Chapter XI: The Downfall of Angria (1)

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.

In the beginning of 1754, the Dutch suffered a severe loss at Toolajee's hands. A vessel loaded with ammunition was taken, and two large ships were blown up after a stiff fight, in which Toolajee had two three-masted grabs sunk and a great number of men killed. Six months later, Toolajee sent an agent to Bombay to propose terms of accommodation. They were terms to which a conciliatory answer, at least, would have been returned in Conajee Angria's time. The Council's reply betrays a consciousness of increased strength. "Can you imagine that the English will ever submit to take passes of any Indian nation? This they cannot do. We grant passes, but would take none from anybody." Toolajee was told that if he was in earnest in desiring peace, he should return the vessels he had taken, and send men of figure and consequence to treat, instead of the obscure individual through whom his overtures had come. In spite of this peremptory reply, Toolajee continued to make half-hearted proposals for peace. The fact was that he was now at open war with the Peishwa, who had made himself master of the Concan, with the exception of the coastline. According to Orme, Toolajee had cut off the noses of the agents sent by the Peishwa to demand the tribute formerly paid to Satara. The Poonah Durbar were so incensed against him that they were determined on his destruction, though without the assistance of the English they had little expectation of success against his coast fortresses. The Bombay Council was ready enough to join in the undertaking, but was unwilling to take immediate action. This unwillingness was apparently due to their desire to see order first restored in Surat, where affairs had fallen into great disorder in the general break-up of Mogul rule.

The Mahratta Court at Poona had been close observers of the long war waged in the Carnatic between the English and French. They had seen Madras taken, only to be regained by diplomacy, and after the English had been foiled at Pondicherry. They had witnessed the rise of French power under Dupleix; rulers deposed and others set up, in the Deccan and the Carnatic, by French arms; and then, when Mahomed Ali, the rightful ruler of the Carnatic, was at his last gasp, they had seen his cause espoused by the English, and one humiliation after another inflicted on French armies, till at last the French were forced to recognize Mahomed Ali's title, while a powerful English squadron and a King's regiment had been sent out to make good the claim. The good relations established between the Peishwa's government and Bombay by the treaty of 1739, had been strengthened since the arrival of Mr. Richard Bourchier, as Governor, in 1750; the fighting in the Carnatic had raised the military reputation of the English, while their support of Mahomed Ali, whom the Mahrattas styled 'their master,' had greatly increased the esteem in which they were held.

When it was definitely known that hostilities between the English and French were at an end, Ramajee Punt, the Sirsoobah of the Concan, was dispatched to Bombay to concert measures against Toolajee. Mr. Bourchier was urged to summon the King's ships from Madras to co-operate with the Peishwa's forces.

To await the arrival of Watson's squadron from Madras would have lost the favourable season before the monsoon, so it was determined to fit out at once what ships were in the harbour, and send them under Commodore William James. Articles of agreement were drawn up, by which it was settled that Severndroog, Anjanvel, and Jyeghur should be attacked by the Mahrattas, while the English engaged to keep the sea, and prevent Toolajee's fleet from throwing succours into the places attacked. A division of the spoils between the victors was agreed on, by which the English were to receive Bankote and Himmutghur, with five villages, in perpetual sovereignty. The Peishwa's fleet was to be under James's orders, and he was instructed to give all the assistance in his power, but not to lend any of his people, except a few to point the guns.

Very little is accurately known of James's career before his entry into the East India Company's service. He was born in Pembrokeshire in humble circumstances, and went to sea at an early age. According to one account, he served in Hawke's ship, but, wherever his training was received, it had made him a first-rate seaman. In 1747, he entered the Company's marine service, being then about twenty-six years of age.

In 1751, he sailed from England in command of the _Guardian_ sloop, one of the two men-of-war built by the Directors for the protection of Bombay trade. His services against the coast pirates, during the next two years, procured his advancement to the post of Commodore at Bombay, and it was soon remarked that the sailing of the _Protector_, on which his flag was now hoisted, had greatly improved by the changes he had made. By his capture of Severndroog, now to be related, he became famous. He played his part at the capture of Gheriah, and, in the following year, when the news of the disaster at Calcutta became known in Bombay, he was sent down in the _Revenge_, with four hundred men, to join the force sent up from Madras under Watson and Clive. Off Calicut he encountered the French ship _Indien_, carrying twenty-four guns and over two hundred men, and captured her. He afterwards joined the board of Directors, was created a baronet, had a seat in Parliament, and, in time, became chairman of the Company. Sterne, in the last year of his life, formed a close friendship with Mr. and Mrs. James, and, a few days before he died, recommended his daughter Lydia to their care.

