowsprit shot away. The Vice-Admiral tried to board at the bow, but with
no better success, losing a foreyard and mizzen-mast. For five hours the
engagement lasted, but the small-arm men in the _Caesar's_ tops fired so
well that the pirates could hardly serve their guns. The crew showed a
wonderful spirits cheering loudly at every successful shot, till the
discomfited pirates bore up, leaving the _Caesar_ to pursue her way to
Bombay, much knocked about as to hull, but having lost only one man
killed and eight wounded.

In the following year came news to Surat of two vessels, under Danish
colours, that had stopped English ships and seized native ones between
Surat and Bombay. The _Phoenix_, a British man-of-war, was at Surat at
the time, so, together with the _Kent_, East Indiaman, it was despatched
to look after the marauders, taking with them also two small boys, sent
to represent the French and the Dutch. In due time Captain Tyrrell
returned, and reported that he had found a squadron of four vessels; that
after a two days' chase he had brought them to, when they turned out to
be two Danish ships, with two prizes they had taken. They showed him
their commission, authorizing them to make reprisals on the Mogul's
subjects for affronts offered to Danish traders; so he left them alone. A
few months later the Portuguese factory at Cong, in the Persian Gulf, was
plundered by an English pirate; another was heard of in the Red Sea,
while Philip Babington an Irish pirate, was cruising off Tellichery in
the _Charming Mary_.

By 1689 a number of sea rovers from the West Indies had made their
appearance, and the factory at Fort St. George reported that the sea
trade was 'pestered with pirates.' The first comers had contented
themselves with plundering native ships. Now their operations were
extended to European vessels not of their own nationality. In time this
restriction ceased to be observed; they hoisted the red or black flag,
with or without the colours of the nationality they affected, and spared
no vessel they were strong enough to capture.

The Armenian merchants were loud in their complaints. An Armenian ship,
bound from Goa to Madras, with twenty thousand pagodas on board, was
taken by a pirate ship of two hundred tons, carrying twenty-two guns and
a crew of sixty men. Another Armenian ship, with fifty thousand xeraphims,
was taken near Bombay, on its voyage from Goa to Surat. Besides those
that beset the Malabar coast, there were pirates in the Persian Gulf, at
the mouth of the Red Sea, and in the Mozambique Channel, while five
pirate vessels were cruising off Acheen. During the next ten years the
losses caused by the pirates were prodigious.

Ovington mentions that at St. Helena (1689) they were told, by a slaver,
of three pirates, two English and the other Dutch, so richly laden with
booty that they could hardly navigate their ships, which had become
weather-beaten and unseaworthy from their long cruises off the Red Sea
mouth. Their worn-out canvas sails were replaced with double silk.

    "They were prodigal in the expences of their unjust gain, and
    quenched their thirst with Europe liquor at any rate this Commander
    (the slaver) would put upon it; and were so frank both in distributing
    their goods, and guzzling down the noble wine, as if they were both
    wearied with the possession of their rapine, and willing to stifle
    all the melancholy reflections concerning it."

Such an account was bound to fire the imagination of every seaman who
heard it.

The number of pirates was increased by the interlopers, merchant
adventurers trading without a licence, who, like John Hand, when they
failed to get cargoes, plundered native ships. Their proceedings were
imitated by the permission ships, vessels that held the Company's licence
for a single voyage. Not seldom the crews of interlopers and permission
ships rose and seized the vessel against the will of their owners and
commanders and hoisted the Jolly Roger. Commissions were granted to the
East India Company's commanders to seize interlopers; but the interlopers,
as a rule, were remarkably well able to take care of themselves. As
pirates and interlopers alike sailed under English colours, the whole
odium fell on the English. In August, 1691, a ship belonging to the
wealthy merchant, Abdul Guffoor, was taken at the mouth of the Surat
river, with nine lakhs in hard cash on board. A guard was placed on the
factory at Surat, and an embargo laid on English trade. As the pirate had
shown the colours of several nationalities, the authorities were loth to
proceed to extremities. Fortunately for the English Company, a member of
the pirate crew was captured, and proved to be a Dane; so the embargo on
English trade was taken off.

Though they plied their calling at sea, almost with impunity, the pirates
occasionally fell victims to Oriental treachery on shore. Thus, James
Gilliam, a rover, having put into Mungrole, on the Kattiawar coast, was
made welcome and much praised for the noble lavishness with which he paid
for supplies. Soon there came an invitation to a banquet, and Gilliam,
with some of his officers and crew, twenty in all, were received by the
representative of the Nawab of Junaghur with excessive ceremony. Much
polite curiosity was evinced about the noble strangers. "Why did they
always go armed? Were their muskets loaded? Would they discharge them to
show their host the European method?" The muskets were discharged, and
immediately the banquet was announced. "Delay to reload the muskets was
inexpedient. It would be time to recharge their weapons after the feast."
And then, when seated and defenceless, there was an irruption of armed
men, and Gilliam, with his followers, were seized and fettered. For a
year they lay at Junaghur, where two of them died. In vain Gilliam
contrived to send a letter to the Surat factory, asking that they might
be claimed as British subjects. President Harris knew that the least
interest shown in the fate of the rovers would be fatal to the interests
of the Company, and was relieved when he heard that they had been sent to
Aurungzeeb's camp; after which they are heard of no more.

In the beginning of 1692, authority was given to the Company's commanders
to seize pirates and hold them till the King's pleasure was known, but
the measure was of small effect. The pirates were prime seamen, who
outsailed and outfought the Company's ships; while among the Company's
crews they had numerous sympathizers. The prizes to be gained were so
great and the risks so small, that the Company could hardly restrain
their own men from joining the sea rovers. Thus, in 1694, John Steel[1]
ran away with the long boat of the _Ruby_ frigate. Sixteen others who had
plotted to join him were detected in time, and clapped in irons. The
French and Dutch gave passes to all who applied for them, so Steel placed
himself under French protection, and for two years 'that rogue Steel'
finds frequent mention in the coast letters. Four years later Steel was
arrested in England. But though the directors had been supplied with many
accounts of his misdeeds, no sworn evidence could be produced against him,
so Steel escaped scot-free.

All other pirates, however, were destined to be eclipsed in fame by Henry
Every, _alias_ Bridgman,[2] who now made his appearance in the Indian
seas. His exploits, the great wealth he amassed by piracy, and his
reputed marriage with a Mogul princess, continued to excite the public
mind long after he had disappeared from the scene. Several biographies of
him were written, one of them attributed to Defoe, all of them containing
great exaggerations; and a play, _The Successful Pirate_, was written in
his honour. His biographers generally give his name as John Avery, but it
was as is here given. According to the account of Van Broeck, a Dutchman,
who was detained on board his ship for a time, and was on good terms with
him, he was born at Plymouth, the son of a trading captain who had served
in the navy under Blake. Every himself served in the navy, in the
_Resolution_ and _Edgar_, before he got the command of a merchant ship,
in which he made several voyages to the West Indies. In May, 1694, he was
first mate of the _Charles the Second_, one of the small squadron of
English ships hired from Sir James Houblon, by the Spanish Government, to
act against French smugglers who were troubling their Peruvian trade.[3]

The Spaniards were bad paymasters, and Houblon's squadron was detained at
Corunna three or four months, while the crews became more and more
discontented as their wages remained unpaid. As their sense of grievance
increased, a plot was formed among the most turbulent spirits to seize a
ship and turn rovers, under Every's command. On the night of the 30th May,
the captain of the _Charles the Second_ was made prisoner while in bed. A
boat-load of men sent from the _James_ to prevent the capture, joined the
mutineers; the cables were cut, and the ship ran out of harbour. The
captain and all who were unwilling to join were put into a boat, and the
_Charles_, renamed the _Fancy_, was headed south for the coast of Africa.
The only man detained against his will was the doctor, as he was a useful
man.

Some months were spent on the Guinea coast, where some negroes were
captured, and five ships--three English and two Danish--were plundered
and burnt. Before the end of the year Every was east of the Cape, intent
on the Red Sea traders. The first intelligence of him that reached Bombay
was in May, 1695, when three outward-bound merchantmen reported that they
had seen him at Johanna.

     "Your Honor's ships going into that island gave him chase, but he was
     too nimble for them by much, having taken down a great deale of his
     upper works and made her exceeding snugg, which advantage being added
     to her well sailing before, causes her to sail so hard now, that she
     fears not who follows her. This ship will undoubtedly (go) into the
     Red Sea, which will procure infinite clamours at Surat."

Accompanying this report came the following characteristic letter from
Every:--

"February y'e 28th, 1695/4.

    "To all English. Commanders lett this Satisfye that I was Riding here
    att this Instant in y'e Ship fancy man of Warr formerly the Charles
    of y'e Spanish Expedition who departed from Croniae y'e 7th of May.
    94: Being and am now in A Ship of 46 guns 150 Men & bound to Seek our
    fortunes I have Never as Yett Wronged any English or Dutch nor never
    Intend whilst I am Commander. Wherefore as I Commonly Speake w'th all
    Ships I Desire who ever Comes to y'e perusal of this to take this
    Signall that if you or aney whome you may informe are desirous to
    know w't wee are att a Distance then make your Antient Vp in a Ball
    or Bundle and hoyst him att y'e Mizon Peek y'e Mizon Being furled I
    shall answere w'th y'e same & Never Molest you: for my men are hungry
    Stout and Resolute: & should they Exceed my Desire I cannott help my
    selfe.

as Yett
An Englishman's friend

HENRY EVERY."

    "Here is 160 od french Armed men now att Mohilla who waits for
    Opportunity of getting aney ship, take Care of your Selves."[4]

According to Van Broeck, he was a man of good natural disposition, who
had been soured by the bad treatment he received at the hands of his
relations. The letter shows him to have been a man of some education, and
during his short but active career in the Indian seas he appears to have
attacked native ships only. The Company's records do not mention the loss
of a single English ship at Every's hands, a circumstance that no doubt
told heavily against the English in native opinion at Surat.

The same ships that brought Every's letter to Sir John Gayer brought
intelligence of a well-known French pirate having got aground at Mohilla.
The three Company's ships watering at Johanna, heard of the occurrence,
and proceeded to the spot, burnt the French ship after taking out what
treasure was on board, and captured six of the Frenchmen, who were
brought to Bombay. Every's friendly warning about the '160 od French
armed men' evidently referred to the wrecked crew.

The value of Perim, or Bab's Key, as it was then called by mariners, to
command the trade of the Red Sea, was at once perceived by Every, who
attempted to make a settlement there. After some unprofitable digging for
water, he abandoned the project, and established himself in Madagascar,
which had before this become known as a pirate resort. During the next
thirty years the only traders who dared show themselves on the Madagascar
coast were those who did business with the pirates, owing to the number
of pirate settlements that sprang up at different points; the best known
being at St. Mary's Island, St. Augustine's, Port Dauphin, and Charnock's
Point. They built themselves forts and established a reign of terror over
the surrounding country, sometimes taking a part in native quarrels, and
sometimes fighting among themselves; dubbing themselves kings, and living
in squalid dignity with large seraglios of native women. Captain Woodes
Rogers, who touched at Madagascar for slaves, sixteen years after Every's
time, described those he met as having been on the islands above
twenty-five years, with a motley crowd of children and grandchildren.

    "Having been so many years upon this Island, it may be imagined their
    Cloaths had long been worn out, so that their Majesties were
    extremely out at the Elbows: I cannot say they were ragged, since
    they had no Cloaths, they had nothing to cover them but the Skins of
    Beasts without any tanning, but with all the Hair on, nor a Shoe nor
    Stocking, so they looked like the Pictures of Hercules in the Lion's
    Skin; and being overgrown with Beard, and Hair upon their Bodies,
    they appeared the most savage Figures that a Man's Imagination can
    frame."[5]

One remarkable settlement was founded in the north, near Diego Suarez, by
Misson, a Frenchman, and the most humane of pirates, with whom was allied
Tew, the English pirate. Misson's aim was to build a fortified town "that
they might have some place to call their own; and a receptacle, when age
and wounds had rendered them incapable of hardship, where they might
enjoy the fruits of their labour and go to their graves in peace." The
settlement was named Libertatia. Slavery was not permitted, and freed
slaves were encouraged to settle there. The harbour was strongly
fortified, as a Portuguese squadron that attacked them found to its cost.
A dock was made; crops were sown; a Lord Conservator was appointed for
three years, with a Parliament to make laws. The colony was still in its
infancy when it was surprised and destroyed by the natives, while Misson
was away on a cruise; and so Libertatia came to an end. Tew succeeded in
escaping to his sloop with a quantity of diamonds and gold in bars. On
Misson rejoining him, they determined to go to America. Misson's ship
foundered in a storm, while Tew made his way to Rhode Islands, and lived
there for a time unquestioned. But the fascinations of a rover's life
were too much for him. He fitted out a sloop and made again for the Red
Sea, and was killed in action there with a Mogul ship.

From their Madagascar settlements the pirates scoured the east coast of
Africa, the Indian Ocean as far as Sumatra, the mouth of the Red Sea,
where the Mocha ships offered many rich prizes, the Malabar coast, and
the Gulf of Oman. From time to time, ships from New England and the West
Indies brought supplies and recruits, taking back those who were tired of
the life, and who wished to enjoy their booty. European prisoners were
seldom treated barbarously when there was no resistance, and the pirate
crews found many recruits among captured merchantmen. Their worst
cruelties were reserved for the native merchants of India who fell into
their hands. They believed all native traders to be possessed of jewels,
as was indeed often the case, and the cruellest tortures were inflicted
on them to make them surrender their valuables. One unhappy Englishman we
hear of, Captain Sawbridge, who was taken by pirates, while on a voyage
to Surat with a ship-load of Arab horses from Bombay. His complaints and
expostulations were so annoying to his captors that, after repeatedly
telling him to hold his tongue, they took a sail needle and twine and
sewed his lips together. They kept him thus several hours, with his hands
tied behind him, while they plundered his ship, which they afterwards set
on fire, burning her and the horses in her. Sawbridge and his people were
carried to Aden and set on shore, where he died soon after.

Before long. Every made some notable captures. Off Aden he found five
pirate ships of English nationality, three of them from America,
commanded by May, Farrell, and Wake. In the Gulf of Aden he burned the
town of Mahet on the Somali coast because the people refused to trade
with him. In September, while cruising off Socotra with the _Fancy_, two
sloops, and a galley, he took the _Futteh Mahmood_ with a valuable cargo,
belonging to Abdool Quffoor, the wealthiest and most influential merchant
in Surat. A few days later he took off Sanjan, north of Bombay, a ship
belonging to the Emperor, called the _Gunj Suwaie_ (Exceeding Treasure).
This was the great capture that made Every famous. According to the
legend, there was a granddaughter of Aurungzeeb on board, whom Every
wedded by the help of a moollah, and carried off to Madagascar. But the
story is only the most sensational of the many romantic inventions that
have accumulated round Every's name. The native historian[6] who relates
the capture of the _Gunj Suwaie_, and who had friends on board, would
certainly not have refrained from mentioning such an event if it had
occurred; nor would the Mogul Emperor have failed to wreak vengeance on
the English for such an insult to his family.

The _Gunj Suwaie_ was the largest ship belonging to the port of Surat. It
carried eighty guns and four hundred matchlocks, besides other warlike
implements, and was deemed so strong that it disdained the help of a
convoy. On this occasion it was returning from the Red Sea with the
result of the season's trading, amounting to fifty-two lakhs of rupees[7]
in silver and gold, and having on board a number of Mahommedan ladies
returning from pilgrimage to Mecca. In spite of the disparity of force,
Every bore down and engaged. The first gun fired by the _Gunj Suwaie_
burst, killing three or four men and wounding others. The main mast was
badly damaged by Every's broadsides, and the _Fancy_ ran alongside and
boarded. This was the moment when a decent defence should have been made.
The sailor's cutlass was a poor match for the curved sword and shield, so
much so that the English were notorious in the East for their want of
boldness in sword-play. But Ibrahim Khan, the captain, was a coward, and
ran below at the sight of the white faces. His crew followed his example,
and the vessel was taken almost without resistance.

So rich a prize was not to be relinquished without a very complete search.
For a whole week the _Gunj Suwaie_ was rummaged from stem to stern, while
the crew of the _Fancy_ indulged in a horrible orgy, excited beyond
measure by the immense booty that had fallen into their hands. Several of
the women threw themselves into the sea or slew themselves with daggers;
the last piece of silver was sought out and carried on board the _Fancy_,
the last jewel torn from the passengers and crew, and then the _Gunj
Suwaie_ was left to find its way to Surat as it best could.

The vials of long-accumulated wrath were poured out on the English.
Instigated by Abdul Guffoor, the populace of Surat flew to arms to wreak
vengeance on the factory. The Governor, Itimad Khan, was well disposed to
the English, but popular excitement ran so high that he found it
difficult to protect them. Guards were placed on the factory to save it
from plunder. A mufti urged that the English should be put to death in
revenge for the death of so many true believers, and quoted an
appropriate text from the Koran. Soon came an order from Aurungzeeb
directing the Seedee to march on Bombay, and for all the English in Surat
and Broach to be made prisoners. President Annesley and the rest,
sixty-three in all, were placed in irons, and so remained eleven months.
To make matters worse, news arrived of Every having captured the
_Rampura_, a Cambay ship with a cargo valued at Rs.1,70,000.

    "It is strange," wrote Sir John Gayer, "to see how almost all the
    merchants are incensed against our nation, reproaching the Governor
    extremely for taking our part, and as strange to see that
    notwithstanding all, he stems the stream against them more than well
    could be imagined, considering his extreme timorous nature."