On the 22nd March, 1755, James sailed from Bombay in the _Protector_, forty guns, having with him the _Swallow_, sixteen guns, the _Viper_ bombketch, and the _Triumph_ prahm. The following day, he sighted an Angrian squadron of seven grabs and eleven gallivats, which he chased for a couple of hours without success. Two days later, he was joined off Chaul by the Peishwa's fleet, consisting of seven grabs, two batellas, and about forty gallivats. To James's annoyance, he found his allies in no hurry to get on. Twice they insisted on landing, lingering for over three days in one place. On the 29th, Severndroog was sighted, and Angria's fleet of seven grabs and ten gallivats was observed coming out. The signal to chase was made, but obeyed with little alacrity by the Peishwa's people, though experience had shown that they could outsail the Bombay ships. James gave chase with his little squadron, his Mahratta allies being left, by evening, hull down, astern. The Angrians made prodigious exertions to escape, hanging out turbans and clothing to catch every breath of air. All the following day the ineffectual chase continued, the _Protector_ outsailing its own consorts, and losing sight altogether of its Mahratta allies. Finding it useless to persevere, James hauled his wind, and stood to the northward for Severndroog, which he had left far behind in the chase. Here he found Ramajee Punt, who had landed a few men, and entrenched himself at about two miles from the nearest fort, with a single four-pounder gun.

The harbour of Severndroog[1] is formed by a slight indentation in the coast and a small rocky islet about a quarter of a mile from the mainland, on which was the Severndroog fort, with walls fifty feet high, and, in many places, parapets cut out of the solid rock; the whole armed with about fifty guns. On the mainland, opposite to Severndroog, was another fort. Fort Gova, armed with, about forty-four guns, while southwards of Gova were two smaller forts on a small promontory, Futteh Droog and Kanak Droog, armed with twenty guns each.

James at once saw that the reduction of the different forts by the Peishwa's troops would be a matter of months, even if he was able to keep out succours from the sea, which the monsoon would render impossible; so, in spite of the Council's orders, he resolved on taking matters into his own hands. He had been brought up in a good school, and knew that, to match a ship against a fort with success, it was necessary to get as close as possible, and overpower it with weight of metal. After taking the necessary soundings, on the 2nd April he stood in to four-fathom water, taking with him the _Viper_ and _Triumph_, and bombarded Severndroog fort. The Mahratta fleet gave no assistance, so the _Swallow_ was detached to guard the southern entrance. All day long the cannonade continued, till a heavy swell setting into the harbour, in the evening, obliged a cessation of fire. The fort fired briskly in return, but did little damage; while the Mahratta fleet lay off out of range, idle spectators of the conflict. At night came Ramajee Punt on board the _Protector_, bringing with him a deserter from the fort, who reported that the Governor had been killed and a good deal of damage done. He told them that it was impossible to breach the side on which the _Protector's_ fire was directed, as it was all solid rock.

In the morning, the _Protector_ weighed and ran in again, James placing his ships between Severndroog and Gova. The flagship engaged Severndroog so closely that, by the small arm fire of men in the tops, and by firing two or three upper-deck guns at a time instead of in broadsides, the Severndroog gunners were hardly able to return a shot. With her lower-deck guns on the other side the _Protector_ cannonaded the mainland forts, which also received the attention of the _Viper_ and _Triumph_. It would be difficult to find a parallel to this instance of a single ship and two bombketches successfully engaging four forts at once, that far outnumbered them in guns; but so good were James's arrangements that neither his ships nor his men suffered harm. Soon after midday a magazine exploded in Severndroog; the conflagration spread, and, before long, men, women, and children were seen taking to their boats, and escaping to the mainland. Numbers of them were intercepted and taken by the _Swallow_ and the Mahratta gallivats. The bombardment of the mainland forts was continued till night, and resumed the following morning, till about ten o'clock, when all three hauled down their colours. Thus, in forty-eight hours, did James by his vigorous action reduce this Angrian stronghold that was second only to Gheriah in strength. The Mahrattas were never slow at seizing any advantage that had been won by others, as was shown a few months later at Gheriah; but on this occasion they were so struck by James's intrepidity that they refused to enter Gova without him. The English flag was hoisted in all three forts, amid the cheers of the English sailors. It was then found that, by mismanagement, the Governor of Gova had been allowed to escape over to Severndroog, and gallantly reoccupied it, with a small body of sepoys, hoping to hold out till assistance could reach him from Dabul. So the _Protector's_ guns were set to work again, and, under cover of their fire, a party of seamen was landed, who hewed open the sally port with their axes and made themselves masters of the fort. Thus, in a few hours, and without losing a single man, had "the spirited resolution of Commodore James destroyed the timorous prejudices which had for twenty years been entertained of the impracticability of reducing any of Angria's fortified harbours."

The whole success of the expedition had been due to James, and the Peishwa's officers ungrudgingly acknowledged the fact, as well as the bad behaviour of their own people. "I have learnt with particular satisfaction that the fleet your Honor sent to the assistance of Ramajee Punt have by their courage and conduct reduced Severndroog, the suddenness of which transcends my expectations; and I allow myself incapable of sufficiently commending their merit," wrote the Peishwa's Commander-in-Chief to Bourchier. Ramajee Punt wrote in similar terms, and sent a dress of honour to James. In their elation, the Peishwa's officers wished to complete the destruction of Angria without delay. Bankote was surrendered to them without firing a shot, and a demonstration was made against Rutnaghiri. But the Council was cautious, and forbade James to risk his ships. The Mahrattas offered him two lakhs of rupees if he would support them in attacking Dabul, but he dared not exceed his orders again, and returned to Bombay. The success of a second _coup-de-main_ could not be relied on, and a repulse would have restored Toolajee's drooping spirits, and made future success more difficult. The soldiers Bombay had lent to Madras were no longer required, so James was sent there in the _Protector_, to bring them back after the monsoon.