The strangeness of the merchants' hostility is hardly apparent, but it is
not too much to say that Itimad Khan's friendly behaviour alone saved
English trade from extinction. The Dutch, always hostile in the East,
whatever might be the relations between Holland and England in Europe,
strove to improve the occasion by fomenting popular excitement, and tried
to get the English permanently excluded from the Indian trade. In the
words of Sir John Grayer, "they retained their Edomitish principles, and
rejoice to see Jacob laid low." But Itimad Khan knew that the pirates
were of all nationalities, and refused to hold the English alone
responsible. To propitiate the Governor, Sir John Gayer made over to him
the six French pirates taken at Mohilla, not without qualms at handing
over Christians to Mahommedan mercies. He fully expected that the
treasure taken out of the wreck would also be demanded of him; but Itimad
Khan was not an avaricious man, and no such demand was made. "His
contempt of money is not to be paralleled by any of the King's Umbraws or
Governors," Sir John wrote, a year later, when Itimad Khan was dead. To
forestall the Dutch with the Emperor, Gayer sent an agent offering to
convoy the Red Sea fleet for the future, in return for a yearly payment
of four lakhs a year. The offer was refused, but it served to place the
English in a more favourable light, and to procure the cancelling of
orders that had been given for attacking Bombay and Madras. Had it been
accepted, the Seedee would have been added to the number of the Company's
enemies. The Dutch, not to be outdone, offered to perform the same
service in return for a monopoly of trade in the Emperor's dominions.
This brought all other Europeans into line against the Dutch proposal,
and the intrigue was defeated. The embargo on all European trade at
Surat was maintained, while the Dutch, French, and English were directed
to scour the seas and destroy the pirates. It was further ordered that
Europeans on shore were not to carry arms or use palanquins, and their
ships were forbidden to hoist their national flags. The Dutch and French
hung back. They would not send a ship to sea without payment, except for
their own affairs. Sir John Gayer, more wisely, sent armed ships to
convoy the Mocha fleet, at the Company's charge, and so the storm passed
off.

Meanwhile, Every, glutted with booty, made up his mind to retire[8] with
his enormous gains. According to Johnson, he gave the slip, at night, to
his consorts, sailed for Providence in the Bahamas, where his crew
dispersed, and thence made his way to England, just at the time a royal
proclamation offering £500 for his apprehension was published. The reward
was doubled by an offer of four thousand rupees from the Company; eight
rupees being the equivalent of a pound at that time. Several of his crew
also straggled home and were captured; but before he left the Indian
coast, twenty-five Frenchmen, fourteen Danes, and some English were put
ashore, fearing to show themselves in Europe or America. This fact would
seem to throw some doubt on the account of his having left his consorts
by stealth.

On the 19th October, 1696, six of his crew were tried and sentenced at
the Old Bailey, and a true bill was found and an indictment framed
against Every himself, though he had not been apprehended. According to
Johnson,[9] Every changed his name and lived unostentatiously, while
trying to sell the jewels he had amassed. The merchant in whose hands he
had placed them, suspecting how they had been come by, threatened him.
Every fled to Ireland, leaving his jewels in the merchant's hands, and
finally died in Devonshire in extreme poverty. But the authority for this,
as for most of the popular accounts of Every, is extremely doubtful. That
he was cheated out of some of his ill-gotten gains is probable enough,
but it is in the highest degree improbable that he was known to be living
in poverty, and yet that the large reward offered for his apprehension
was not earned. What is alone certain is that he was never apprehended,
and that in a few months he carried off an amount of plunder such as
never before was taken out of the Indian seas by a single rover. For long
he was the hero of every seaport town in England and North America;
innumerable legends gathered round his name, and an immense impulse was
given to piracy.

A few months after his departure, there were five pirate ships in the Red
Sea, under English colours; two more, each mounting fourteen guns, were
in the Persian Gulf, and another was cruising off Tellicherry. At
Madagascar others were coming in fast. The news of Every's great booty
had spread from port to port, and every restless spirit was intent on
seeking his fortune in this new Eldorado, as men nowadays flock to a new
goldfield. The Company's sailors were not proof against the temptation.
While on the way from Bombay to China the crew of the _Mocha_ frigate
mutinied, off the coast of Acheen, killed their captain, Edgecombe, and
set afloat in the pinnace twenty-seven officers and men who refused to
join them. The _Mocha_ was then renamed the _Defence_, and for the next
three years did an infinity of damage in the Indian Ocean. At the same
time, the crew of the _Josiah_ ketch from Bombay, while at anchor in the
Madras roads, took advantage of the commander being on shore to run away
with the ship. The whole thing had been planned between the two crews
before leaving Bombay; their intention being to meet off the coast of
Sumatra, and cruise in company. The piratical career of the _Josiah_ did
not last long. Making first for the Nicobars, the crew flocked on shore,
and were soon involved in quarrels with the natives; leaving on board
only two men, one of whom was James Cruffe, the armourer, who had been
forced to join them against his will. The other man was but a lukewarm
pirate, and Cruffe prevailed on him to join in an attempt to carry off
the ship. They cut the cable, and by great good fortune, without any
knowledge of navigation, succeeded in carrying the ship into Acheen.

Stout's command of the _Defence_, once _Mocha_, quickly came to an end.
According to one account, he was put to death by his comrades, at the
Laccadives, for trying to desert them; according to another account, he
was slain by some Malays. His place was taken by Culliford, who had been
the leader of the mutineers of the _Josiah_. He changed the ship's name
to the _Resolution_, and proved himself one of the most daring rovers of
his day.

The untrustworthiness of his crews placed Sir John Gayer in an awkward
dilemma. He had to report to the Directors that he dared not send ships
to convoy pilgrims lest the crews should mutiny; that a boat could not be
manned in Bombay harbour for fear of desertion, while, on shore, he had
not a soldier fit to be made a corporal. A powerful French squadron had
appeared on the coast, and the Surat President calculated that the
Company's recent losses on captured ships sailing from Surat amounted to
a million sterling. The losses of the native merchants were even more
serious; trade was almost at a standstill, while three more pirate ships
from New York appeared in the Gulf of Cambay, and captured country ships
to the value of four lakhs of rupees. Every letter along the coast at
this date speaks of the doings of the rovers: every ship coming into
harbour told of pirates, of chases and narrow escapes, and of reported
captures.

    "These pirates spare none but take all they meet, and take the Europe
    men into their own ships, with such goods as they like, and sink the
    ships, sending the lascars on rafts to find the shore."

So bold were the marauders that they cruised in sight of Bombay harbour,
and careened their ships in sight of factories along the coast.

To avenge their losses, the Muscat Arabs, in April, 1697, seized the
_London_, belonging to Mr. Affleck, a private merchant. The Arabs were
engaged in hostilities with the Portuguese at the time, and forced the
crew of the _London_ to fight for them. Those who were unwilling were
lashed to masts exposed to Portuguese fire, from which they did not
escape scatheless. In vain the commanders of two of the Company's vessels
assured the Imaum that the _London_ was not a pirate.

    "You have sent me a letter," he wrote, "about my people taking one of
    your ships. It is true that I have done so, in return for one you
    English took from me, so now we are even and have ship for ship; for
    this one I will not surrender. If you wish to be friends, I am
    willing to be so; if not, I will fight you and take all the ships I
    can."

One pirate ship was reported to have chased two Cong ships, capturing one
and forcing the other ashore, where it became a total wreck. "What
influence this may have on the Rt. Hon. Company's affairs, God alone
knows," wrote the Surat President, mournfully. Soon he was in better
spirits. The same pirates had landed and plundered Cong; but, allowing
themselves to be surprised, fifty-six of the crew had been set upon and
killed.

With few exceptions, the English pirates came from the American colonies.
Every year, from New York, Boston, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, ships were
fitted out, nominally for the slave trade, though it was no secret that
they were intended for piracy in the Eastern seas. Whatever compunction
might be felt at attacking European ships, there was none about
plundering Asiatic merchants, where great booty was to be gained with
little risk. Sometimes the Governors were in league with the pirates, who
paid them to wink at their doings. Those who were more honest had
insufficient power to check the evil practices that were leniently, if
not favourably, regarded by the colonial community, while their time was
fully occupied in combating the factious opposition of the colonial
legislatures, and in protective measures against the French and Indians.
The English Government, absorbed in the French war, had no ships in the
Indian seas; but the straits to which English trade in the East had been
reduced, and the enormous losses caused by the pirates, at last forced
some measures to be adopted for coping with the evil that had assumed
such gigantic proportions.


[1] It appears likely that this was the John Steel mentioned by Drury as
    his uncle in Bengal. There is very little doubt that much of Drury's
    alleged slavery in Madagascar was spent among the pirates.

[2] It would appear that he assumed the name of Every on taking to piracy.

[3] Sir James Houblon was an Alderman of London, and a Governor of the
    Bank of England at the time.

[4] The letter appears to have been left by Every with the natives of
    Johanna, who gave it to the merchant captains who brought it to
    Bombay.

[5] The quotation is taken from Johnson's History of the Pirates. In his
    cruising voyage round the world Woodes Rogers did not touch at
    Madagascar. On that occasion (1711) he met two ex-pirates at the Cape,
    who had received pardons, and told him that the Madagascar
    settlements had dwindled to sixty or seventy men, "most of them very
    poor and despicable, even to the natives," and possessed of only one
    ship and a sloop. But, he adds, "if care be not taken, after a peace,
    to clear that island of them, and hinder others from joining them, it
    may be a temptation for loose straggling fellows to resort thither,
    and make it once more a troublesome nest of freebooters."

[6] Elliot's History of India as told by its own historians. Muntakhabu-l
    Lubab of Khafi Khan.

[7] Equal to £534,000 at that day.

[8] According to the statement of a lascar, taken in the _Futteh Mahmood_
    and carried to Madagascar, Every sailed for the Bahamas in the autumn
    of 1695, so that his career in the Indian seas lasted only six months.
    On reaching Providence, Every presented the Governor with forty
    pieces of eight and four pieces of gold for allowing them to come and
    go in safety.

[9] Johnson's "General History of the Pyrates," 1724.



CHAPTER II

_CAPTAIN KIDD_

Measures to suppress piracy--The _Adventure_ fitted out--Warren's squadron
meets with Kidd--His suspicious behaviour--He threatens the
_Sidney_--Waylays the Red Sea fleet--Captures the _Mary_--Visits Carwar
and Calicut--His letter to the factory--Chased by Portuguese
men-of-war--Chases the _Sedgwick_--Chivers--Action between _Dorrill_ and
_Resolution_--Kidd captures the _Quedah Merchant_--Dilemma of European
traders at Surat--Their agreements with the authorities--Experience of the
_Benjamin_--News of Kidd's piracies reaches England--Despatch of squadron
under Warren--Littleton at Madagascar--Kidd sails for New York--Arrested
and tried--His defence and execution--Justice of his sentence--His
character--Diminution of piracy--Lowth in the _Loyal Merchant_--Act for
suppression of piracy--Captain Millar.


War with France was being actively prosecuted by land and sea. In 1695
the nation was still smarting under reverses in the Low Countries and the
repulse of the Brest expedition. At sea the navy was holding its own,
though English commerce suffered terribly under the attacks of French
corsairs of Dunkirk and St. Malo. The Company applied for a ship to be
sent to the Indian seas to deal with the pirates; but Lord Orford, the
head of the Admiralty, refused to spare one. It was the fashion for
wealthy men to obtain letters of marque for privateering, and a syndicate
was formed, to which the Chancellor, Lord Somers, Lord Orford, Lord
Bellamont, and other Whig nobles were parties, to send out a privateer
against French commerce. For this purpose the _Adventure_ galley was
purchased and fitted out, and the command was given to William Kidd, who
was suggested to Lord Bellamont as a fit person for the task. Kidd was an
old privateers-man who had gained some reputation in the West Indies
during the war. Lord Bellamont had been appointed Governor of New York,
though he did not proceed there till two years later. The king had
charged him to use his utmost endeavours to put a check on the pirates
who sailed from New England, and nothing better occurred to him than to
obtain a commission for Kidd to act against the rovers. A general reward
of £50 was offered for the apprehension of each pirate, and £100 for
Every, increased in the following year to £500.

In December, a commission under the Admiralty Seal was issued to Kidd,
authorizing him to proceed against French shipping. He was to keep a
journal of his proceedings, and any ship captured was to be carried into
the nearest port and legally adjudged by a competent court. If condemned,
he might dispose of it according to custom. Six weeks later, a second
commission under the Great Seal was granted him, in his capacity of a
private man of war, to apprehend all pirates, freebooters, and sea rovers,
the names of Thomas Too (? Tew), John Ireland, Thomas Wake, and William
Maze, or Mace, being specially mentioned. Again, he was enjoined to keep
an exact journal of his doings, and the pirate ships he captured were to
be proceeded against according to law, in the same manner as French
captures. A subsequent warrant was granted to the syndicate, who figure
in it as the Earl of Bellamont, Edmund Harrison, William Rowley, George
Watson, Thomas Reynolds, and Samuel Newton. Under these unpretentious
names were hidden Lords Orford and Somers, and other Whig nobles. They
were to account for all goods and valuables captured in the rovers'
possession: one-tenth was to be reserved for the Crown, the rest being
assigned to them to recoup their expenditure.

The _Adventure_ carried thirty guns and rowed twenty-six or thirty oars.
In May, 1696, Kidd sailed from Plymouth for New York with a crew of about
seventy men. On the way he captured a small French vessel, which was
properly condemned, and the proceeds helped to complete the equipment of
the _Adventure_. In New York he filled up his crew to one hundred and
fifty-five men, and people shook their heads when they saw the men of
doubtful character that he enlisted. It was felt at the time that, either
his intentions were dishonest, or he was taking a crew that he would be
unable to control. The men were promised shares of what should be taken,
while Kidd himself was to have forty shares. Nothing was said as to the
share of the owners or the Crown. In September he sailed for the Cape.
There were plenty of pirates and French trading-ships close at hand on
the American coast, but he did not waste a day in looking for them.

Within a few days of Kidd's leaving Plymouth, a royal squadron consisting
of the _Windsor_, _Tyger_, _Advice_, and _Vulture_, under Commodore
Warren, sailed from Sheerness to visit the harbours and watering-places,
used by East India ships, as far as the Cape, and clear them of pirates.
The squadron, with five East Indiamen under convoy, made its way slowly
along the African coast, losing many men from sickness. Two hundred
leagues west of the Cape they sighted a strange sail that seemed to wish
to avoid them. Warren gave chase and forced it to heave to. On being
signalled to come on board, the commander proved to be Kidd, in command
of the _Adventure_. Asked to account for himself, he told how he was
engaged to look for Every and destroy pirates, and showed his commission.
Apparently, this was the first that Warren had heard of him, but there
was no gainsaying the royal commission, so the usual hospitality was
shown him, and he was bidden to keep company as far as the Cape. Warren
had lost many men on the Guinea coast, and asked Kidd to spare him some.
No better opportunity could have been found for getting rid of
troublesome men, but Kidd declined to part with a single one. As Warren's
wine told on him, his true character showed itself. He boasted of the
feats he was going to do, and the wealth he would get, till Warren was
filled with disgust and suspicion. The _Adventure_ wanted a new mainsail.
Warren could not spare him one. No matter, he would take one from the
first ship he met; and he was finally sent back to the _Adventure_,
reeling drunk. For six days he sailed in company with the squadron. Then
a calm came on, and at night, making use of his oars, Kidd stole away,
and was nearly out of sight when the sun rose.

On reaching the Cape, Warren could get no news of him, but to the
captains of the Company's ships he communicated his suspicions of Kidd.
Three of them, bound for Johanna in the Comoro Islands, the _Sidney_, the
_Madras Merchant_, and the _East India Merchant_, agreed to sail in
company for mutual protection. The _Sidney_, being the faster sailer,
reached Johanna in advance of her consorts, and found the _Adventure_ at
anchor in the roadstead. As the _Sidney_ came to anchor, Kidd sent a boat
to Captain Gyfford, ordering him to strike his colours, and threatening
to board him if he refused. Gyfford prepared to defend himself. Two days
later the _East India Merchant_ and the _Madras Merchant_ appeared,
making for the anchorage, and Kidd lowered his tone. He then invited the
three captains to come on board the _Adventure_, which they refused to do,
letting him plainly see that they distrusted him.

Soon they had to warn him regarding his ill-treatment of the Johanna
people, for which they threatened to call him to account. This
unlooked-for attitude on the part of the three captains made Kidd uneasy;
and finding that they would not leave the anchorage till he had gone, he
made sail and departed. Some of the crew of the _Adventure_ had, however,
used suspicious language, saying they were looking for an East India ship.
When asked if they would attack a single one, they answered evasively,
while continuing to boast of the things they were going to do. These
early proceedings of Kidd effectually dispose of the plea that his
intentions were at first honest, and that he only yielded to the coercion
of his crew in taking to piracy, after reaching the Indian seas. The
truth is that Kidd was resolved on piracy from the first, and had little
difficulty in persuading the majority of the crew to join him. It can
hardly be doubted that the accounts of the great wealth acquired by Every
had turned his head. There were a number of men on board the _Adventure_
who were unwillingly coerced into piracy, and who remained in a chronic
state of discontent, but Kidd was not one of them. Long before he had
made a single capture, it was reported in the ports of Western India that
Kidd was a pirate.

From Johanna he shaped his coarse for Madagascar, but the pirates were
all away in search of prey; so he continued his cruise in the Mozambique
Channel and along the African coast. He is said to have met Indian ships
at this time without molesting them, which was afterwards cited to show
that his intentions were then honest. It is more likely that he was only
doubtful as to his own power, being unacquainted with the weakness of
Asiatics, and reserving himself for the rich prey offered by the Mocha
fleet.