In the end of October, an unexpected accession of force, from England, reached Bombay. In the suspension of arms that had been concluded at Madras between the English and French, Carnatic affairs alone were made the subject of agreement. Bussy, with a French force, remained in the Deccan, engaged in extending the Nizam's influence, a proceeding that was viewed with alarm by the Peishwa. With the object of expelling the French from the Deccan, the English Government sent out to Bombay a force of seven hundred men, to act against Bussy, in concert with the Mahratta Government. The command was to be taken by Lieutenant-Colonel Scott, the Company's engineer-general at Madras. The Directors had also sent Clive to Bombay to act as second in command to Scott. But Scott had died, in the mean time, and the _Doddington_, East Indiaman, bringing the Directors' instructions to the Bombay Council, had been wrecked near the Cape. Before the middle of November, Watson's squadron arrived, in furtherance of the Deccan project, together with James, in the _Protector_, bringing two hundred and fifty-five Bombay soldiers from Madras. Clive, alone, knew of the Directors' plan for the Deccan, and urged it on the Council. Ramajee Punt was in Bombay urging them to complete the destruction of Angria, and inviting them to take possession of Bankote;[2] so they decided to devote themselves to Gheriah, on the grounds that the Deccan expedition would be an infringement of the late agreement with the French.

Seeing that nothing was to be done in the _Deccan_, Watson tendered the services of his squadron to assist in the reduction of Gheriah, and Clive offered to command the land forces. James was sent down in the _Protector_, with the _Revenge_ and _Guardian_, with Sir William Hewitt, Watson's flag lieutenant, to reconnoitre and take soundings. Nothing was known of Gheriah. It was supposed to be as high, and as strong as Gibraltar. Like that celebrated fortress, it stood on rocky ground at the end of a promontory, connected with the mainland by a narrow neck of ground, at the month of a small estuary. James found that it was less formidable than it had been represented, and that large ships could go close in. To prevent Toolajee's ships from escaping, the _Bridgewater_, _Kingsfisher_, and _Revenge_ were sent to blockade the place till the expedition was ready to start.

On the 11th February, the whole force was assembled off Gheriah, a greater armament than had yet ever left Bombay harbour. In addition to Watson's squadron of six vessels, four of them line-of-battle ships, and displaying the flags of two admirals, the Company's marine made a brave show of eighteen ships, large and small, carrying two hundred and fourteen guns, besides twenty fishing-boats to land troops with, each carrying a swivel-gun in the bows. Between them they carried eight hundred European and six hundred native troops. With Watson also went Captain Hough, superintendent of the Company's marine, as representative of the Council.

Part of the instructions given to Clive and Hough by the Council will bear repeating.

"It is probable that Toolajee Angria may offer to capitulate, and
possibly offer a sum of money; but you are to consider that this
fellow is not on a footing with any prince in the known world, he
being a pirate in whom no confidence can be put, not only taking,
burning, and destroying ships of all nations, but even the vessels
belonging to the natives, which have his own passes, and for which he
has annually collected large sums of money. Should he offer any sum of
money it must be a very great one that will pay us for the many rich
ships he has taken (which we can't enumerate), besides the innumerable
other smaller vessels; but we well remember the _Charlotte_ bound from
hence to China, belonging to Madras; the _William_ belonging to Bombay,
from Bengal; the _Severn_, a Bengal freight ship for Bussorah, value
nine or ten lakhs of rupees; the _Derby_ belonging to the Hon'ble
Company, with the Grab _Restoration_, value Rs.5,22,743-4-6; the sloop
_Pilot_ and the _Augusta_; also the _Dadaboy_ from Surat, _Rose_ from
Mangalore, Grab _Anne_ from Gombroon, _Benjimolly_ from the Malabar
coast, and _Futte Dowlat_ from Muscat."

The Council were desirous of getting Toolajee into their own custody, fearful that, if left in Mahratta hands, he would be set free before long, and the work would have to be done over again.

Before the expedition left Bombay, a council of war was held, to decide on the division of spoils, between the sea and land forces. Such agreements were common enough, on such occasions, in order to prevent subsequent disputes and individual plundering. In settling the shares of the officers, the council decided that Clive and Chalmers, who was next to Clive in command of the troops, should have shares equal to that of two captains of King's ships. To this Clive objected that, though as Lieutenant-Colonel, his share would, according to custom, be equal to that of a naval captain, on this occasion, as Commander-in-Chief of the troops, it should be greater, and ought not to be less than that of Rear-Admiral Pocock. The council of war refused to agree to this, as the naval officers, who formed the majority, could not be brought to consent. Like Drake, who would rather diminish his own portion than leave any of his people unsatisfied, Watson undertook to 'give the Colonel such a part of his share as will make it equal to Rear-Admiral Pocock's;' and this was duly entered in the proceedings.