Cruising northwards, he landed at Mabber[1] on the Somali coast, and took
some corn from the natives by force--his first bit of filibustering. Then
making for Perim, he anchored to await the Mocha fleet. Three times he
sent a boat to look into Mocha harbour, and bring notice when the Indian
ships were ready to sail. As the fleet in scattered array emerged from
the straits, he singled out a large vessel and began firing at it. This
at once attracted the attention of the _Sceptre_ frigate that Sir John
Gayer had sent as a convoy, and Kidd took to his heels.

If Every had been in his place, he would have followed the fleet across
the Indian Ocean, and have picked up a straggler or two, but the sight of
the _Sceptre_ and a Dutch man-of-war had been enough for Kidd, and he left
the pilgrim fleet alone. Without molesting them further, he made his way
eastward, and, on the 29th August, off Sanjan, north of Bombay, he took
the _Mary_ brigantine, a small native vessel from Surat. This was Kidd's
first capture on the high seas. Thomas Parker, the master of the _Mary_,
was forced on board the _Adventure_ to act as pilot, a Portuguese was
taken to act as interpreter, and the lascars of the _Mary_ beaten and
ill-treated. A week later he put into Carwar for provisions, flying
English colours; but his character was already known. The Sunda Rajah and
the factory stood on their guard while he was in harbour. Harvey, the
chief of the factory, demanded the surrender of Parker, but Kidd vowed he
knew nothing about him. Eight of his crew deserted, and told their story.
They had no desire for the piratical life into which they had been
trepanned, and reported that many more of the crew would leave him if they
could get the chance. While off Carwar he careened the _Adventure_ on a
small islet in the harbour, which was long known as Kidd's island. A month
later he was off Calicut, where his ever-recurring trouble about supplies
is shown in the following letter to the factory:--

"Adventure Gally, October y'e 4't, 1697.

"S'r,

    "I can't but admire y't y'r People is so fearfull to come near us for
    I have used all possible means to let them understand y't I am an
    Englishman and a ff'rd not offering to molest any of their Cannoes so
    think it convenient to write this y't you may understand whome I am
    which (I) hope may end all Suspition. I come from England about 15 mos.
    agone with y'e King's Commission to take all Pyrates in these seas,
    and from Carwar came ab't a month agone, so do believe y't (you) have
    heard whome I am before y't and all I come for here is wood and water
    wh'h if you will be pleas'd to order me shall honestly satisfie for y'e
    same or any thing that they'l bring off which is all from him who
    will be very ready to serve you in what lyeth in my Power.

"WILLIAM KIDD."

They knew who he was only too well, so he sailed for the Laccadives,
whence news was soon received of his barbarous treatment of the natives,
and that he had killed his quartermaster.[2] The letter is characteristic
of Kidd's methods. From his first entrance into the Indian seas his
conduct had aroused suspicion. Owing to the large amount of coasting trade
and the frequent necessity of calling at many places for water, the news
of the sea spread from port to port with great rapidity. At the moment of
his writing this letter he had the master of the _Mary_ a prisoner under
hatches, and the factory chiefs of Carwar and Calicut were well aware of
it; but to the end he believed that he could throw dust in the eyes of the
Company's officials by making play with the royal commission.

While he was on the coast, Kidd was chased by two Portuguese armed vessels,
a grab and a sloop. The grab was a poor sailer, and Kidd had no difficulty
in eluding it; but the sloop, a better sailer, allowed itself to be drawn
on in chase, till Kidd, shortening sail, was able to give it several
broadsides, which reduced it to a total wreck; after which he showed a
clean pair of heels. At Kidd's trial it was stated he had ten men wounded
in this business.

In April (1698) the _Sedgwick_, arriving at Fort St. David, reported that
on its way from Anjengo it had been chased for three days and nights by
Kidd, but had been saved by a stiff breeze springing up. On its return
voyage the _Sedgwick_ was less fortunate, being captured off Cape Comorin
by Chivers, a Dutchman, in the _Soldado_, otherwise known as the
_Algerine_, of two hundred and fifty tons and carrying twenty-eight guns.
The cargo of the _Sedgwick_ not being to Chivers' liking, and being put
into good humour with sundry bowls of punch, he let the _Sedgwick_ go,
taking out of her only sails and cordage.

The year 1698 saw the Company's trade almost extinguished owing to the
depredations of the sea rovers and the hostility aroused against Europeans.
Every letter brought accounts of the pirates and the losses occasioned by
them. In small squadrons they swept the coast from Madras to the mouths of
the Indus, and haunted the sea from Cape Comorin to the Straits of Malacca.
In July, the Company's ship _Dorrill_, bound for China, was attacked in
the Straits of Malacca by the _Resolution_, late _Mocha_, commanded by
Culliford, and, after a hot engagement of three hours, made the pirate
sheer off, with heavy losses on both sides. Bowen in the _Speedy Return_,
for the taking of which Green was, with doubtful justice, hanged, Chivers
in the _Soldado_, North in the _Pelican_, Halsey, Williams, White, and
many others of less fame, were plundering and burning everywhere with
impunity. Early in the year, Kidd captured the _Quedah Merchant_ a country
ship bound from Bengal to Surat, belonging to some Armenian merchants who
were on board. The captain was an Englishman named Wright; the gunner was
a Frenchman, and there were two Dutchmen. This was the best prize made by
Kidd, and yielded some £10,000 or £12,000, which was at once divided among
the crew of the _Adventure_, Kidd's forty shares being one-fourth of the
whole. Able seamen got one share; landsmen and servants a half-share only.
The Surat factory was filled with alarm, not without good reason. In vain
Sir John Gayer wrote to the Governor, and sent an agent to the Emperor to
disclaim responsibility. In August came an imperial order directing that
the English, French, and Dutch should be held responsible for all losses,
and that for the _Quedah Merchant_ alone the English should pay two lakhs
of rupees. Guards were placed on the factories; all communication with
them was forbidden; their Mahommedan servants left them, and their
creditors were made to give an account to the Governor of all debts owing
by Europeans. The Dutch and French tried to exonerate themselves by laying
all the blame on the English, but the Governor refused to make any
distinction, and called on the three nations to pay fourteen lakhs of
rupees as a compensation for the losses occasioned by piracy. Sir John
Gayer was a man of action. Like Macrae, to be mentioned later in these
pages, he had first brought himself into notice as a sea-captain, and as
Governor of Bombay had upheld the Company's interests for four years, in
circumstances of no ordinary difficulty. The time for some decided action
had arrived if the Company's trade was to continue. On receiving
intelligence of these occurrences, he appeared off Surat with three armed
ships, and sent word to the Governor that he would neither pay any portion
of the fourteen lakhs, nor give security. At the same time he intimated
that he was ready to furnish convoys for the Mocha ships, as he had
already done, and, in proof of good will in acting against the pirates,
pointed out that, now the war in Europe was at an end, a royal squadron
was on its way to the Indian seas to extirpate them. The European traders
on the west coast had always been so submissive to the Emperor's authority
that this unexpected display of vigour astonished the Governor: he
moderated his tone. The Dutch declared they would abandon the Surat trade
rather than pay; so the Governor consented to make no demand for past
losses, if the English would engage to make good all future losses by
piracy. This was also refused. Finally, the English, French, and Dutch
agreed to act in concert to suppress piracy, and signed bonds by which
they jointly engaged to make good all future losses.

Onerous as these terms were, the agreement came not a moment too soon. The
news of it reached Aurungzeeb just in time to procure the reversal of an
order he had issued, putting a final stop to all European trade in his
dominions. He told the Surat Governor to settle the matter in his own way.
In pursuance of the agreement, the Dutch convoyed the Mecca pilgrims and
patrolled the entrance to the Red Sea, besides making a payment of
Rs.70,000 to the Governor; the English paid Rs.30,000 and patrolled the
South Indian seas; while the French made a similar payment and policed the
Persian Gulf.

An experience of the _Benjamin_ yacht at this time showed that pirates
were not prone to wanton mischief, where there was no plunder to be gained.
In November, the yacht lay at Honore, taking in a cargo of pepper, when
the well-known pirate ships _Pelican_, _Soldado_, and _Resolution_ came
into harbour for provisions. Seeing the Bombay Governor's yacht, they
naturally concluded that some attempt would be made to prevent the natives
from supplying their wants. They at once sent word to the master of the
_Benjamin_ that they had no intention of molesting him, unless he hindered
them in getting provisions, in which case they would sink him. The master
of the yacht was only too glad to be left alone; the pirates got their
provisions, and, in recognition of his behaviour, presented him with a
recently captured Portuguese ship. Sir John Gayer, in much fear lest he
should be accused of being in league with the pirates, quickly made it
over to the Portuguese authorities.

When the intelligence of Kidd's piracies reached England, there was a
storm of indignation in the country. Party feeling was running high and
with unusual violence. The majority in the House of Commons desired the
ruin of Somers and Orford while aiming at the King. The charge of abetment
in Kidd's misdeeds was too useful a weapon to be neglected, so it was
added to the list of accusations against them. It must be admitted that
the circumstances of the Lord Chancellor, the head of the Admiralty, and
other prominent men using their influence to forward a venture from which
they were to profit, under fictitious names, and that had created such a
scandal, demanded inquiry. It was hardly sufficient to say that they had
lost their money. Such an answer would justify any illegal enterprise in
the event of its failure.

The French war had come to an end, so in January, 1699, a royal squadron
of four men-of-war, the _Anglesea_, _Harwich_, _Hastings_, and _Lizard_,
sailed from Portsmouth for Madagascar under Warren.[3] They carried with
them four royal commissioners and a proclamation offering a free pardon,
from which Every and Kidd were excepted, to all pirates who voluntarily
surrendered themselves before the end of April, 1699. The pardon related
only to acts of piracy committed east of the Cape of Good Hope, between
the African and Indian coasts. After calling at St. Augustine's bay, where
several pirates made their submission, the squadron reached Tellicherry in
November. As it came to its anchorage, Warren died, and was buried on
shore the following day. He was succeeded in the command by Littleton. In
the following May, Littleton was on the Madagascar coast, where he
remained till the end of the year before returning home. During the whole
time he was in communication with the pirates. His dealings with them
brought him into disrepute in shipping circles. Hamilton tells us that
"for _some valuable reasons_ he let them go again; and because they found a
difficulty in cleaning the bottoms of their large ships, he generously
assisted them with large blocks and tackle falls for careening them."
Possibly Hamilton's remark was due to the conduct of Captain White of the
_Hastings_, whose behaviour excited such suspicion that Littleton placed
him under arrest, fearing he would make his ship over to the pirates.
Littleton remained on the Madagascar coast for eight months without firing
a shot. When he first reached St. Mary's, the pirates greeted him with a
salute of nine guns, to which he responded with five, and he was in close
and daily communication with them. Whether any pirates made their
submission to him does not appear; but it is probable that his presence
strengthened the resolution to obtain pardon of those who had previously
engaged themselves to Warren; among them Culliford and Chivers. The fact
is that piracy was looked upon then more leniently than we should now
regard it. Plundering and ill-treating Asiatics was a venial offence, and
many a seaman after a cruise with the pirates returned to his calling on
board an honest merchantman, without being thought much the worse for it.

Among all the naval officers sent to the Indian seas at that time, Warren
appears to have been the only one who really tried to protect the Company's
interests. Littleton quarrelled with Sir Nicholas Waite, and had
questionable dealings with the Madagascar pirates. Richards and Harland
quarrelled with Sir John Gayer, and crippled the Company's ships by
forcibly pressing their sailors to fill up their own crews; while Matthews
exceeded them all in outrageous behaviour, as will be recounted in its
place.

After capturing the _Quedah Merchant_, Kidd shaped his course for
Madagascar, where he found Culliford in the _Resolution_, who at first
treated him with suspicion, hearing that he had a commission to capture
pirates. But Kidd soon reassured him over sundry cups of bombo, protesting
with many oaths that 'his soul should fry in hell' sooner than that he
should hurt a hair of one of Culliford's crew; and, as a proof of good
will, presented him with two guns and an anchor. Then, finding the
_Adventure_ had become unseaworthy, he abandoned her, and sailed for New
England in the _Quedah Merchant_. In June, 1799, he reached Boston.

Before his arrival, he heard he had been proclaimed a pirate, so he
deputed a friend to approach Lord Bellamont on his behalf. The _Quedah
Merchant_ was disposed of, and his plunder placed in a safe place. By
assurance, and by a valuable present to Lady Bellamont, he thought he
could face matters out. Bellamont appears to have been puzzled at first
how to treat him. He was unwilling to believe all that was said. At the
end of three weeks he made up his mind and arrested Kidd. For eight months
he lay in Boston gaol, and was then sent to London for trial, remaining in
Newgate for more than a year. Eleven of his crew were also arrested, two
of them being admitted as King's witnesses.

In the interval the storm against the Whig ministers had gathered strength,
and articles of impeachment against Somers, Orford, and others were being
prepared by the House of Commons. On the 27th March, 1701, Kidd was
brought to the House to be examined, but he said nothing to inculpate any
of the owners of the _Adventure_, so a resolution was passed that he
should be proceeded against according to law.

On the 8th and 9th May he was brought up for trial at the Old Bailey. The
first indictment against him was for the murder of Moore, the gunner of
the _Adventure_. There had been a quarrel in which Moore accused Kidd of
having ruined them all, on which Kidd called him a 'lousy dog'; to which
Moore replied in a rage, that if he was a dog it was Kidd who had made him
one. At this Kidd hurled a bucket at him and fractured his skull. The jury
found him guilty. He was then tried, together with nine of his crew, for
the taking of the _Quedah Merchant_. His line of defence was that it was
sailing under a French pass, and therefore a lawful prize, but he evaded
actually saying so. He declared that Lord Bellamont had some French passes
of ships he had taken, but would not produce them. That Kidd had captured
some ships under French passes, and that the passes were in Bellamont's
hands, is extremely probable; but it is incredible that a French pass for
the _Quedah Merchant_ was in Bellamont's hands, and that he held it back.
He had been accused of complicity in Kidd's piracies, and threatened with
impeachment. Every consideration of private and political interest alike
prompted him to clear himself of the charge, and confound those who
accused the leading men of his party as well as himself.

Kidd tried to get the witnesses, some of them favourable to him, to say
they had seen the French pass, but all they could say was that they had
heard him declare there was one. The adverse witnesses deposed that he had
feigned to believe that the French gunner of the _Quedah Merchant_ was the
captain, though they all knew he was not. When asked, "Captain Kidd, can
you make it appear there was a French pass aboard the _Quedah Merchant_?"
he replied, "My lord, these men say they heard several say so." One of the
Armenian owners was in court, but he did not examine him; nor could he say
why he had not had the ship properly condemned, like the French ship taken
between Plymouth and New York. His only reply was that he was not at the
sharing of the goods, and knew nothing of it. For his attack on the Mocha
fleet he offered no explanation.

He was found guilty, and was then tried for the captures of a Moorish ship
(Parker's), a Moorish ketch, and a Portuguese ship. Culliford and two
others were next tried for taking a ship called the _Great Mahomet_. Three
of Kidd's crew were acquitted, the rest of the prisoners were found guilty,
and sentenced to be hanged. Culliford was respited, having made his
submission to Warren. Three of Kidd's crew had hard measure dealt to them.
They had made their submission under the King's proclamation, but not to
one of the commissioners appointed for the purpose, so their submission
went for nothing. On the 12th May, Kidd, with six of his crew and two of
Culliford's, was hanged at Execution Dock, the common place of execution
for pirates.

It is impossible to follow Kidd's career, and to study his trial, without
coming to the conclusion that he deserved his fate. There is no sign that
he was sacrificed to political expediency. Directly the House of Commons
failed to bring home the responsibility for Kidd's piracies to the leaders
of the Whig party, he ceased to be of any importance for political
purposes. The charge of complicity with him was only one of ten charges
against Orford, one of fourteen against Somers. The court is said to have
dealt hardly with him, but courts of justice were not very tender to any
criminals in those days, and the jury did not hesitate to acquit three of
those tried with him. Criminals were not allowed the aid of counsel,
except on a point of law. Kidd did raise a legal point, and was allowed
the aid of a counsel to argue it. His intention was clear from the day he
left New York. The four pirates named in his commission were then on the
American coast; he made no effort to look for them, but steered at once
for the Cape. If he could not control his crew, he could have invoked
Warren's help; instead of which he stole away in the night. His threats to
the _Sidney_ at Johanna, his attack, after three weeks' waiting, on the
Mocha fleet, his detention of Parker, to say nothing of his dealings with
Culliford, can only be interpreted in one way. During his whole cruise he
never put into Surat, Bombay, or Goa, but cruised like any other pirate.

The legend of his buried treasure has survived to our own day, owing to
the fact that he had buried some of his booty before putting himself in
Bellamont's hands; but the record of his trial shows that, beyond what was
obtained from the _Quedah Merchant_, his plunder consisted mostly of
merchandise. That some of his ill-gotten gains were recovered at the time
seems clear from an Act of Parliament passed in 1705, enabling the Crown
to "dispose of the effects of William Kidd, a notorious pirate, to the use
of Greenwich Hospital"; which institution received accordingly 6472-1.

The scandal caused by Kidd's piratical doings under a commission from the
Crown, the political use made of it in Parliament, and the legend of a
vast hoard of buried treasure, have conferred on him a celebrity not
justified by his exploits. As he appears in the Company's records, he
showed none of the picturesque daredevilry that distinguished many of the
sea rovers whose names are less known. No desperate adventure or
hard-fought action stand to his credit. Wherever we get a glimpse of his
character it shows nothing but mean, calculating cunning; and to the end
he posed as the simple, innocent man who was shamefully misjudged. His
crew were always discontented and ready to desert. He had none of the
lavish open-handedness that made the fraternity welcome in so many ports.
Every, Teach, England, and a dozen others in his place, would have thrown
the commission to the winds, and sailed the seas under the red flag. Kidd's
ruling idea appears to have been that he could hoodwink the world as to
his doings under cover of his commission: so that when he heard of the
charges against him he believed he could disarm his accusers by sheer
impudence. At his trial he attempted to lay all the blame on his crew, and
vowed he was 'the innocentest person of them all,' and all the witnesses
were perjured. Whatever touch of misdirected heroism was to be found in
any pirate, it was certainly not to be found in Kidd. He was altogether a
contemptible rascal, and had no claims to be a popular hero.

Though Littleton's squadron captured no pirate ships, its presence till
the autumn of 1700 had a salutary effect.[4] Some made their submission,
and the number who continued to ply their trade was greatly reduced. Many
of them were glad to leave a calling that had now become hazardous, in
which they had been unwillingly forced to join, while the renewal of the
war in Europe furnished a more legitimate outlet for the most turbulent
spirits, in the shape of privateering.

North, after making his submission to Littleton, thought better of it,
seeing the date of grace had expired, and refused to leave Madagascar.
There he remained for several years, fighting and subduing the natives
round St. Mary's, till he was finally killed by them. His comrades
'continued the war' for seven years till they had completely subdued the
country round.

On the 18th December, 1699, the _Loyal Merchant_, Captain Lowth, East
Indiaman, lying in Table Bay, saw a small vessel of sixty tons enter the
harbour under English colours. This proved to be the _Margaret_ of New
York. Lowth's suspicions being awakened, he sent for the captain and some
of the crew, who 'confessed the whole matter,' and were promptly put in
irons. The _Margaret_ was seized, in spite of Dutch protests. Two days
later came in the _Vine_, pink, from St. Mary's, with a number of
'passengers' on board. These were pirates on their way to New England, to
make their submission, among them Chivers and Culliford. Lowth would have
seized them also, but the Dutch interfered, and the behaviour of the Dutch
admiral became so threatening that Lowth cut short his stay and made sail
for Bombay, which he reached safely, taking with him the _Margaret_ and
eighteen prisoners. On reaching England, Culliford was tried and condemned,
but respited, as has already been mentioned.

While Kidd lay in Newgate awaiting trial, an Act was passed for the more
effectual suppression of piracy. Experience had shown that it was useless
to issue proclamations against individuals, but that some new machinery
must be created to deal with the gigantic evil that threatened to become
chronic. Under a former Act, passed in the reign of Henry VIII., the Lord
High Admiral, or his Lieutenant, or his Commissary, had been empowered to
try pirates; but the procedure had long fallen into abeyance. It had been
found almost impossible to bring offenders in distant seas to justice, to
say nothing of the cost and trouble of bringing them to England for trial.
Now it was enacted that courts of seven persons might be formed for the
trial of pirates at any place at sea or upon land, in any of his Majesty's
islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories. It was
necessary that at least one of the seven should be the chief of an English
factory, the governor or a member of council in a plantation or colony, or
the commander of a King's ship. These courts had powers of capital
punishment, and also had power to treat all persons who gave assistance or
countenance to pirates as accessories, and liable to the same punishments
as pirates. The Act was to be in force for seven years only. In 1706 it
was renewed for seven years, and in 1714 again for five years.

The amnesty granted to some pirates, the hanging of others,[5] and the new
Act of Parliament, caused a great abatement of the evil. The Madagascar
settlements still flourished, but for a time European trade was free from
attack. Littleton's squadron had gone home, and was replaced by two royal
ships, the _Severn_ and the _Scarborough_, which effected nothing against
the pirates, but served by their presence to keep them quiet.

The _Severn_ and _Scarborough_ sailed from England in May, 1703, under
Commodore Richards, who died at Johanna in the following March. The
command was then taken by Captain Harland, who visited Madagascar and
Mauritius, where two men were arrested, who afterwards made their escape
at Mohilla. The two ships returned to England in October, 1705.

Hamilton tells us how a

    "Scots ship commanded by one Millar did the public more service in
    destroying them, than all the chargeable squadrons that have been sent
    in quest of them; for, with a cargo of strong ale and brandy, which he
    carried to sell them, in anno 1704, he killed above 500 of them by
    carousing, although they took his ship and cargo as a present from him,
    and his men entered, most of them into the society of the pirates."


[1] This was probably a village near Ras Mabber, about one hundred and
    sixty-five miles south of Cape Guardafui.

[2] In ships of this class the quartermaster was next in importance to the
    captain or master. The incident refers to the death of Moore, the
    gunner of the _Adventure_, who was killed by Kidd in a fit of anger
    for saying that Kidd had ruined them all. The killing of Moore was one
    of the indictments against Kidd at his trial.

[3] Warren had returned from his first cruise in the autumn of 1697.

[4] One small Arab vessel that rashly attacked the _Harwich_, mistaking it
    for a merchant vessel, was disposed of with a broadside.

[5] Twenty were condemned and hung in one batch, in June, 1700; one of the
    _Mocha_ mutineers among them. This was probably Guillam, to whom Kidd
    had given a passage to America from Madagascar, and was supposed to
    have been the man who stabbed Captain Edgecombe.



CHAPTER III

_THE RISE OF CONAJEE ANGRIA_

Native piracy hereditary on the Malabar coast--Marco Polo's
account--Fryer's narrative--The Kempsant--Arab and Sanganian
pirates--Attack on the _President_--Loss of the _Josiah_--Attack on the
 _Phoenix_--The _Thomas_ captured--Depredations of the Gulf
pirates--Directors' views--Conajee Angria--Attacks English ships--Destroys
the _Bombay_--Fortifies Kennery--Becomes independent--Captures the
Governor's yacht--Attacks the _Somers_ and _Grantham_--Makes peace with
Bombay--His navy--Great increase of European and native piracy.


Europeans were not the only offenders. The Delhi Emperor, who claimed
universal dominion on land, made no pretension to authority at sea. So
long as the Mocha fleet did not suffer, merchants were left to take care
of themselves. There was no policing of the sea, and every trader had to
rely on his own efforts for protection. The people of the Malabar coast
were left to pursue their hereditary vocation of piracy unmolested. The
Greek author of the "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea," who wrote in the
first century of our era, mentions the pirates infesting the coast between
Bombay and Goa. Two hundred years before Vasco da Gama had shown the way
to India by sea, Marco Polo had told Europe of the Malabar pirates.

    "And you must know that from this Kingdom of Melibar, and from,
    another near it called Gozurat, there go forth every year more than a
    hundred corsair vessels on cruize. These pirates take with them their
    wives and children, and stay out the whole summer. Their method is to
    join in fleets of 20 or 30 of these pirate vessels together, and then
    they form what they call a sea cordon, that is, they drop off till
    there is an interval of 5 or 6 miles between ship and ship, so that
    they cover something like a hundred miles of sea, and no merchant ship
    can escape them. For when any one corsair sights a vessel a signal is
    made by fire or smoke, and then the whole of them make for this, and
    seize the merchants and plunder them. After they have plundered they
    let them go, saying, 'Go along with you and get more gain, and that
    mayhap will fall to us also!' But now the merchants are aware of this,
    and go so well manned and armed, and with such great ships, that they
    don't fear the corsairs. Still mishaps do befal them at times."[1]

    From the Persian Gulf to Cape Comorin the whole coast was beset by
    native pirates, and, with the rise of the Mahratta power, the evil
    increased. Petty chiefs sometimes levied blackmail by giving passports
    to those who would pay for them, claiming the right to plunder all
    ships that did not carry their passes; but often the formality was
    dispensed with. Owing to the paucity of records of the early days, and
    the more serious hostility of the Portuguese and Dutch, we hear little
    of the losses sustained from native pirates, except when some ship
    with a more valuable cargo than usual was captured. Fryer tells us how,
    in his day, a rock off Mangalore was known as Sacrifice Island, "in
    remembrance of a bloody butchery on some English by the pirate
    Malabars." He further tells us how, in 1674, between Goa and Vingorla,
    he took part in an attack on a pirate ship that they came on as it was
    plundering a prize it had just taken, while the Dutch watched the
    engagement from the shore.

    "We soon made him yield his prize to engage with us, which they did
    briskly for two hours, striving to board us, casting stink-pots among
    us, which broke without any execution, but so frightened our rowers,
    that we were forced to be severe to restrain them. They plied their
    chambers and small shot, and slung stones, flourishing their targets
    and darting long lances. They were well manned in a boat ten times as
    big as our barge, and at least sixty fighting men besides rowers. We
    had none to manage our small gun," the gunner having deserted at Goa.

However, the pirates were beaten off, and Fryer and his companions were
mightily praised by the Dutch. These pirates hailed probably from Vingorla,
where the Sawunt Waree chief, known in those days as the 'Kempsant,'[2]
carried on a brisk piratical trade. The name was a corruption of Khem
Sawunt, a common name of the Vingorla chiefs; the Portuguese changed it
into Quemar Santo, 'the saint burner,' on account of his sacrilegious
treatment of their churches.

There were no more determined pirates than the Arabs of Muscat and the
Sanganians of Beyt and Dwarka, who, between them, intercepted the trade of
the Persian Gulf, while the Coolee rovers of Guzarat took their toll of
the plunder. In 1683 the Company's ship _President_ was attacked by the
Muscat Arabs with two ships and four grabs, and fought a gallant action.
The grabs[3] were generally two-masted ships, from one hundred and fifty
to three hundred tons burden, built to draw very little water, and
excellent sailers, especially in the light winds prevalent on the Western
coast. They had no bowsprit, but the main-deck was continued into a long
overhanging prow. The favourite mode of using them was for two or three of
them to run aboard their victim at the same time, and attack, sword in
hand, along the prow. Being built for fighting, and not for trade, they
could sail round the clumsy merchantmen that hailed from the Thames, and,
if pressed, could find safety in the shallow bays and mouths of rivers
along the coast. Three grabs grappled the _President_ at once, but the
boarders were beaten back, and all three were blown up and sunk, on which
the rest of the squadron made off. The _President_ was set on fire in
sixteen places, and lost eleven men killed and thirty-three wounded.

In the following year the _Josiah_ ketch was attacked by the Sanganians
while at anchor, and in the heat of the engagement blew up. A few of the
crew saved themselves in a skiff, but the greater number perished, among
them the commander, Lieutenant Pitts, whose father was known in Bombay as
'the drunken lieutenant.'

In September, 1685, the _Phoenix_, a British man-of-war that had been sent
for a two-years' cruise in Indian waters, was attacked by a Sanganian
vessel that mistook her for a merchantman. It was almost a calm, and
Captain Tyrrell hoisted out his boats to capture the Sanganian ship, but
they were beaten off, so he sunk her with a couple of broadsides.
Forty-one of the pirates were picked up, but many of them refused quarter,
and one hundred and seven were killed or drowned. The _Phoenix_ had three
men killed, one wounded, and two drowned. According to Hamilton, Sir George
Byng, the first lieutenant, was dangerously wounded; but the log of the
_Phoenix_ is silent on that point, though it gives the names of the
casualties.

Three years later, the _Thomas_, Captain Lavender, was less fortunate.
Attacked by four Beyt ships, after a brave resistance, the _Thomas_ took
fire, and all on board perished.

Their depredations were not confined to the sea. In 1697 some Beyt pirates
landed and plundered a village within sight of Broach.

But the losses occasioned by native pirates were at first nearly lost
sight of in the more serious losses occasioned by European corsairs.

    "As for those Sanganians and those Mallabars and professed pirates,"
    wrote the Directors in 1699, "we see no cause why you should not wage
    an offensive as well as a defensive war against them when they fall in
    your way: but it is hardly worth the while to keep small vessels to
    look after them, for they are poor rogues and nothing to be got of
    them to answer any charge."

In 1707, the year of Aurungzeeb's death, the pirates of the Persian Gulf
made a great haul of plunder. A squadron of them made their way to the Red
Sea, waylaid the Mocha fleet, and returned home laden with booty. In the
following year, a squadron of fourteen Arab ships from the Gulf, carrying
from thirty to fifty guns, and with seven thousand men on board, appeared
on the Malabar coast and surprised Honore, Mangalore, and Balasore(?); but
the people, having lately been plundered by the Seedee, were ready with
their arms, and beat them off with the loss of four or five hundred men.

    "The Arab insolencies are often in the thoughts of the Court," wrote
    the London directors, "but the Court fears they shall not be able to
    do anything effectually to check their growing strength during the
    present war, which finds employment for all our naval force. Further,
    the Court sympathizes with Madras on their severe losses by the
    pirates, which puts a damp on the Company's trade, and affects their
    revenues."

Annoying as were the losses that were suffered from the chronic
depredations of the Arabs and Sanganians, they sank into insignificance
when compared with the troubles experienced on the rise to power of
Conajee (Kanhojee) Angria. The growth of the Mahratta power under Sivajee
had been accompanied by the formation of a formidable fleet which harried
the coast of the Concan, and against which the Seedee chief, the Emperor's
representative afloat, could hardly maintain himself. In 1698 Conajee
Angria succeeded to the command of the Mahratta navy, with the title of
Darya-Sáranga. In the name of the Satara chief he was master of the whole
coast from Bombay to Vingorla, with the exception of the Seedee's
territory. Defenceless towns as far south as Travancore were attacked and
plundered, while, at sea, vessels of native merchants were preyed upon.
For a time he seems not to have meddled with the Company's vessels; as the
size of his ships increased, he grew bolder, and, in 1702, his doings
began to excite apprehension. In that year he was addressed to release a
small trading vessel from Calicut with six Englishmen on board that had
been seized and carried into one of his harbours. What had roused his
anger against the English does not appear, but a month later we find him
sending word to Bombay that he would give the English cause to remember
the name of Conajee Angria, a threat that he carried out only too well.
Two years later we find him described as a 'Rebel Independent of the Rajah
Sivajee,' and Mr. Reynolds was deputed to find him and tell him that he
could not be permitted searching, molesting, or seizing vessels in Bombay
waters: to which he returned a defiant answer, that he had done many
benefits to the English, who had broken faith with him, and henceforth he
would seize their vessels wherever he could find them. In 1707 his ships
attacked the _Bombay_ frigate, which was blown up after a brief engagement,
and for the next half-century Angrian piracy was a scourge to the European
trade of the West coast. In 1710 Conajee Angria seized and fortified
Kennery, and his ships fought the _Godolphin_ for two days, within sight
of Bombay, but were finally beaten off. He had now grown so powerful that,
in 1711, the Directors were told he could take any ship except the largest
Europe ones; "along the coast from Surat to Dabul he takes all private
merchant vessels he meets."

Owing to the minority and imprisonment of Sivajee's grandson, Sahoojee,[4]
the Mahrattas were torn by internal divisions, in which Conajee Angria
played his part. On the death of Aurungzeeb, Sahoojee regained his liberty,
and was seated on the guddee of Satara. Owing to his want of hardihood,
and weakness of character, the dissensions continued, and Sivajee's
kingdom seemed to be on the point of breaking up into a number of
independent chiefships. Among those aiming at independence was Conajee
Angria. In 1713, an army sent against him under the Peishwa, Bhyroo Punt,
was defeated, and Bhyroo Punt taken prisoner. It was reported that Conajee
was preparing to march on Satara. Ballajee Rao, who afterwards became
Peishwa, was placed at the head of such troops as could hastily be
collected together, and opened negotiations with Conajee. An accommodation
was arrived at, by which Conajee agreed to acknowledge allegiance to
Satara, in return for which he was confirmed in command of the fleet, with
the title of Surkheil, and granted twenty-six forts and fortified places
with their dependent villages.[5] The first result of this treaty was a
war with the Seedee, who had enjoyed some of the places in question for a
number of years. Conajee was supported by the Satara arms, and the Seedee
was forced to submit to the loss. To all intents and purposes, Conajee was
now an independent chief. He was the recognized master of a strip of
territory between the sea and the western ghauts, extending from Bombay
harbour to Vingorla, excluding the Seedee's territories, a tract, roughly
speaking, about two hundred and forty miles in length by forty miles in
breadth. With his harbours strongly fortified, while the western ghauts
made his territories difficult of access by land, he was in a position to
bid defiance to all enemies. Moreover, he was the recognized chief of the
hardy coast population of hereditary seamen, who to this day furnish the
best lascars to our Indian marine.

Angria's exploits on land had not interfered with his interests at sea. In
November, 1712, he captured the Governor of Bombay's armed yacht, together
with the _Anne_ ketch from Carwar.[6] In the engagement, Mr. Chown, chief
of the Carwar factory, was killed, and his young wife, a widow for the
second time at the age of eighteen, became Angria's prisoner. A month
later, the _Somers_ and _Grantham_, East Indiamen, on their voyage from
England to Bombay, were attacked by a grab and a gallivat belonging to
Angria, off the coast north of Goa. Owing to there being a calm at the
time, the East Indiamen were unable to bring their guns to bear: "for
which reason and by y'e earnest intercession of y'e whole ship's company
to y'e captain" the boats of the _Somers_ and _Grantham_ were hoisted out,
and an attempt was made to board the pirates. The attack was beaten off
with the loss of four men killed and seventeen wounded; but the pirates
found the entertainment so little to their liking that they made off.