In the division of spoils, no mention is made of their Mahratta allies. They were left out of account altogether, and the reason is not far to seek. Experience had shown that, in the coming military operations, the Mahrattas would count for nothing. All the hard knocks would fall on the English, and it was but fair that they should have the prize-money; the Mahrattas would gain a substantial benefit in the possession of Gheriah, which was to be made over to them after capture.

The arrangements for the command of the troops showed that the lessons of the last ten years of warfare against the French had borne fruit. The command was left to those who made it their profession. Henceforth we hear no more of factors and writers strutting about in uniform, calling themselves colonels and captains for a few weeks, and then returning to their ledgers. We have done with the Midfords and the Browns. Out of the thirteen years he had served the Company, Clive had been a soldier for eleven. He had definitely abandoned his civil position, and had embraced a military career, and his merits had been recognized by the grant of a Lieutenant-Colonel's commission from the King. The subordinate military officers also had improved. The worst of them had been weeded out, and many of them had learned their business under Lawrence in the Carnatic. Though much unnecessary interference still went on in quarters, they were left unfettered in the command of their men in the field.

A few hours after leaving Bombay, the expedition was overtaken by despatches from Bourchier, with intelligence that the Mahrattas were treating with Toolajee. On reaching Gheriah, they found the Mahratta army encamped against it, and Ramajee Punt himself came off to tell the commanders that, with a little patience, the fort would surrender without firing a shot, as Toolajee was already in their hands and ready to treat. Alarmed at the great armament coming against him, and cowed by recent reverses, Toolajee had come as a suppliant into the Mahratta camp to try if, by finesse and chicanery, he might escape utter destruction, while, in Gheriah, he had left his brother-in-law with orders to defend it to the last. The Peishwa's officers, on their side, were anxious to get the place into their hands without admitting the English to any share of the booty; a design that was at once seen through by Hough and Watson. Ramajee promised to bring Toolajee with him the following day, to show that he was not treating separately. Instead of doing so, he sent some subordinate officers, together with some of Toolajee's relations, with excuses, to keep Watson in play, while a large bribe was offered to Hough to induce him to persuade the Admiral to suspend operations. Watson, who had already summoned the fort to surrender, let them know that he would not wait very long. They were taken to view the ship with its tiers of heavy guns, and, as a grim hint of what might be expected, he presented Toolajee's friends with a thirty-two pound shot as they left the ship.

At half-past one in the afternoon, the flag of truce having returned with the Governor's refusal to surrender, signal was made to weigh, and the whole fleet stood into the harbour in three divisions, led by the _Kingsfisher_, sloop, and the _Bridgewater_. The inner line, nearest to the fort was formed by the line-of-battle ships and the _Protector_: the Company's grabs and bombketches, with the _Guardian_, formed the second line, while the gallivats and small vessels formed a third, outer line. As the _Kingsfisher_ came opposite the fort, a shot was fired at her. The signal was made to engage, and as each ship reached its station it came to an anchor, the inner line being within musket-shot of the fort. Across the mouth of the river, Toolajee's grabs were drawn up, among them being the _Restoration_, the capture of which, six years before, had caused so much heart-burning in Bombay. As the heavy shot and shell came pouring in from over one hundred and fifty guns at close range, the Gheriah defenders manfully strove to repay the same with interest. But so terrific was the fire brought to bear on them, that it was impossible for them to lay their guns properly. In that February afternoon many a cruel outrage was expiated under that hail of iron. After two hours' firing, a shell set the _Restoration_ on fire; it spread to the grabs, and before long the Angrian fleet,[3] that had been the terror of the coast for half a century, was in a blaze. The boats were ordered out, and, as evening came on, Clive was put on shore with the troops, and took up a position a mile and a half from the fort. The Mahrattas joined him, and Toolajee, from whom the Peishwa's people had extorted a promise to surrender the fort, found means to send a letter into the place, warning his brother-in-law against surrender to the English. In the fort all was terror and dismay, though the Governor manfully did his duty. From the burning shipping the flames spread to the bazaars and warehouses. All night the bombketches threw in shells, while the conflagration continued. One square tower in the fort burned with such violence as to resemble a fabric of red-hot iron in a smithy.

Early next morning, Watson sent in a flag of truce again, but surrender was still refused, so the line-of-battle ships were warped in and recommenced firing; while Clive, who had approached the fort, battered it from the land side. At four in the afternoon a magazine in the fort blew up, and a white flag was hoisted. An officer was sent on shore, but the Governor still attempted to evade surrender. He consented to admit five or six men into the fort to hoist English colours, but would not definitely surrender possession till next day. So fire was reopened, and in twenty minutes more the Angrian flag was hauled down for the last time, and the last shred of Angrian independence had ceased to exist.