On hearing of the capture of the Governor's yacht, the Portuguese wrote to
propose a joint attack on Angria. A few months before, he had captured the
greater part of a Portuguese 'armado,' and disabled a thirty-gun man-of-war
that was convoying it. Governor Aislabie declined the Portuguese offer,
but it had the effect of bringing Angria to terms. Thinking it politic to
make peace with the English, while his affairs with the Rajah of Satara
were still unsettled, he sent a messenger to Bombay, offering to deliver
up all vessels, goods, and captives taken from the Company, if an
Englishman of credit was sent to him to settle on terms of peace for the
future. Aislabie demanded that in future English ships should be free from
molestation; that no ships of any nation coming into Bombay should be
interfered with between Mahim and Kennery; that English merchants should
have liberty of trade in Angria's ports, on payment of the usual dues; and
that Angria should be responsible for any damage done in future by the
ships belonging to his Mahratta superiors. In return, the Governor engaged
to give passes only to ships belonging to merchants recognized by the
Company, and to allow Angria's people full trading facilities in Bombay,
on the usual dues being paid. To these terms Angria agreed, but failed to
get the Governor's consent to additional terms of an egregious nature;
that he should be supplied by the Company with powder and shot on payment;
that a place should be assigned to him to make powder in; that if pressed
by his enemies, he should be assisted by the Company; that merchant ships
should not be convoyed in or out of Bombay harbour.

There remained the duty of sending him 'an Englishman of credit' to
'deliver him the articles.' The Council, 'knowing him to be a man of ill
principles,' thought it improper to order any man on such a risky service,
but Lieutenant Mackintosh, in consideration of a gratuity of one thousand
rupees, undertook to go, and departed for Colaba, with Rs.30,000 as
ransom for the European prisoners, the convention sealed with the Council's
seal, and ships to bring back the restored goods.

And so for a time there was security from Angria's attacks, but, with his
hands free on the Satara side, and in a more secure position than ever, it
was not likely that the peace would be of long continuance. With a fleet
of armed vessels carrying thirty and forty guns apiece, with Kennery
island in his possession within sight of Bombay harbour, Angria and his
successors continued to be a menace to the existence of Bombay, while the
Angrian territory became the Alsatia of the Indian seas, where desperadoes
of all nationalities were made welcome.

The next few years saw an enormous increase of piracy in the Indian seas.
Angria was practically secure in his fastnesses along the coast, and
plundered every ship not strong enough to defend itself. His finest
vessels were commanded by Europeans, generally Dutch. The signing of the
Peace of Utrecht brought a fresh swarm of European adventurers to reap the
harvest of the seas. The privateersmen, disregarding the peace, under
pretence of making war on France and Spain, plundered ships of all nations.
Conden,[7] White, England, Taylor, and many others, made Madagascar their
headquarters, and emulated the feats of Every and Kidd. The Beyt pirates
were as mischievous as ever, while the Muscat Arabs could muster, in 1715,
a ship of seventy-four guns, two of sixty, one of fifty, eighteen carrying
thirty-two to twelve guns each, and a host of smaller vessels carrying
never less than four guns. The Company was forced to rely on its own
exertions, as there was not a single King's ship in Indian waters. The few
armed vessels belonging to Bombay convoyed the more valuable vessels along
the coast. The larger ships, that made the ocean voyage between India and
Europe, sailed in company for mutual protection.


[1] Yule's "Marco Polo."

[2] The 'Kempason' and 'King Kemshew' of Downing.

[3] From the Arabic _ghorab_, 'a raven.'

[4] Known in the English annals of the time as the Sow Rajah, and the
    South Rajah.

[5] The principal forts were Kennery, Colaba, Severndroog, Viziadroog or
    Gheriah, Jyeghur, Deoghur, Manikdroog, Futtehghur, Oochitghur; and
    Yeswuntdroog.

[6] See page 264.

[7] The name of this pirate is also given as Congdon and Condent.



CHAPTER IV

_AN ACTIVE GOVERNOR_

Arrival of Mr. Boone as Governor--He builds ships and improves defences of
Bombay--Desperate engagement of _Morning Star_ with Sanganians--Alexander
Hamilton--Expedition against Vingorla--Its failure--Hamilton made
Commodore--Expedition against Carwar--Landing force defeated--Successful
skirmish--Desertion of Goa recruits--Reinforcements--Landing force again
defeated--The Rajah makes peace--Hamilton resigns Commodoreship--A
noseless company--Angria recommences attacks--Abortive expedition against
Gheriah--Downing's account of it--Preparations to attack Kennery.


On the 26th December, 1715, Bombay was _en fête_. The East Indiamen
_Stanhope_ and _Queen_ had arrived from England, bringing the new Governor,
Mr. Charles Boone, and three new councillors. His predecessor, Mr.
Aislabie, had sailed for England in October. At the landing-place the
new-comers were met by the late council and the principal inhabitants and
merchants of Bombay. Thirty-one pieces of ordnance greeted them with a
salvo, and, as they put foot on shore, three companies of soldiers saluted
them with three volleys of small arms.

Boone was a man of very different stamp from his predecessors. The
quarrels, intrigues, and self-seeking that had been so disastrous a
feature during the tenure of office of Child, Waite, and Gayer were
abhorrent to him. He was a zealous servant of the Company, whose interests
he did his best to promote with the inadequate means at his disposal. In
coming up the coast he had touched at the places where the Company had
factories, and by the time of his arrival in Bombay he had fully realized
that the pirate question demanded serious treatment.

Bombay was then an open town, only the factory being fortified. Soon after
receiving Bombay from the Crown, the Directors had ordered it to be
fortified, but had refused to employ skilled officers, because "we know
that it is natural to engineers to contrive curiosities that are very
expensive." The only protection to the town was such as was afforded by a
number of martello towers along the shore. Nineteen years before Boone's
time the Muscat Arabs had made a descent on Salsette, ravaging, burning,
and plundering as they pleased, killing the Portuguese priests and
carrying off fourteen hundred captives into slavery. Since then the
formidable power of Angria had arisen, but nothing had been done to
improve the defences of the settlement. Boone's first care was to trace
out an enclosing wall, the building of which was to be paid for by
contributions from the native merchants.

At the same time he set to work to build fighting ships. Within a few
months of his arrival, the _Britannia_, eighteen guns, built at Carwar,
the _Fame_, sixteen guns, built at Surat, and the _Revenge_, sixteen guns,
built at Bombay, were flying the Company's flag. It was easier to build
ships than to get sailors to man them, in view of the miserable pay given
by the Company, and the attractions of service under native chiefs. Many
of the crews were foreigners, who were ready enough to take service with
Angria, if the inclination took them, and the bulk of the crews were
Indian lascars. A few months later, the _Victory_, twenty-four guns, was
launched, and two years after his arrival, Boone had at his disposal a
fine fleet consisting of nineteen frigates, grabs, ketches, gallivats, and
rowing galleys, carrying two hundred and twenty guns, besides a bomb
vessel and a fireship. With such a force much ought to have been
accomplished, but throughout his tenure of office Boone's efforts were
crippled by the incompetency and indiscipline of those on whom he depended
to carry out his designs: while the efficiency of the ships was diminished
by their employment to carry cargoes along the coast.

In March, 1717, Bombay was stirred by the arrival of a private ship, the
_Morning Star_, which had escaped the Beyt pirates after a long and severe
encounter. The affair is described by Hamilton; but he modestly conceals
the fact that he was himself in command of the _Morning Star_, of which he
was chief owner. The ship was on its way from Gombroon to Surat, with a
valuable cargo, of which the pirates had intelligence; and two squadrons
were fitted out to waylay her. On the 20th March she was assailed by eight
pirate ships, the largest of which was of five hundred tons, three others
being of nearly three hundred tons each, and the rest galleys and shybars,
or half-galleys. Between them they carried about two thousand men. On
board the _Morning Star_ there were only six Europeans, a number of native
merchants, and about thirty-five or forty lascars, about half of whom were
trustworthy. The first attack was made by the largest of the pirate ships
alone, and was beaten off with loss to the assailants. In the fight,
Hamilton had his thigh pierced through with a lance. For the rest of that
day and the whole of the following no further attack was made; but the
pirates hung around planning another assault. On the 22nd it was delivered.
The two largest pirates ran the _Morning Star_ aboard, one on her bow and
one on her quarter, while three others poured their crews across the decks
of their comrades. For four hours a desperate combat ensued, the six
vessels being locked together. In the heat of the fight the native
merchants went on board the pirates to try and ransom themselves, and were
accompanied by half the lascars who deserted their commander; only the
Europeans and seventeen lascars remained to fight the ship. She caught
fire in three places, the poop and half-deck being burned through. The two
pirate ships likewise caught fire, which caused them to slacken their
efforts. In the confusion Hamilton managed to disengage his ship, and made
sail; the five pirate ships being so entangled together that they were
unable to pursue, and two of them so injured as to be in a sinking
condition. So Hamilton brought off his ship in safety, after as gallant a
feat of arms as was ever performed. Seven of his men were killed, and
about the same number wounded, and finding no surgeon in Surat, he came on
to Bombay. The native merchants who were carried off by the pirates were
made to pay a ransom of £6000, and brought back word that great slaughter
had been done on the pirates, while their Commodore lost his head, on
returning to Beyt, for allowing so rich a prize to escape.

In April, Boone sent down the _Fame_ and the _Britannia_, under Commodore
Weekes, to attack Vingorla. They carried a company of sepoys under Stanton,
one of the Company's military officers. On the way they were joined by the
_Revenge_, and they also had with them ten or twelve gallivats. Weekes
appears to have been timid and incompetent, while the force was altogether
insufficient for the purpose. Several days were spent in trying to find a
landing-place, without success, on the rocky, surf-beaten shore, while the
fortress was bombarded from different points. A violent quarrel occurred
between Weekes and Stanton, and the expedition returned to Bombay. This
was the first, but not the most serious, of Boone's failures. It was
characteristic of all the warlike expeditions he sent out, that while he
was indefatigable in preparing armaments, all other details requisite to
success were left to chance. The Council resolved that Weekes was unfit to
be Commodore, and deposed him. To fill his place the veteran Alexander
Hamilton, whose recent defence of the _Morning Star_ had shown his
fighting capacity, was induced to relinquish his private trade, and made
Commander-in-Chief of all the Company's frigates on a salary of Rs.80 a
month. His ship, the _Morning Star_, was also hired by the Council.

As soon as the monsoon was over, he was required to conduct an expedition
to relieve the Carwar factory, which was beleaguered by the Sunda Rajah.
The chief of the factory at this time was Mr. George Taylor. In the spring
of 1717, a Bombay merchant's ship carrying an English pass and flying
English colours had been seized by the Rajah, who imprisoned the crew.
Demands for their surrender were being made, when, in May, the _Elizabeth_,
belonging to Mr. Strutt, a private merchant at Surat, with £15,000 worth
of treasure on board, went ashore near Carwar. Before more than half the
treasure could be removed in safety to the factory, the Rajah sent down an
armed force to seize the ship as jetsam, imprisoned the captain and crew,
and laid siege to the factory. So Hamilton was sent down with a small
squadron and some troops. Fortunately the factory was exceptionally well
provisioned. On the 30th August, the _Morning Star_, with five gallivats
and a sloop, arrived off Carwar, and blockaded the harbour till the
arrival of Hamilton and the rest of the force on the 12th September. In
command of the land force was Midford, one of the Company's factors. On
the 13th, the troops were landed, under Midford and Stanton, in a heavy
surf which drove the gallivats[1] on shore and upset them, throwing the
whole party into the water. Midford, with some of his men, struggled on
shore, but Stanton was taken out of the water senseless.[2] In the midst
of this scene of confusion they were suddenly charged by the Rajah's
horsemen. Half drowned, undisciplined, and with their ammunition spoiled
by water, they could make only a feeble resistance. Midford and his
English Serjeant, Hill, were desperately wounded and made prisoners,
together with five Europeans and forty-seven topasses, while sixty men
were killed and two gallivats lost. The wretched topasses had their noses
cut off, five European heads were stuck up in derision before the factory,
while Midford and Hill were alternately cajoled and threatened to induce
them to take service with the Rajah.

In consequence of this disaster, the factory sued for peace, but the
Rajah's terms were so humiliating that they were rejected, and it was
decided to await further reinforcements from Bombay; but two months
elapsed before their arrival. Meanwhile, a post of four hundred men was
established on shore to guard the water-supply required for daily use.
This gave rise to a skirmish, which put some heart into the invaders.
Early one morning the post was attacked by the enemy, who found, to their
surprise, that they had come under fire of the guns of some small vessels
Hamilton had anchored close inshore. After an hour's cannonade, they broke
and fled, pursued by the party on shore, who accounted for some two
hundred of them. Encouraged by this success, Stanton continued to harass
the Rajah by small night attacks, and by burning some of his villages,
while at sea they did him more damage by intercepting his ships laden with
salt and other necessaries, and especially three, bringing Arab horses
from Muscat; though the captors were much troubled in providing water and
provender for them. Meanwhile, the factory, which was five or six miles up
the river, on the north bank, continued to be invested, and in order to
prevent any communication with the squadron, a boom was laid across the
river, commanded by a battery on the south side. In spite of this,
communication was kept up through the Portuguese factory, and, more than
once, Lieutenant Forbes contrived to pass in and out in a rowing-boat, but
it was impossible to send in provisions.

About this time we find Hamilton reporting to Bombay--

    "The recruits from Goa had a skirmish at break of day, on 28[th]
    September, with the enemy, wherein they behaved themselves bravely,
    but that on an attempt to burn some villages afterwards, they advised
    the enemy of it, and deserted with some arms and granadoes."

At last the looked-for reinforcements arrived from Bombay, under Captain
Gordon, raising the whole strength of the expedition to 2250 men,
including seamen, and a landing in force was determined on. Two of the
prizes had been equipped as floating batteries, with shot-proof bulwarks,
and were laid ashore to engage the Rajah's batteries. At four o'clock in
the morning of the 16th November, 1250 men were put ashore, under Gordon,
without hindrance from the enemy, who were ready to take to flight before
such a force. Gordon's idea was to advance in a hollow square, which, in
spite of Hamilton's sneer at him as a 'freshwater land officer,' was a
good enough formation in the circumstances; but so much time was consumed
in getting the men into the required formation, owing to the inexperience
and want of discipline among both officers and men, that the enemy took
heart again and advanced to meet them. When the square at last moved
forward, with Gordon at their head, they were met with a hot fire, and
Gordon was a mark for every aim. Before long he fell, shot in the breast,
and Captain Smith, 'commonly called Old Woman,' on whom the command
devolved, at once gave the word to retreat. According to Hamilton, 'he
pulled off his red coat and vanished.' The Rajah's horsemen charged down,
sword in hand, on the disordered ranks; the men threw down their arms and
fled to the boats, leaving some two hundred and fifty of their number dead
on the field. Fortunately, the floating batteries covered the embarkation,
and prevented the enemy, who had suffered some loss, from gathering the
spoils of the fallen. Eighty seamen were sent on shore, and brought back
about two hundred muskets that had been thrown away in flight, most of
them loaded. Thus ingloriously ended the attempts at landing.

The factory was by this time reduced to great straits for food, and this
fresh disaster made peace imperative; the Rajah, in spite of his success
so far, was anxious to come to an accommodation. The expense of
maintaining so many armed men threatened to ruin him; the sea blockade and
the detention of the horses were events on which he had not reckoned: and,
worse still, his northern borders were harried by the Sow Bajah, 'which
made him incline very much towards a peace:' so an agreement was quickly
arrived at, and, on the 29th November, peace was proclaimed on easy terms
for both parties. The expedition had cost the Company Rs.68,372 in hard
cash. The inability of the landing force to advance beyond range of the
ships' guns bears witness to their military incapacity.

His short experience of six months under the Company had completely
disgusted Alexander Hamilton. Immediately on his return to Bombay he
resigned his post as Commander-in-Chief of their ships-of-war, and resumed
business as a private trader. His relations with the military officers
during the expedition appear to have been satisfactory, but against Taylor,
the head of the Carwar factory, he formulated a series of charges,
accusing him of having been the cause of the trouble with the Rajah,
through his indiscretion and bad faith. Taylor retaliated by accusing
Hamilton of not having taken proper measures to relieve the factory. The
Council investigated the charges, and contented themselves with cautioning
Taylor to behave better in future.

The unfortunate topasses, who had had their noses cut off, were formed
into a company of marines, and had their pay augmented to Rs.5 a month.[3]
In this odd way the Bombay Marine Battalion appears to have had its origin.

We get some idea of the Sunda Rajahs of the period in a letter from Carwar,
dated the 20th January, 1698.

    "He" (the Sunda Rajah) "is so excessive craving after money, that he
    is about sacrificing twelve men and twelve women with child, to get
    two pots of treasure which one of his magicians tells him lies buried
    near his palace."

While these events were taking place at Carwar, Boone found himself
involved in trouble with Angria. For some time after the treaty made by
Aislabie, Angria had respected Bombay trading ships, but of late he had
begun to show his teeth again. In the beginning of 1716 he had made prize
of a Company's boat in sight of the harbour, and of another belonging to a
private merchant. Four private ships from Mahim, valued at 30,000
xeraphims, were also captured by him, and his ships trading to Bombay
refused to pay harbour dues. While Hamilton was engaged at Carwar, Angria's
fleet attacked and took the _Success_, East Indiaman, on its way from
Surat. With an impoverished exchequer, a force weakened and disorganized
by the Carwar adventure, and no ammunition in his magazine, Boone found
himself in no condition to take active measures for the present.

In the vain hope of bringing Angria to reason, a letter of expostulation
was written, which met with a hostile response, quickly followed by the
capture of the _Otter_, a Bengal ship. A second letter of defiance was
received, so, on the 7th May, in spite of inadequate resources, the
Council resolved on striking a blow. An expedition against Gheriah was
determined on, and twenty gallivats were sent down, manned with sepoys, to
retake, if possible, the captured vessels, "if they were attacked, to
repel force by force, and if possible plunder his country." The official
record of the expedition is as follows:--

    _4th June_.--Two gallivats returned having plundered a town in Angria's
    country, and brought away sixteen prisoners.

    _9th June_.--Returned our gallivats, having by mismanagement of the
    chief officer lost about fifty men and destroyed one town of Angria's.