Sixty men, under Captains Forbes and Buchanan, were marched up to hold the gate for the night. A body of the Peishwa's troops tried to gain admission, and offered the officers a bill on Bombay for a lakh of rupees to allow them to pass in. The offer was rejected, but the Peishwa's officer still continued to press in, till Forbes faced his men about, and, drawing his sword, swore he would cut him down if he persisted.

The following morning, the fort was taken possession of by Clive. The success had been gained at the cost of about twenty men killed and wounded.

Ramajee Punt at once made a formal demand for the fort to be given up to him. Watson, in return, demanded that Toolajee should be made over into English custody. Meanwhile, a hunt for the treasure secreted in different places went on. "Every day hitherto has been productive of some new discoveries of treasure, plate, and jewels, etc.," wrote Hough three days later. Altogether about one hundred and thirty thousand pounds' worth of gold, silver, and jewels were secured, and divided between the land and sea forces. True to his promise, Watson sent Clive a thousand pounds to make his share equal to Pocock's. Clive sent it back again. He was satisfied with the acknowledgment of his claim, but would not take what came out of Watson's private purse. "Thus did these two gallant officers endeavour to outvie each other in mutual proofs of disinterestedness and generosity," wrote Ives in his narrative. A thousand pounds was a larger sum then than it would be now, and Clive was a poor man at the time, but he was never greedy of money. The incident justifies his boast, long afterwards, of his moderation when the treasures of Bengal were at his mercy. It is allowable to suppose that it strengthened the mutual respect of both, and facilitated their co-operation in Bengal, a year later. It was a fortunate thing for England that Watson was not a man of Matthews' stamp.

The Europeans in Toolajee's service appear to have left him before the attack began, as no mention is made of them; but ten Englishmen and three Dutchmen were found in the place, in a state of slavery, and released.

In delivering over Bankote, the Mahrattas had failed to give, with the fort, the five villages according to agreement. The Council were desirous of having Toolajee in their own keeping, so they refused to give over Gheriah, and for some months a wrangle went on concerning the points in dispute. The Council proposed that they should retain Gheriah and give up Bankote. The Peishwa taunted the Council with breach of faith, and refused to give up Toolajee. The squabble was at last settled by the Mahrattas engaging to give ten villages near Bankote, and that Toolajee should not receive any territory within forty miles of the sea. On these conditions Gheriah was delivered over. Toolajee, instead of being given any territory, was kept a prisoner for the rest of his life. Some years afterwards, his sons made their escape, and sought refuge in Bombay.

With the fall of Gheriah, the heavy cloud that had so long hung over Bombay trade was dispelled. Thenceforward none but the smallest vessels had anything to fear on the coast south of Bombay, though another half-century elapsed before the Malwans were compelled to give up piracy. The Sanganians continued to be troublesome, at times, till they too were finally reduced to order in 1816, after more than one expedition had been sent against them. Persian Gulf piracy continued to flourish till 1835, when it was brought to an end by a happy combination of arms and diplomacy.

On Shooter's Hill, adjoining Woolwich Common, the tower of Severndroog, erected by James's widow to commemorate his great achievement, forms a conspicuous landmark in the surrounding country. Here, in sight of the spot where the bones of Kidd and his associates long hung in chains as a terror to evil-doers, there still lingers a breath of that long struggle against the Angrian pirates, and of its triumphant conclusion.

"This far-seen monumental tow'r
Records the achievements of the brave,
And Angria's subjugated pow'r,
Who plundered on the Eastern wave."

_"Walks through London," David Hughson_.

[1] Properly Suvarna Droog, 'the Golden Fortress.'

[2] Bankote was made over on the 6th December, and the British flag
hoisted there on the 10th January, 1756.

[3] Three three-masted ships carrying twenty guns each; nine two-masted,
carrying from twelve to sixteen guns; thirteen gallivats, carrying
from six to ten guns; thirty others unclassed; two on the stocks,
one of them pierced for forty guns.

* * * * *

AN ENGLISHWOMAN IN INDIA TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO

On the 9th March, 1709, the _Loyall Bliss_, East Indiaman, Captain Hudson, left her anchorage in the Downs and sailed for Bengal. As passengers, she carried Captain Gerrard Cooke, his wife, a son and two daughters, together with a few soldiers. For many years Cooke had served the Company at Fort William, as Gunner, an office that included the discharge of many incongruous duties. After a stay in England, he was now returning to Bengal, as engineer, with the rank of captain. The _Loyall Bliss_ was a clumsy sailer, and made slow progress; so that August had come before she left the Cape behind her. Contrary winds and bad weather still detained her, and kept her westward of her course. By the middle of September, the south-west monsoon, on which they depended to carry them up the bay, had ceased to blow, so--

"our people being a great many Downe with the scurvy and our water
being short, wee called a Consultation of Officers it being too late
to pretend to get bengali the season being come that the N.E. Trade
wind being sett in and our people almost every man tainted with
distemper," it was determined to make for Carwar and "endever to gett
refresments there."