Downing, who was present, gives an account of the attack on Gheriah,
though he makes a mistake as to the date. As it is the only account we
have of what took place, it will be better to give it in his own words.

    "On the 10th of the same instant the President reviewed the land
    forces on shore, and saw all things put in good and sufficient order.
    Major Vane, chief engineer for the Company, had tried all the mortars
    and coehorns, then fitted and stocked for the expedition. Mr. John
    Minims was appointed chief engineer for the direction of these mortars
    and coehorns, which did great service. We proceeded down the coast for
    Gerey, which is not above twelve hours' sail from Bombay, where we
    with all our navy soon arrived, and run boldly into the harbour.
    Captain Berlew (Bellew?) Commodore, and ranged a line from the
    eastermost part of the fortifications to the outer part of the harbour.
    Keeping all our small galleys and galleywats on the off-side under
    shelter. But they had strong fortifications on both sides; so that we
    left our strongest ships in the harbour, to make a breach in the walls,
    in order to storm the castle. The rocks were very high, and so
    slippery that one could hardly stand without a staff, and consequently
    not a place convenient to draw men up in any posture of defence. We
    endeavoured to get the fireship in, but could not; for on the east
    part of the fort they had a cove or creek, where they had laid up a
    great part of their fleet, and had got a strong boom across the same;
    so that we could not annoy them any otherwise than by throwing our
    bombs and coehorns very thick into the garrison, which we did for a
    considerable time, and were in hopes after the first and second day's
    siege, that we should have drove them out of that strong castle, but
    we soon found that the place was impregnable. For as we kept throwing
    our shells as fast as we could in regular time, cooling our chambers
    before we loaded again; after we had beat over two or three houses in
    the castle, the shells fell on the rocks in the inside the castle, and
    their weight and force of falling would break them without so much as
    their blowing up.... As to storming the walls, they were so high that
    our scaling ladders would not near reach the top of them...."

    "After the second day we landed all our forces, taking the opportunity
    of the tide.... We got them all on shore, and marched up the country,
    without molestation; only now and then the castle would let fly a shot
    or two, which did us small damage. We attempted to march the army down
    to their shipping, and to set them on fire; but when we came within a
    mile of the place the land was all swampy, and so very muddy by the
    spring tides flowing over that we could not proceed. On our retreat
    they galled us very much by firing from the castle, we being obliged
    to come near the castle walls to take our forces off again. Here the
    gallant Captain Gordon was slightly wounded again.... I question
    whether there were a hundred men in the castle during the time of the
    siege...."

    "We drew off our forces on the 18th April, and went up to Bombay to
    repair our frigates and take care of our wounded men, of whom we had a
    considerable number."

In no way discouraged by the failure, Boone at once set to work to prepare
for a fresh attack on Angria. This time it was determined that Kennery,
within sight of Bombay harbour, should be the object of attack, and all
through the monsoon preparations were made.


[1] Galleywats, or gallivats, were large rowing-boats with two masts, of
    forty to seventy tons, and carrying four to eight guns.

[2] In a letter, three years later, on the conduct of military officers,
    it is stated that "Stanton was drunk the time he should have gone upon
    action at Carwar."

[3] Bombay Consultations, 22nd January, 1718.



CHAPTER V

_THE COMPANY'S SERVANTS_

The Company's civil servants--Their comparison with English who went to
America--Their miserable salaries--The Company's military servants--
Regarded with distrust--Shaxton's mutiny--Captain Keigwin--Broken pledges
and ill-treatment--Directors' vacillating policy--Military grievances--
Keigwin seizes the administration of Bombay--His wise rule--Makes his
submission to the Crown--Low status of Company's military officers--Lord
Egmont's speech--Factors and writers as generals and colonels--Bad quality
of the common soldiers--Their bad treatment--Complaint against Midford--
Directors' parsimony.


It may be useful here to consider the difference in the men sent out, by
England, to the East and West Indies during the seventeenth and part of
the eighteenth centuries. To the West Indies went out representatives of
the landed gentry from every county in England. Charters were obtained
from the Crown, conferring estates, and sometimes whole islands, on men of
ancient families. Slaves were cheap, and sugar cultivation brought in
great wealth; the whole machinery of English life was reproduced in the
tropics--counties, parishes; sheriffs, rectories, tithes, an established
church, etc. The same causes that sent the Cavaliers to Virginia, sent a
smaller migration to the West Indies. At the Restoration, the men who had
conquered Jamaica for Cromwell were unwilling to return to England.
Monmouth's rebellion and the expulsion of the Stuarts produced a fresh
influx. But, whether Cavaliers or Roundheads or Jacobites, they came from
the landholding class in England. The evidence may still be read in old
West Indian graveyards, where the crumbling monuments show the carefully
engraved armorial bearings, and the inscriptions record the families and
homes in England from which those whom they commemorate had sprung.

In the East Indies nothing of the kind was possible. The acquisition of
land for agriculture was out of the question. Trade was the only opening,
and that was monopolized by the Company. Except as a servant of the
Company, an Englishman had no legal status in the East. The chief profits
went to the shareholders in London. If at the end of twenty-five years or
so a Company's servant could return to England with a few thousands made
by private trade, he was a fortunate man. Private traders and a few of the
governors were alone able to make fortunes. The shaking of the pagoda tree
did not begin till after Plassey. The result was that the men who went to
India were of a totally different class from those who went to America and
the West Indies; they were young men from small trading families in London,
Greenwich, and Deptford, or from seaport towns like Bristol and Plymouth.
Among them were some restless and adventurous spirits who found life in
England too tame or too burdensome. For such men India was long regarded
as a useful outlet. "If you cannot devise expedients to send contributions,
or procure credit, all is lost, and I must go to the Indies," wrote
William the Third, in bitter humour, at a desperate crisis in his affairs.
Fryer tells us (1698) how the Company had entertained Bluecoat boys as
apprentices for seven years, after which time they were to be made writers,
if able to furnish the required security. The salaries they received from
the Company were only nominal. A Bombay pay-list of January, 1716, shows
us the official salaries at that time. The Governor received £300 per
annum. Next to him came eight merchants, who with him constituted the
Council, and received respectively, one £100, one £70, two £50, and four
£40 each. Below them came three senior factors at £30 each, three junior
factors at £15, and seven writers at £5.[1] The tale is completed by the
accountant and the chaplain, who received £100 each. A writer on entering
the service had to find security for £500, which was increased to £1000
when he rose to be a factor. The unmarried servants of the Company were
lodged at the Company's expense; the married ones received a lodging
allowance, and a public table was maintained. In fact, the Company treated
them as if they were apprentices in a warehouse in St. Paul's Churchyard,
and, when the conditions of their service are taken into account, it is
not surprising that there was a considerable amount of dishonesty among
them. These conditions apart, they were neither worse nor better than the
men of their time. As the original Company gained stability by the
incorporation of its upstart rival established in 1698,[2] which put an
end to a condition of affairs that promised to be ruinous to both, and by
the grant of perpetuity issued in the year following incorporation, there
was a gradual improvement in the quality of their civil servants. Though
no increase in the salaries of junior officers took place for many years
afterwards, the greater facilities opened to them, for trade, attracted
better men into the service, among them some cadets of good family.

Miserable as was the display of military incompetency at Carwar and on
subsequent occasions, it is hardly surprising when the condition of the
Company's soldiers is considered. The Company's policy was to keep
officers and men in a state of degrading subjection; to prevent the
officers from having any authority over their men, while pledges as to pay
were often broken.

When the Company first received Bombay from the Crown, the royal troops in
the island were invited to remain in the Company's service on the same
rank and pay, on the condition that they might resign when they pleased--a
condition that made discipline impossible. The greater number of them
accepted the terms. Two years later, a company was sent out under Captain
Shaxton to fill vacancies. Shaxton was evidently a man of good abilities
and position; one who had been trained in the stern military school of the
civil wars. He was to be a factor in addition to his military command, and
if, after trial, his qualifications would admit of it, he was to hold the
office of Deputy Governor. The men were engaged for three years.

By the time he had been two years in Bombay, Shaxton found that, under the
penurious rule of the Company, efficiency was impossible, while the two
European companies maintained for the defence of the island could only be
kept up to strength by filling the vacancies with natives. Four years
later,[3] a mutiny broke out, in which Shaxton supported the demands of
his men. They complained that a month's pay, promised to them on
engagement, was due to them, and claimed their discharge, as their time of
service had expired. President Aungier behaved with prudence and firmness.
He pacified the men by granting their demands, and brought the ringleaders
to trial by court-martial. Three of them were condemned to death, of whom
one, Corporal Fake, was shot, and the other two pardoned. Shaxton was then
brought to trial, found guilty of some of the charges, and sent to England
for punishment according to the King's pleasure.

Two years later a troop of horse was formed, and sent out under Captain
Richard Keigwin, who was to command the garrison on a salary of £120 a
year. Keigwin was a man of good Cornish family, who had entered the King's
navy in 1665, and taken part in Monk's memorable four days' battle against
the Dutch in the following year. When St. Helena was recaptured from the
Dutch (1673), he had distinguished himself in command of the boats that
made the attack, and was left as Governor of the island till it was taken
over by the East India Company. As a reward for his services, the Company
made him their military commandant at Bombay. Two years later again, the
Company, in a fit of economy, reduced their military establishment to two
lieutenants, two ensigns, and one hundred and eighty-eight rank and file.
The troop of horse was disbanded, Keigwin was discharged from the service,
and thirty soldiers, who had been detached to Surat to defend the factory
against Sivajee, were refused any extra allowance, which caused much
discontent. Before long the Directors became alarmed at the defenceless
state of Bombay, and sent out Keigwin again with troops and artillery, to
have the chief military command and the third seat in Council. To meet the
expense, the other officers were made to suffer in rank and pay, and the
whole of the small force fell into a dangerous state of discontent. Among
other reductions in the pay of their military force, the Directors reduced
the rate of exchange, a measure that affected the men as well as the
officers; and, not content with making these changes prospective, insisted
that the officers should refund the surplus of what they had received.
Keigwin also had his personal grievance. He claimed subsistence money,
like the rest of the merchants and factors, the Company's table having
been abolished.[4] After much altercation, a grant was made to him, on the
condition that it would have to be refunded if disallowed by the Directors.
He was sick of the Company, with their greed and their selfish economies
at the expense of their servants, their broken pledges and stupid changes
of policy in military affairs, the intrigues of Sir John Child at Surat,
and the schemes of his brother, Sir Josiah Child, in England. Like many
other Englishmen, he considered the Company was an anomaly, dangerous to
the authority of the Crown, and his distrust was increased by the
mismanagement and corruption that existed among their servants in the East.

On the 27th December, 1683, he seized Mr. Ward, the Deputy Governor, and
such of the Council as sided with him, assembled the troops, and issued a
proclamation declaring the Company's authority at an end, and that the
island was henceforth under the King's protection. By general consent he
was elected Governor, and at once proceeded to restore order. The troops
and inhabitants were called on to take an oath of allegiance to the King,
and to renounce their obedience to the Company, a demand that was
universally complied with. Officials were appointed, grievances were
redressed, and trade was encouraged, to be carried on without molestation
so long as Keigwin's authority was not challenged. Money arriving from
England was lodged in the fort, with a declaration that it would be
employed only in defence of the island, and letters were addressed by
Keigwin to the King and the Duke of York, stating his determination to
hold the island for the King till his Majesty's pleasure should be known,
together with the causes that had led to the revolt; one of them being the
necessity of preserving it from becoming a conquest to the native powers.

Never had Bombay been so well governed as it was during the eleven months
of Keigwin's rule. The Seedee sent a friendly deputation to him. From the
Rajah of Satara he obtained confirmation of the articles agreed on by
Sivajee, a grant for the establishment of factories at Cuddalore and
Thevenapatam, an exemption from duties in the Carnatic, and the payment of
twelve thousand pagodas in compensation for losses sustained at different
places formerly plundered by the Mahrattas. There was no disorder or
bloodshed; the only thing of the kind that has been recorded being a wound
received by Keigwin himself in a quarrel at table. So great was the
enthusiasm for Keigwin, that when, first commissioners, and then Sir John
Child himself, came from Surat to try and re-establish the Company's
authority, it was with difficulty that the crews of their vessels could be
prevented from joining Keigwin and his adherents.[5] It was well for the
Company that he was a man of solid character and not an adventurer. On the
arrival of Sir Thomas Grantham from England in November, 1684, Keigwin
surrendered the island to him, as a King's officer, on condition of a free
pardon for himself and his associates, and proceeded to England.[6] The
Company's treasure was intact, and, except for the dangerous spirit
against the Company that had been aroused, Bombay was in a better state
than it had been at the time of the revolt.

After this the Company decided to have nothing more to do with
professional soldiers. It was the time when the great feeling of hostility
to a standing army was growing up in England, under the mischievous
preaching of agitators, which reached its height thirteen years later.
They took into their service men of low origin, devoid of military
training, who would have no influence over their men, and who would submit
to any treatment. Boone, writing to the Directors in 1720, says--

    "It is well known the Company's servants, in all the settlements I
    have been in, seldom keep company with the military, especially the
    Council. Now and then they may invite one to take a dinner, which is a
    favour; but the men which he distinguishes are not company for your
    second."


The social status of the Company's officers appears later, when an Act was
passed to extend the Mutiny Act to the East Indies and St. Helena, in
consequence of the Company's right to exercise martial law having been
questioned. In opposing the bill, the Earl of Egmont said--

    "If I am rightly informed, there are some of the Company's officers of
    a very low character. One of them was formerly a trumpeter at a raree
    show in this country, and when he was discharged that honourable
    service he listed himself in the Company's service as a common soldier,
    and I suppose was made an officer by one of those governors for
    trumpeting to him better than any other man could do it in the country.
    Another, I am told, was a low sort of barber--one of our
    shave-for-a-penny barbers--here in London. And another of
    them was a butcher here, and when he is not upon duty I am
    told he still exercises his trade there. Can we think that such
    officers will not be despised by gentlemen who have the honour to
    bear his Majesty's commission?"

He based his opposition to the bill on the unfitness of the Company's
officers to exercise authority, and to the bad relations sure to arise
between them and the King's officers.[7]

In quarters they were not allowed to give any orders to their men, or to
have any control over them, the most trivial matters being kept in the
hands of the merchants and factors. To such an extent was this carried,
that for fifty years afterwards no military officer was allowed to give
out the parole and countersign.[8] Their only duties were to command the
men when under arms. Commissions were granted and taken away by the
Council without reference to the Directors.

Under such treatment there could be neither self-respect nor pride in
their profession. Of their general behaviour, we may gather some idea
from an entry concerning Lieutenant Parker at this time. He was arraigned
before the Council for drinking, brawling with his men, and frequenting
base houses, for which the Council deprived him of his commission; but as
he was 'an extraordinary person in disciplining (drilling) soldiers,' he
was appointed adjutant of the regiment till he should give a specimen of
improved behaviour. When there was fighting to be done, the command was
taken by factors and writers, who were given temporary commissions as
captains, colonels, etc. Midford, Brown, Cowan, and others we hear of in
command of troops, were only soldiers for the occasion. So far back as
1676 the Directors had enjoined on their civil servants to acquire a
knowledge of military discipline, that in the event of any sudden attack
they might bear arms. Clive was far from being the first of the Company's
servants to lay down the pen for the sword, but he was the first to do so
permanently.

The inferior quality of the Company's officers through the first half of
the century is reflected in the fact that among the many who distinguished
themselves in the hard fighting that went on from 1751 to 1764, we find
only two who had not graduated in the King's service. These were Clive,
who entered the Company's service as a writer, and Preston, who was sent
to India as a civil engineer. Of the Company's purely military officers we
hear little or nothing.

The men were worse than the officers. Instead of the sturdy agricultural
labourers and farmers' sons that filled the ranks of the King's regiments,
they were 'the refuse of the vilest employments in London,' as Orme
described them fifty years later; 'the worst of their kind,' according to
Clive. Of all nationalities, ages, and colours, badly armed, badly fed,
and badly paid, they were almost without discipline. The native chiefs
vied with each other in getting Europeans into their service, so that none
but the most wretched would stay to serve the Company. At the best they
were only factory guards, and maintained for purposes of escort and
display; and it was always the Company's practice to retain officers and
men in their service up to any age. On one occasion we find Boone writing
to the Directors that 'it would not do to disgust the men too much.'
Miserable as was their pay of sixteen laris[9] a month, we find them
complaining to the Council that Midford had kept back two laris a month
from each man. To which Midford replied that he never received nor took
any more profit from the soldiers than what other officers did, all
through the island of Bombay; with which answer the Council was apparently
satisfied. The real grievance of the men appears to have been that Midford,
not being a military officer, was not entitled to make the deduction. The
Directors were careful in enjoining that powder was not to be wasted at
exercise; "but sometimes the men must be used to firing, lest in time of
action they should start at the noise or the recoil of their arms." To
bring such officers and men into the field was to invite disaster.
Soldiers are not made by dressing men in uniform and putting muskets into
their hands.

[Illustration: Map]


[1] According to the Company's instructions in 1675, writers were to
    receive no salary at all for the first five years, and after that £10
    a year. In 1699 the Court of Directors settled the salaries of
    merchants at £60, factors at £40, and writers at £20 per annum (Bruce);
    but in 1716 the salaries were as above stated.

[2] The London Company and the English East India Company were amalgamated
    in 1708.

[3] 1674.

[4] It was afterwards re-established, and again abolished in Boone's time.

[5] Bombay was subordinate to the Surat factory till 1685.

[6] Four years after returning to England, Keigwin was given the command
    of a frigate. In 1690 he accompanied the expedition against the French
    in the West Indies, and fell at the head of his men in the assault of
    Basseterre, St. Christopher's.--_Dic. Nat. Bio_.