On the 7th October, they came to anchor in the little bay formed by the Carwar River. The next day, hearing of a French man-of-war being on the coast, they procured a pilot and anchored again under the guns of the Portuguese fort on the island of Angediva, where lay the bones of some three hundred of the first royal troops ever sent to India. Twenty-six soldiers were sent on shore, 'most of them not being able to stand.' The chief of the Company's factory at Carwar at that time was Mr. John Harvey, who entertained Captain Hudson and all the gentlemen and ladies on board 'in a splendid manner.' One may picture to one's self the pleasure with which they escaped for a time from the ship and its scurvy-stricken crew. To Mr. Harvey and the Company's officials they were welcome as bringing the latest news from England. They were able to tell of Marlborough's victory at Oudenarde, and the capture of Lille and Minorca, while Harvey was able to tell them of Captain Kidd's visit to Carwar twelve years before, and to show them where the freebooter had careened his ship. But Mr. John Harvey found other matter of interest in his visitors. There were few Englishwomen in India in those days, and the unexpected advent of a fresh young English girl aroused his susceptibilities to such an extent that he forgot to report to Bombay the arrival of the _Loyall Bliss_, for which, he, in due time, received a reprimand. He quickly made known to Captain Cooke that he had taken a very great liking to his eldest daughter. Mistress Catherine Cooke, 'a most beautiful lady, not exceeding thirteen or fourteen years of age.' Cooke was a poor man, and had left two more daughters in England; so, as Mr. Harvey 'proffered to make great Settlements provided the Father and Mother would consent to her marriage,' Mistress Catherine Cooke, 'to oblige her parents,' consented also. There was little time for delay, as the captain of the _Loyall Bliss_ was impatient to be off. The Company's ship _Tankerville_ was on the coast, bound southward, and it was desirable they should sail in company for mutual protection. So, on the 22nd October, the _Loyall Bliss_ made sail for Bengal, where she safely arrived in due time, leaving behind the young bride at Carwar.

To the lookers-on the marriage was repugnant, and can hardly have been a happy one for the young girl, as Harvey was 'a deformed man and in years.' He had been long on the coast, and by diligent trading had acquired a little money; but he had other things to think of besides his private trade, as we find recorded at the time that 'the Rajah of Carwar continues ill-natured.' By the end of 1710, he made up his mind to resign the Company's service, wind up his affairs, and go to England; so Mr. Robert Mence was appointed to succeed him at Carwar, and, in April, 1711, Harvey and his child-wife came to Bombay. But to wind up trading transactions of many years' standing was necessarily a long business, and there was no necessity for hurry, as no ship could leave for England till after the monsoon. As always happened in those days, his own accounts were mixed up with those of the Company, and would require laborious disentanglement. Before leaving Carwar, he had leased to the Company his trading grab, the _Salamander_, and had taken the precaution to pay himself out of the Company's treasure chest at Carwar. Before long, there was an order to the Carwar chief to recharge Mr. Harvey 402 Pagodas, 17 Jett, and 4 Pice he had charged to the Company for the use of the _Salamander_, the account having been liquidated in Bombay; from which it would appear that he had been paid twice for his ship. The accounts of those days must have been maddening affairs owing to the multiplicity of coinages. Pounds sterling, Pagodas, Rupees, Fanams, Xeraphims, Laris, Juttals, Matte, Reis, Rials, Cruzadoes, Sequins, Pice, Budgerooks, and Dollars of different values were all brought into the official accounts. In 1718, the confusion was increased by a tin coinage called Deccanees.[1] The conversion of sums from one coinage to another, many of them of unstable value, must have been an everlasting trouble.[2] In August we find Harvey writing to the Council to say that he had at Tellicherry a chest of pillar dollars weighing 289 lbs. 3 ozs. 10 dwts., which he requests may be paid into the Company's cash there, and in return a chest of dollars may be given him at Bombay.

His young wife doubtless assisted him in his complicated accounts, and gained some knowledge of local trade. It must have been a wonderful delight to her to escape from the dulness of Carwar and mix in the larger society of Bombay, and she must have realized with sadness the mistake she had made in marrying a deformed man old enough to be her grandfather, at the solicitation of her parents. She made, at this time, two acquaintances that were destined to have considerable influence on her future life. On the 5th August, the _Godolphin_, twenty-one days from Mocha, approached Bombay, but being unable to make the harbour before nightfall, anchored outside; a proceeding that would appear, even to a landsman, absolutely suicidal in the middle of the monsoon, but was probably due to fear of pirates.[3]

That night heavy weather came on, the ship's cable parted, and the _Godolphin_ became a total wreck at the foot of Malabar Hill. Apparently, all the Englishmen on board were saved, among them the second supercargo, a young man named Thomas Chown, who lost all his possessions. There was also in Bombay, at the time, a young factor, William Gyfford, who had come to India, six years before, as a writer, at the age of seventeen. We shall hear of both of them again.

In October, came news of the death of Mr. Robert Mence at Carwar. 'Tho his time there was so small wee find he had misapplyed 1700 and odd pagodas to his own use,' the Bombay Council reported to the Directors in London. In his place was appointed Mr. Miles Fleetwood, who was then in Bombay awaiting a passage to the Persian Gulf where he had been appointed a factor. With him returned to Carwar, Harvey and his wife, to adjust some depending accounts with the country people there.