[7] Hansard, 1754.

[8] The first General Order issued by the Commander-in-Chief in Madras was
    dated the 22nd November, 1772.

[9] The lari was the well-known hook money of the Persian Gulf. It was
    worth about sixpence.



CHAPTER VI

_EXPEDITION AGAINST KENNERY_

Sivajee's occupation of Kennery--A naval action--Minchin and
Keigwin--Bombay threatened--The Seedee intervenes--Conajee Angria
occupies Kennery--Boone sails with the expedition--Manuel de
Castro--Futile proceedings--Force landed and repulsed--Second
landing--Manuel de Castro's treachery--Gideon Russell--Bad behaviour
of two captains--Defeat--Attack abandoned--The _St. George_--The
_Phram_--Manuel de Castro punished--Bombay wall completed--Angria
makes overtures for peace--Boone outwitted.


The islet of Kennery, about ten miles from the mouth of the harbour, and
three from the mainland, had long been a thorn in the side of Bombay trade.
At the time of the first occupation of Bombay it was uninhabited. In 1679
it was suddenly occupied by Sivajee, who began to fortify it. The danger
of this to Bombay was at once seen, and part of the garrison was sent in
small vessels, afterwards reinforced by the _Revenge_, frigate, to
intercept the communication between Kennery and the mainland. On the 18th
October, the Mahratta fleet bore down and engaged. In half an hour the
_Dove_, grab, hauled down its colours and was captured, and all the
smaller vessels made sail for Bombay, leaving the _Revenge_, like its more
famous namesake, alone amidst its foes. Fortunately, there were on board
two sturdy Englishmen, Minchin, the Company's commodore, and Keigwin, the
commander of the garrison. Undismayed by the odds against them, Minchin
and Keigwin gallantly fought their ship; all attempts at boarding were
repelled with loss, five of the Mahratta gallivats were sunk, and, at last,
the whole Mahratta fleet took to flight, pursued by the _Revenge_, and
sought refuge in the shallow waters at the mouth of the Negotna river. Two
days later, they came out again, but found Keigwin and Minchin so ready to
engage, that they desisted from the attempt to reach Kennery. In this way,
for some time, a partial blockade of the Negotna river was maintained by
the _Revenge_, which had been reinforced by the _Hunter_ frigate, and a
number of small vessels from Bombay. In spite of all efforts, a few
Mahratta vessels from time to time evaded the blockade, and kept Kennery
supplied with provisions and arms. This unexpected opposition from a
company of traders stirred Sivajee to settle the matter by an attack on
Bombay, which was in no condition to make any resistance. He marched five
thousand men to Kalyan, and demanded permission, of the Portuguese, to
land at Thana and march on Bombay. The permission was refused, but the
Bombay Council were so alarmed lest the Portuguese should ultimately give
way, that they opened negotiations with Sivajee. Meanwhile, his seizure of
Kennery had alarmed the Seedee, who sent his fleet into Bombay harbour,
and offered his co-operation to the President, who accepted it with some
misgivings. Before long, it was discovered that the Seedee intended to
keep Kennery for himself, if he could capture it, which seemed to the
Council as bad as if it were in Sivajee's hands, so the English squadron
held aloof, while the struggle for Kennery continued between the Seedee
and the Mahrattas. Sivajee was too much occupied with other matters to
trouble about Bombay, and in March, 1680, a treaty of peace was made. His
struggle with the Seedee for the possession of Kennery went on, with
results that are not recorded; but eventually both parties appear to have
left the place to itself. In 1710, Conajee Angria seized the islet and
fortified it.

By the end of October all was ready. The ships from England, with the
merchandise and money for the yearly investment, had arrived, and joined
in the expedition. In order to put an end to the quarrels among commanders
that had marked the failure of former expeditions, Boone resolved to take
the command himself; so, on the 1st November, he hoisted his flag on board
the _Addison_, East Indiaman, having with him Mr. Walter Brown and other
factors and writers. There was at this time in the service a renegade
Portuguese, one Manuel de Castro, who had been in Angria's service before
Boone had given him employment. He had been present at Hamilton's attack
on Carwar, when his misbehaviour had been such as to make all present
distrust him. By his boasts of his knowledge of Angria's harbours he had
gained the confidence of the Council, and had been appointed Commodore of
the Company's gallivats. But several of the English captains refused to
serve under him, protesting that they knew his character better than the
Governor did; so Boone contented himself by giving him command of only
five gallivats. On the 2nd, the squadron weighed anchor, and, on the
following day anchored off Kennery. It consisted of the _Addison_ and
_Dartmouth_, East Indiamen, the _Victoria_ frigate, the _Revenge_ and
_Defiance_ grabs, the _Fame_ galley, the _Hunter_ ketch, two bombketches,
and forty-eight gallivats. On the 6th they were joined by the _Morrice_,
and on the 12th by the _Stanhope_, East Indiamen. Directly after anchoring,
a futile bombardment was opened on the Kennery fort, but the distance was
so great that nothing was effected but waste of ammunition. The ships then
stood in closer, and opened fire again, while the _Dartmouth_ ran in and
fired several broadsides. While this was going on, the _Victory_ and
_Revenge_ were signalled to attack two grabs that were seen coming out of
the harbour; but, on fourteen gallivats coming out to assist the grabs,
they were recalled. The 4th was spent in preparations for a landing, and
the gallivats rowed round the island to choose a landing-place. It was
finally arranged that the soldiers and marines should land to windward,
while the sepoys, covered by the fire of grabs and gallivats, should land
at the opposite side of the Island, to leeward. But when the moment
arrived, next morning, the sepoys absolutely refused to land, in spite of
the severest measures.[1] The soldiers and marines, three hundred in
number, landed, but were beaten back with a loss of eighteen killed and
fifty wounded, "more by ye force of stones hoven from ye rocks than fier
arms." Some loss was occasioned by the bursting of a gun on board one of
the gallivats. Manuel de Castro, with his squadron of gallivats, had been
ordered to lie off the mouth of the harbour and prevent reinforcements
reaching Kennery. Notwithstanding, he allowed five of Angria's gallivats
to slip in with ammunition and provisions for the besieged, of which they
were believed to stand much in need.

The 6th was occupied in making preparations for another attack, and
volunteers were called for from among the sailors, for which service they
were to receive forty rupees each, which, at the existing rate of exchange,
was reckoned equal to five pounds sterling. The loss of a leg or arm was
to be recompensed by a sum of £30 on return to England, and employment for
life under the Company. The married men were promised, if killed, that
their widows should receive £30, with £10 for each child. These offers
procured some forty volunteers, who were to be led by Gideon Russell, mate
of the _Morrice_.

Early next morning the attacking party were put into the boats, to land
under cover of the fire of the _Britannia_, _Fame_ and _Revenge_; when it
was found that a strong current prevented disembarkation, and the boats
were forced to lie off under a heavy fire, until the tide changed. To make
matters worse, Manuel de Castro ran two of his gallivats ashore under the
guns of the castle, so that fifty or sixty men were killed or wounded
before a landing was effected. At ten o'clock the boats pulled for the
landing-place; but the tide was still running so strongly that they were
thrown into confusion, and many of the attacking party never landed at all.
The sepoys again refused to land. A small party of seamen, headed by
Gideon Russell, attacked the gateway under a shower of shot and stones,
and, before long, Russell fell, grievously wounded. He was carried back to
the _Morrice_, where he died next day. The seamen continued their attack
under Clement Downing, backed by Major Stanton, Captain Coxsidge, and the
soldiers. John Steele, the carpenter's mate of the _Morrice_, with his
broad axe hewed at the gate and nearly effected an entrance, when the
cowardice of two of Stanton's captains caused the attack to miscarry. One
of them threw down his sword, which was carried to Boone, who, on return
to Bombay, ordered him to be broke at the head of the garrison. The other,
somewhat more courageous, came boldly up to the gate and fired his pistol;
but the bullet rebounded and struck him on the nose; upon which he ordered
the drums to beat a retreat, and the soldiers got back to the boats,
leaving a small handful of seamen to prosecute the attack. These, in turn,
seeing the hopelessness of any further attempts, retreated to their boats,
and rowed off under a heavy fire, leaving many wounded to be massacred by
the enemy. It was the old story, repeated so often on these occasions; a
badly planned attack carried out half-heartedly by undisciplined men,
under one or two resolute leaders; as soon as the leaders were disabled,
the rest retreated with more or less loss.

A desultory bombardment was continued for some days, and some shots were
fired against Colaba; but Kennery was now well provided with ammunition,
and could return two shots for every one fired by the Bombay squadron. On
the 11th, Angria sent a flag of truce to offer terms, which were rejected.
On the 14th, Boone returned to Bombay in the _Dartmouth_, seeing that
nothing more could be effected, and, on the 24th, the whole squadron made
sail for Bombay, after exhausting all their ammunition. Their return seems
to have been hastened by the appearance of Angria's fleet from Gheriah,
which had Bombay for a time at its mercy.

The failure of the attack on Kennery, under his own eyes, taught Boone
that, without some assistance from England, he could hope to accomplish
little against Angria, whose ships now lay off the harbour, making it
difficult for trading vessels to go in or out. Three times the _Morrice_
got under way, and three times had to return, before she could start on
her return voyage to Europe. In consequence of Boone's representations,
the Directors sent out the _St. George_, a sixty-gun ship, to act as a
guardship for the harbour. Her arrival only served to show the
incompetency of many of the Company's naval officers at that time. In
laying the ship on shore to scour its bottom after the voyage from England,
its back was broken, and the _St. George_ became a total wreck.

Meanwhile, with an eye to a future campaign against Angria's strongholds,
Boone set to work to build a floating battery. The _Phram_, as it was
called, was designed with shot-proof sides to carry twelve 48-pdrs.; but,
as will appear before long, its fate was as ignominious as that of the _St.
George_.

His own observation had convinced Boone of the treachery of Manuel de
Castro. On his return to Bombay, the renegade was put in irons, and
shipped off to St. Helena. There he was detected in fomenting a mutiny
among the convicts and slaves. He was deported, and before long made his
way back into Angria's service.

Meanwhile, the wall round the town, the building of which had been one of
Boone's earliest projects, was nearing completion. It was built entirely,
or almost entirely, by contributions from the native merchants, and Boone
reported to the Directors that, when the whole space was built over, the
ground-rents would realize Rs.8890 a year for the Company's treasury. The
church also, the building of which had been started by Aislabie, was
finished about this time. The original chapel inside the factory was no
longer able to accommodate the increasing English population, besides
being in a ruinous condition.

Like other chiefs along the coast, the Bombay authorities gave passes to
traders living under their protection, and in their warfare with Angria
they had adopted the practice of other chiefs, of not recognizing the
immunity of vessels that did not carry passes from themselves. We find at
this time the Kattiawar traders complaining of two ships having been
seized that held protective passes from Angria. In reply they were told
that they must have English passes. The Company was at war with Angria,
and his power was increased by those who paid him for protection. So, like
all neutrals, they had to suffer in a war with which they had no concern.

Apprehensive of a fresh attack after the monsoon, Angria opened delusive
negotiations for a treaty of peace, through his feudal lord, Sahoojee.
Boone was regularly taken in, and announced with satisfaction, to the
Directors, that a treaty had been made, under which Angria contracted to
restore all ships and vessels he had taken, except the _Success_, which
was hopelessly decayed, for which he was to pay Rs.10,000, or to restore
goods to that amount. In lieu of captured cargoes he was to pay Rs.50,000,
or to give goods of equal value, and within two years he was to pay
Rs.10,000 more, for which payment Sahoojee undertook to be surety. Boone
reported that he had captured from Angria prizes to the value of Rs.9785,
which, together with the above payment, and a two-per-cent. war-tax on the
people of Bombay, would go some way to recoup the Company for their losses
and the cost of the expeditions. Altogether, the prospects of increased
trade were brighter, but, so long as Angria held Colaba, he considered
there could be no permanent peace. He was soon undeceived. As soon as
Angria saw that he was safe from attack for another season, he repudiated
the treaty, and by the beginning of the new year his piratical doings were
renewed.


[1] "Killed and wounded several of them, but all to no purpose."--_Log of
    the Addison_.



CHAPTER VII

_EXPEDITION AGAINST GHERIAH_

Trouble with the Portuguese--Madagascar pirates again--Loss of the
_Cassandra_--Captain Macrae's brave defence--The one-legged pirate--Richard
Lazenby--Expedition against Gheriah--Mr. Walter Brown--His
incompetency--Gordon's landing--Insubordination and drunkenness--Arrival
of the _Phram_--General attack--Failure--The Kempsant's alliance--Attack
on Deoghur--The Madagascar pirates, England and Taylor--Ignominious
flight--Fate of the _Phram_--Brown despatched south again--The pirates at
Cochin--They take flight to Madagascar--Their rage against Macrae and
England--England marooned--Taylor takes Goa ship--Rich prize--Governor
Macrae.


In addition to other embarrassments, Boone became involved, at this time,
in a quarrel with the Portuguese. The surrender of Bombay to the English
had, from the first, been extremely distasteful to the Goa authorities,
who understood the value of the place better than did the authorities in
Lisbon; and they had so interpreted the treaty that gave Bombay to the
English that, at the time of transfer, they had managed to retain
everything except the island of Bombay. The English had been obliged to
renounce all claim to Salsette and other dependencies of Bombay, or to
exclusive possession of the harbour, and to agree that the Portuguese
residents should be exempted from the payment of customs, and have full
liberty of trade with the Portuguese establishments in Salsette. This last
condition had been repudiated in England, but continued to be claimed by
the Portuguese, who harassed the position of the English by levying duties,
and impeding the passage of supplies, while they gave asylum to deserters
and runaways of all kinds. By the treaty, toleration for the exercise of
the Roman Catholic religion had been secured; and there had remained in
Bombay a large establishment of Franciscan friars, who made no efforts to
conceal their hostility to the Company's government. In addition to other
treacherous acts, Boone had to complain of the friars tampering with his
soldiers and slaves, and encouraging them to desert. In order to put an
end to the evil, he banished all the Portuguese friars, and installed in
their place an Italian bishop and some Italian Carmelite friars. This was
held by the Goa authorities to be an infringement of the rights of the
King of Portugal. In retaliation, all Roman Catholics in Bombay were
forbidden to recognize the authority of the Italian bishop and friars, and
the Portuguese General of the North was ordered to prohibit all
intercourse with Bombay, and to inflict the severest penalties on all
persons attempting to go there or to leave it.

    "Those who are captured shall be whipped and put in the galleys for
    five years, and, if of noble birth, they shall pay the sum of one
    thousand xeraphims in lieu of working in the galleys, and shall be
    transported for five years to the fortress of Diu."[1]

It seemed as if Boone was to have a Portuguese war added to his other
troubles. Fortunately, more moderate counsels prevailed, and, in September,
a conciliatory letter was written to Boone by the Viceroy, announcing his
approaching departure. A few days later, the new Viceroy, Francisco José
de Sampaio e Castro, arrived in Goa. While the quarrel was in progress, a
native ship from Surat, bound for Jeddah, was captured off Bassein by a
European pirate ship. This was probably England's ship, _Victory_, of
which we shall hear more directly. The ship and cargo, valued at twelve
lakhs, were carried off, and the passengers and crew put ashore at Malabar
Hill.

A month later, Boone received intelligence of a serious loss to the
Company's trade from the Madagascar pirates. On the 7th August, the
_Greenwich_, Captain Kirby, and the _Cassandra_, Captain James Macrae,
bringing the usual yearly investment for Bombay and Surat, were in Johanna
roads, engaged in watering. At anchor, near them, was an Ostend ship that
had called for the same purpose. A few days before, they had received
intelligence that a French pirate, Oliver la Bouche,[2] had run on a reef
off Mayotta, and lost his ship, and was engaged in building a new one.
Thinking that the opportunity of catching the pirates at a disadvantage
should not be lost, Macrae and Kirby agreed to go in search of them and
attack them. They had just completed their arrangements when two strange
sails hove in sight. They proved to be the _Victory_, a French-built ship
of forty-six guns, commanded by the well-known pirate, Edward England, and
the _Fancy_, a Dutch-built ship of twenty-four guns, commanded by Taylor.
Macrae and Kirby prepared to give them a hot reception, the Ostend ship
promising to stand by them. So far were they from simply trying to make
their escape, that they looked forward to the handsome reward the Company
would give them for the capture of the pirates. From what followed it is
easy to see that Macrae's was the guiding spirit in this. Cables were cut,
and they stood out to sea, but, owing to the light baffling winds, made
little way. By next morning the pirates had closed, and bore down with a
black flag (skull and crossbones) at the main, a red flag at the fore, and
the cross of St. George at the ensign staff. The _Greenwich_ and the
Ostender, having a better wind than the _Cassandra_, had got some distance
away. In vain Macrae fired gun after gun at the _Greenwich_ to make Kirby
heave to. In a most dastardly way the captain of the _Greenwich_ pursued
his course, taking the Ostender with him, till he had got well to windward;
when, at a distance of two or three miles, he hove to and watched the fate
of the _Cassandra_.