We get an account of Carwar thirty years before this, from Alexander Hamilton, which shows that there was plenty of sport near at hand for those who were inclined for it, and it is interesting to find that the Englishmen who now travel in search of big game had their predecessors in those days--

"This Country is so famous for hunting, that two Gentlemen of
Distinction, viz: Mr. _Lembourg_ of the House of _Lembourg_ in
_Germany_, and Mr. _Goring_, a Son of my Lord _Goring's_ in _England_,
went _incognito_ in one of the _East India_ Company's Ships, for India.
They left Letters directed for their Relations, in the Hands of a
Friend of theirs, to be delivered two or three Months after their
Departure, so that Letters of Credit followed them by the next Year's
Shipping, with Orders from the _East India_ Company to the Chiefs of
the Factories, wherever they should happen to come, to treat them
according to their Quality. They spent three Years at _Carwar, viz:_
from Anno 1678 to 1681, then being tired with that Sort of Pleasure,
they both took Passage on board a Company's Ship for _England_, but Mr.
_Goring_ died four days after the Ship's Departure from _Carwar_, and
lies buried on the Island of _St. Mary_, about four Leagues from the
Shore, off _Batacola_, and Mr. _Lembourg_ returned safe to _England_."

Four months after his return to Carwar, Harvey died, leaving his girl-wife a widow. She remained at Carwar, engaged in winding up the trading affairs of her late husband, and asserting her claim to his estate, which had been taken possession of by the Company's officials, according to custom. According to the practice of the day, every merchant and factor had private trading accounts which were mixed up with the Company's accounts, so that on retirement they were not allowed to leave the country till the Company's claims were settled. In case of death, their estates were taken possession of for the same reason. Two months later, Mr. Thomas Chown, the late supercargo of the _Godolphin_, was sent down to Carwar as a factor, and, a few weeks after his arrival, he married the young widow. Application was now made to the Council at Bombay for the effects of her late husband to be made over to her, and orders were sent to Carwar for the late Mr. Harvey's effects to be sold, and one-third of the estate to be paid to Mrs. Chown, provided Harvey had died intestate. The Carwar factory chief replied that the effects had realized 13,146 rupees 1 fanam and 12 budgerooks; that Harvey had left a will dated the 8th April, 1708, and that therefore nothing had been paid to Mrs. Chown. It was necessary for Chown and his wife to go to Bombay and prosecute their claims in person. The short voyage was destined to be an eventful one.

On the 3rd November (1712), Chown and his wife left Carwar in the _Anne_ ketch, having a cargo of pepper and wax on board, to urge their claim to the late Mr. Harvey's estate. The coast swarmed with pirate craft, among which those of Conajee Angria were the most numerous and the most formidable. It was usual, therefore, for every cargo of any value to be convoyed by an armed vessel. To protect the _Anne_, Governor Aislabie's armed yacht had been sent down, and a small frigate, the _Defiance_,[4] was also with them. The day after leaving Carwar they were swooped down upon by four of Angria's ships, and a hot action ensued. The brunt of it fell on the Governor's yacht, which had both masts shot away and was forced to surrender. The ketch tried to escape back to Carwar, but was laid aboard by two grabs, and had to surrender when she had expended most of her ammunition. In the action, Chown had his arm torn off by a cannon-shot, and expired in his wife's arms. So again, in little more than three years from her first marriage, Mrs. Chown was left a widow when she could hardly have been eighteen. The captured vessels and the prisoners were carried off; the crews to Gheriah and the European prisoners to Colaba. To make matters worse for the poor widow, she was expecting the birth of an infant.

Great was the excitement in Bombay when the news of Mrs. Chown's capture arrived. The Governor was away at Surat, and all that could be done was to address Angria; so a letter was written to him 'in English and Gentues,' asking for the captives and all papers to be restored, and some medicine was sent for the wounded. Just at this time also news was received of the Indiaman _New George_ having been taken by the French near Don Mascharenas.[5] Sir John Gayer, who was on board, finished his troubled career in the East by being killed in the action.

After keeping them a month in captivity Angria sent back his prisoners, except the captains ransom. In acknowledgment of kindness shown to the released prisoners by the Seedee, that chief was presented with a pair of Musquetoons, a fowling-piece, and five yards of 'embost' cloth. But in the Governor's absence the Council could do nothing about payment of ransom. When he returned, negotiations went on through the European prisoners in Colaba. Angria being sincerely anxious for peace with the English while he was in arms against his own chief, terms were arranged, and Lieutenant Mackintosh was despatched to Colaba with Rs.30,000 as ransom for the Europeans, and the sealed convention. On the 22nd February (1713), he returned, bringing with him Mrs. Chown and the other captives, the captured goods, and the _Anne_ ketch, but the yacht was too badly damaged to put to sea. According to Downing, Mrs. Chown was in such a state that Mackintosh, 'was obliged to wrap his clothes about her to cover her nakedness.' But her courage had never forsaken her; 'she most courageously withstood all Angria's base usage, and endured his insults beyond expectation.' Shortly afterwards she was delivered of a son. Out of her first husband's estate one thousand rupees were granted her for present necessities, with an allowance of one hundred xeraphims a month.