The _Cassandra_ was a new ship of 380 tons, on her first voyage. Macrae
was a thoroughly good seaman, with a fine crew that were attached to him,
and was resolved to fight his ship to the last. Early in the engagement he
gave the _Victory_ some shots between wind and water, which made England
keep off till he had stopped the leaks. Taylor got out the boats of the
_Fancy_ and tried to tow her alongside, to carry the _Cassandra_ by
boarding, but such good practice was made by the _Cassandra's_ marksmen
that the design was given up. At the end of three hours the _Victory_ had
repaired damages, and was closing again. Macrae had lost so many of his
crew, that, giving up all hope of assistance from Kirby, he determined to
run his ship ashore. The _Fancy_, which drew less water, followed with the
intention of boarding, but got aground within pistol-shot, with her bows
towards the _Cassandra's_ broadside, and the action recommenced hotter
than ever. There the two ships lay, both fast aground, pelting each other
furiously, till the crew of the _Fancy_, finding the _Cassandra's_ fire
too hot for them, left their guns and ran below. Had Kirby come to his
assistance at this moment, Macrae's triumph would have been assured; but
this was the moment chosen by Kirby to bear up and shape his course for
Bombay. England in the _Victory_, seeing that the _Greenwich_ might be
disregarded, sent three boats full of men to reinforce the _Fancy_; by
which time there had been so many killed and wounded on board the
_Cassandra_, that the crew, losing heart, refused to fight the ship any
longer. Thirteen had been killed and twenty-four wounded, among the latter
Macrae himself, who had been struck by a musket ball on the head; so, some
in the long boat and some by swimming reached the shore, leaving on board
three wounded men who could not be moved, and who were butchered by the
pirates.

Not deeming it safe to linger on the coast, Macrae and his crew hastened
inland, reaching the town of the local chief, twenty-five miles off, the
following morning. Exhausted with fatigue and wounds, almost naked, they
were in a pitiable condition. The natives received them hospitably,
supplied their wants to the best of their ability, and refused to
surrender them to the pirates, who offered a reward for them.

After the first rage of the pirates, at the heavy losses they had
sustained, had abated, and soothed, no doubt, by the capture of a fine new
ship with £75,000 on board in hard cash, Macrae ventured to open
communications with them. Several among them had sailed with him, and his
reputation for considerate treatment of his men was well known. With all
their faults, they were not all of them men to resent greatly, after their
first fury had cooled, the loss that had been suffered in fair fight; so
England gave him a promise of safety, and he ventured himself among them.
The _Cassandra_ and the _Fancy_ had been floated, and Macrae was
entertained on board his own ship with his own liquors and provisions. His
position was not without danger, as there were many brutal fellows among
the pirates. England, who had a reputation for good treatment of prisoners,
befriended him; but Taylor, whose influence was greatest among the most
brutal of the rovers, insisted he should be made an end of. In the midst
of the quarrel, a fierce-looking fellow with a wooden leg and his belt
full of pistols, intervened, asking with many oaths for Macrae, who
thought his last moment had come.[3] He was pleasantly surprised when the
ruffian took him by the hand, and swore with many oaths that he would make
mince-meat of the first man that hurt him; and protested, with more oaths,
that Macrae was an honest fellow, and he had formerly sailed with him. So
the dispute ended. Taylor was plied with punch till he was prevailed on to
consent that the _Fancy_, together with some of the _Cassandra's_ cargo,
should be given to Macrae, and before he could recover from his carouse,
Macrae had got safe to shore again.

As soon as the pirates had left the coast, in the _Victory_ and the
_Cassandra_, Macrae set to work to patch up the much-battered _Fancy_, and
in a few days sailed for Bombay, with forty-one of his ship's company,
among whom were two passengers and twelve soldiers. After forty-eight days
of terrible sufferings almost naked, half starved, and reduced to a daily
pint of water each, they reached Bombay on the 26th October. It would have
been well for the Company if they had had more captains like Macrae. His
arrival brought much obloquy on Kirby, whose shameful desertion was now
made known.

The pirates only detained one of the _Cassandra's_ crew--Richard Lazenby,
the carpenter's mate, whom they forced unwillingly to go with them. There
is still extant a curious account by Lazenby of his cruise with the
pirates. He tells of the cruel tortures inflicted on all captured natives;
how on the Malabar coast they had friends, especially among the Dutch at
Cochin, who bought their plunder, supplied them with provisions, and gave
them information of armed ships to be avoided, and rich prizes to be
intercepted. Those who wished to retire from the trade were given passages
to Europe with their ill-gotten gains, in French ships; and finally, after
witnessing the capture of the Portuguese Viceroy, to be related presently,
he was put ashore at Bourbon, whence, in time, he made his way to England.

Since the renewal of war by Angria, at the beginning of the year, Boone
had resolved to strike another blow against Gheriah, and all through the
monsoon preparations had been made for action in September. Great things
were expected of the _Phram_, which was, however, not ready when the
expedition sailed. The direction of affairs was, on this occasion,
entrusted to Mr. Walter Brown, who was styled for the occasion "Admiral of
the Fleet, and Commander-in-Chief of all the forces." On the 13th
September anchor was weighed, and on the morning of the 19th they arrived
off Gheriah. At Dabul, where they had called in for news, they learned
that the _Phram_ and the _Chandos_ might soon be expected, but that there
was no prospect of Captain Johnson's machine being ready to take part in
the expedition. What Captain Johnson's machine was we do not learn, but
the intelligence 'mightily disconcerted the soldiery.' The squadron
consisted of the _London_, which acted as flagship, the _Victory_ frigate,
the _Revenge_ and _Defiance_ grabs, the _Hunter_ galley, two gallivats, a
bombketch, a fireship, and a number of fishing-boats for landing troops.
The troops for the expedition consisted of 350 soldiers and topasses and
80 chosen sepoys. Brown appears to have been thoroughly incompetent for
such a command, and the undertaking was destined to add one more to the
dismal list of failures. His first act was to make the _London_ exchange
useless shots with the fort at a mile distance. The following day, the
bombketch was ordered to run close in within pistol-shot, and bombard the
place at night. One shell and one carcass were fired, neither of which
went halfway, by reason of the mortars being so faultily constructed that
the chambers could not contain a sufficient charge of powder. 'This
misfortune set the people a-grumbling.'

On the 21st, Brown held a consultation of his officers, and proposed to
land three hundred men, at night, a mile from the town, so as to surprise
it at daylight. The officers protested against the scheme; they justly
remarked that it would be folly to make such an attack before the arrival
of the whole force. The _Phram_ and the _Chandos_, with the platoons of
Europeans, were still to come. They represented that the garrison of the
fort alone was a thousand strong, to say nothing of the small walled town
which must be taken before the fort could be attacked. Such a proposal was
not likely to increase their confidence in Brown. Sickness had already set
in among the troops, and that evening Captain Jeremiah Easthope died of
fever. Brown was all for immediate action, without having any definite
plan.

On the 22nd, Gordon was ordered to land with fifty men, and occupy a small
building on the top of a hill on the north side of the river. What he was
expected to do there does not appear. Soon, a number of boats full of men
were observed crossing from the fort to engage Gordon, so a reinforcement
of fifty men was sent to him. On reaching the hill, Gordon found that what
had been taken for a building consisted only of a natural pile of loose
stones, such as are to be frequently seen on the Deccan hills, and there
was nothing for it but to re-embark. He managed his retreat to the
landing-place in good order, followed by the enemy at musket-shot distance.
Several times he faced about, but the enemy always shrank from close
quarters. Nothing had been done to cover the place of embarkation, and it
was only after the strongest remonstrances from those on board that Brown
was prevailed on to order the _Revenge_ and the _Hunter_ to stand in and
cover the re-embarkation of Gordon's party. In spite of this precaution, a
lieutenant, a sergeant, a quartermaster of the _London_ and six men were
killed, and about twenty men wounded. It is difficult to imagine anything
feebler and more aimless than the whole proceeding.

The next day the bombketch was again sent in to bombard the fort, with the
same result as before. The proceedings were enlivened by the punishment of
Sergeant Passmore, who was reported by Gordon for cowardly behaviour. He
was sent round the fleet to receive ten lashes alongside each ship. The
next three days were spent in idleness, awaiting the _Phram_, from which
so much was expected. On board ship there was no discipline, but plenty of
hard drinking. In order to make the men fight well, Brown's idea was to
supply them with unlimited rum: the officers kept pace with the men in
their libations, and what little discipline existed soon disappeared.
Orders were disobeyed, while drunkenness, violence, and insubordination
reigned unchecked. When remonstrances were addressed to Brown, he refused
to stop the supply of liquor, saying that the people must not be put out
of humour at this juncture, and they must drink as they pleased: all which
is duly recorded by Captain Upton of the _London_. The enemy meanwhile was
observed busily constructing new batteries, and boats full of armed men
were constantly crossing the river, but nothing was done to intercept them.

At last, the _Chandos_, _Pelham_, and _Phram_ arrived, having spent ten
days in their voyage from Bombay. Nothing better occurred to Brown than to
send the _Phram_ at once to engage the fort. On opening fire, it was found
that her ports were so low and the gun-carriages so high, that her guns
could only be fired when depressed so as to strike the water twenty yards
off. So she was brought out again with one man mortally wounded, and the
officers and soldiers so mightily discouraged that they declared, unless
she could be made serviceable, it was useless to attempt anything further.
The ships' carpenters were set to work on the _Phram_, while the dejection
and drinking increased. Fifty men of the _Chandos_ who had not yet had an
opportunity of gauging Brown's incapacity, volunteered, for forty rupees a
head, to join a landing party; but not a single seaman in the squadron
would consent, 'upon any consideration whatsoever,' to go on board the
_Phram_, till an increased bounty secured the services of the _Chandos'_
sailors.

By the 29th all was ready for the grand attack. Two landing parties, one
of three hundred and forty soldiers under Captain Stanton, and the other
of two hundred and thirty-seven seamen under Captain Woodward, were held
in readiness, and soon after midday the fleet stood into the inner harbour,
with the exception of the _Phram_, which engaged the fort from the outer
harbour. Lieutenant Wise had been selected as a fit person to command and
point the _Phram's_ guns, which he did so badly that his shot mostly fell
in the inner harbour. The Mahrattas were quite ready for them, and all the
afternoon the cannonade went on, till sunset put an end to it. Five men on
board the _Phram_ were wounded, but it had engaged at too great a distance
to do or suffer much harm. Brown, in the _London_, had kept out of action,
and contented himself with sending six dozen of wine and arrack to the men
on board the _Phram_, together with orders to Stanton, who was on board,
to warp into the harbour at night and renew the action next morning. The
following day firing recommenced, and it was found necessary to displace
Lieutenant Wise, he being continually drunk, and to allow the sailors to
point their own guns. The closer range caused numerous casualties on board
the _Phram_. Among the soldiers, Mr. Tuladay and four men were killed, and
a great number wounded. The seamen also had several killed and wounded.
Many of the casualties were caused by the bursting of a gun on board the
_Phram_. The explosion fired the gun on the opposite side of the deck,
which was loaded with grape, and pointing over a boat full of topasses.
The flame from the gun ignited their cartridge boxes, and the poor
wretches were terribly scorched and injured. The fire of the ships in the
inner harbour was successful in destroying a number of Angria's ships that
had sought refuge in the river; one of five hundred tons, one of two
hundred tons, and ten smaller ones were set on fire and burnt. By
nightfall, all hands thought they had done enough, and told Stanton so,
and in spite of Brown's messages of expostulation, they took advantage of
a land breeze to come out. At midnight came Captain Woodward, of the
_Revenge_, to report, in a panic, to Brown that he had left his ship on
the rocks close to the fort, and that both vessel and crew were as good as
lost. Half an hour after, the _Revenge_ was seen coming out with the other
vessels. She had not been ashore at all, and the only conclusion was that
Woodward was frightened out of his senses; so he was put in irons for his
cowardice.

Thus came to an end the grand attack, and nothing better was to be
expected. "I have continual disturbances in the ship dayly by the officers
excessive drinking, and noe manner of command carryed," wrote Captain
Upton, of the _London_. A few days later he records how Captain S. and
Mr. D.[4] fought with their fists in the roundhouse before Mr. Brown, who
took no notice of it.

The next few days were spent in repairing damages. While thus employed,
messengers came from the Kempsant, offering to join hands with the English
in attacking Angria. A quarrel had arisen between the two chiefs, owing to
Angria having plundered some of the Kempsant's ships. But he stipulated
that Angria's fort at Deoghur, seven leagues to the south, should be first
attacked; so, on the 7th October, part of the fleet was sent down to
reconnoitre.

On the 16th, fresh stores of arrack, water and provisions having been
received from Goa, Brown called a consultation of the officers on board
the _Addison_, and proposed another landing under the _Phrams_ guns. But
the officers were disheartened, undisciplined, and under no control. One
objection after another was raised, and the council of war came to an end
by other officers of the squadron, who had learned what was going on,
coming aboard, and conveying to Brown in no measured terms that they would
have nothing to do with it. One of them in a passion told Brown he was mad,
and did not know what he was about--which was true enough. The next day, a
foolish show of landing was made, and then Brown decided to abandon the
attempt and transfer his attack to Deoghur.

Deoghur, or, as it was sometimes called, Tamana, was one of the ten
principal forts ceded to Angria in 1713. It commanded the small but good
harbour formed by the Tamana river. This was Angria's southernmost
stronghold. The name Tamana is still to be found at a small place ten
miles up the river. Here Brown brought his squadron on the 18th October.
The usual desultory and harmless bombardment followed; the _Phram_ and the
bombketch being equally inefficient. Then, when Brown suggested a landing
party to storm the place, the officers refused to second him, and so, with
some additional loss, the attack on Deoghur came to an end. Not a word is
said as to any assistance rendered by the Kempsant. At daybreak on the
21st, the whole squadron sailed northward, but the tale of Brown's
incompetency was not complete.

A little before noon next morning four strange sails were seen in the
offing, which, before long, were made out to be the dreaded Madagascar
pirates, with the _Cassandra_, _Victory_, and two prizes they had just
taken. The sight of them struck Brown with terror, though a little
reflection would have shown him that the pirates would have little or no
inducement to attack armed ships carrying no valuable merchandise. He
directed his whole squadron to anchor off Gheriah, which must have
appeared puzzling to his late antagonists in that place. Hoping to evade
the pirate ships, anchor was weighed in the night, and the squadron sailed
northward, no order being preserved, and the fleet getting much scattered.

As it happened, the pirates had mistaken them for Angria's fleet, and were
standing to the northward in search of prey, without any thought of
attacking them. Without any hostile intention on either side, the two
squadrons became intermingled. While it was still dark, the party on the
_London_ was startled by a cannon shot flying over them, and in the faint
morning light they saw a large ship on their quarter. On hailing to ask
her name, an answer came back that it was the _Victory_. Brown preferred
to believe that it was his own ship of that name; but his answering hail,
giving the name of the _London_, was replied to with a broadside, to which
a smart fire was returned by the _Revenge_ and the _Defiance_, that were
close astern. On both sides there was no willingness to fight. The pirates
were at first seized with consternation at discovering their mistake; they
had turned their prizes adrift after throwing their sails overboard, and,
with only three hundred men for their joint crews, forty of them negroes,
were not strong enough to engage the Bombay squadron. But England was a
man who preferred fighting to running, so putting a bold face on the
matter, the _Cassandra_ ran through the fleet, firing into the _Victory_,
the _Chandos_, and the _Phram_. The _Chandos_, which was towing the
_Phram_, at once cast it loose. The fleet scattered in all directions,
like a flock of sheep when a strange dog runs through it. Upton, of the
_London_, a chicken-hearted fellow, persuaded Brown that they ought not to
engage, as Boone had sent them to attack Gheriah, but had given them no
instructions about the Madagascar pirates. Brown seemingly did not want
much persuading, and crowded all sail to escape; at the same time striking
his flag to show that he did not intend fighting, which excited the
indignation of his own sailors and the derision of the pirates. He next
sent orders by a gallivat for the _Phram_ to be burned, and thus that
useless machine, from which so much had been expected; and that had cost
so much money and labour, came to an end.

These foolish proceedings gave England the measure of his antagonists.
'Observing the indifferency of the fleet,' the best way of saving himself
was, he thought, to 'play the Bull-beggar' with them; so he set to work to
chase them northward. The superior sailing powers of the pirates enabled
them to do as they pleased.

When they overtook the rearmost of the ships Brown had still got with him,
they backed their sails and fired into them till they had got well ahead
again. In this ignominious fashion the greater part of the fleet was
shuffled along for two days by the pirates, as a flock of sheep is driven
by a couple of sheep-dogs, till they at last found refuge in Goa. The
soldiers on board the _London_ improved the occasion by breaking into the
'Lazaretto' and getting drunk on the wine they found there. Part of the
fleet made for Carwar, and others found safety under the guns of Anjediva.
The pirates, having effected their purpose of driving them off, turned
south and took the _Elizabeth_ at anchor off Honore.

Before long, an indignant letter from Boone ordered Brown to cruise
southward and engage the pirates at all hazards; so the unhappy Brown put
to sea again. The news of the capture of the _Elizabeth_ was enough for
him: on the third day he turned northward again and made for Bombay; to
make his peace with the exasperated Governor as he best could. It is not
difficult to imagine Boone's disgust at the failure of his schemes, and
the worthlessness of those he had to depend upon; but it must be admitted
that these desultory attacks, first on one place and then on another, were
not calculated to effect anything useful. Had he concentrated his efforts
on Kennery, he might have rendered the waters of Bombay more secure.

Brown laid the blame of his failure on the disobedience of his officers,
which had been so flagrant as to conceal his own incapacity; so, on the
12th December, Boone again despatched him to search for the pirates, and
give protection to the country vessels bringing up pepper from the
southern factories. He took with him a fine squadron: the _Greenwich_, 42
guns; the _Chandos_, 40 guns; the _Victory_, 26 guns; the _Britannia_, 24
guns; the _Revenge_, 16 guns; and a fireship. The pusillanimous Upton was
left behind, and, next to himself in command of the expedition, but in
reality the moving spirit, he took the gallant Macrae. England and Taylor
had meanwhile been constrained to run down to the Laccadives, for want of
water and provisions. Not getting what they wanted, they had come
northward again to Cochin, where they were royally entertained by 

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