Very shortly afterwards we find her being married for the third time, to young William Gyfford, with the Governor's approval. According to the statute law of Bombay, no marriage was binding, except it had the Governor's consent; Hamilton tells us how on one occasion a factor, Mr. Solomon Loyd, having married a young lady without the Governor's consent, Sir John Gayer dissolved the marriage, and married the lady again to his own son. In October, two years and a half after her first husband's death, seven thousand four hundred and ninety-two rupees, being one-third of his estate, were paid over to her. It is carefully recorded that neither of her deceased husbands had left wills, though the existence of Harvey's will had been very precisely recorded by the Council, fifteen months before. Young Gyfford, who was then twenty-five, appears to have been a favourite with the Governor, and had lately been given charge of the Bombay Market. Eighteen months after his marriage, we find William Gyfford appointed supercargo of the _Catherine_, trading to Mocha. The office was a most desirable one for a young factor. It afforded him opportunities for private trade at first hand, instead of through agents, that in the mind of an adventurous young man quite outbalanced the perils of the sea.

In spite of small salaries, a goodly appearance was made by the Company's servants in public. At the public table, where they sat in order of seniority, all dishes, plates, and drinking-cups were of pure silver or fine china. English, Portuguese, and Indian cooks were employed, so that every taste might be suited. Before and after meals silver basins were taken round for each person to wash his hands. Arrack, Shiraz wine, and 'pale punch,' a compound of brandy, rose-water, lime-juice, and sugar, were drunk, and, at times, we hear of Canary wine. In 1717, Boone abolished the public table, and diet money was given in its place. Boone reported to the Directors that, by the change, a saving of nearly Rs.16,000 a year was effected, and the Company's servants better satisfied. On festival days the Governor would invite the whole factory to a picnic in some garden outside the city. On such an occasion, a procession was formed, headed by the Governor and his lady, in palanquins. Two large ensigns were carried before them, followed by a number of led horses in gorgeous trappings of velvet and silver. Following the Governor came the Captain of the Peons on horseback, with forty or fifty armed men on foot. Next followed the members of the Council, the merchants, factors, and writers, in order of seniority, in fine bullock coaches or riding on horses, all maintained at the Company's expense. At the Dewallee festival every servant of the Company, from the Governor to the youngest writer, received a 'peshcush' from the brokers and bunyas, which to the younger men were of much importance; as they depended on these gifts to procure their annual supply of clothes.

Of the country, away from the coast, they were profoundly ignorant. The far-off King of 'Dilly' was little more than a name to them, and they were more concerned in the doings of petty potentates with strange names, such as the Zamorin, the Zammelook, the Kempsant, and the Sow Rajah, who have long disappeared. They talked of the people as Gentoos, Moors, Mallwans, Sanganians, Gennims, Warrels, Coulis, Patanners, etc., and the number of political, racial, religious, and linguistic divisions presented to their view must have been especially puzzling. Owing to the numerous languages necessary to carry on trade on the Malabar coast, they were forced to depend almost entirely on untrustworthy Portuguese interpreters. Their difficulties in this respect are dwelt on by Hamilton--

"One great Misfortune that attends us _European_ Travellers in _India_
is, the Want of Knowledge of their Languages, and they being so
numerous, that one intire Century would be too short a Time to learn
them all: I could not find one in Ten thousand that could speak
intelligible _English_, tho' along the Sea coast the _Portuguese_ have
left a Vestige of their Language, tho' much corrupted, yet it is the
Language that most _Europeans_ learn first, to qualify them for a
general Converse with one another, as well as with the different
Inhabitants of _India_."

After two years' work, as supercargo, on different ships, Gyfford was sent down to Anjengo as chief of the factory. Anjengo was at that time one of the most important factories on the Malabar coast, though of comparatively recent establishment. It was first frequented by the Portuguese, who, after a time, were ousted by the Dutch. It belonged to the Rani of Attinga, who owned a small principality extending along sixty miles of coast. In 1688,[6] Rani Ashure invited the English to form a trading settlement in her dominions, and two were formed, at Vittoor (Returah) and Villanjuen (Brinjone). But for some reason, she became dissatisfied with the English, and the hostility of the Dutch, in spite of the alliance between the two countries in Europe, caused great trouble. In November, 1693, John Brabourne was sent to Attinga, where, by his successful diplomacy, the sandy spit of Anjengo was granted to the English, as a site for a fort, together with the monopoly of the pepper trade of Attinga. Soon, the Dutch protests and intrigues aroused the Rani's suspicions. She ordered Brabourne to stop his building. Finding him deaf to her orders, she first tried to starve out the English by cutting off supplies, but as the sea was open, the land blockade proved ineffectual. She then sent an armed force against Brabourne, which was speedily put to flight, and terms of peace were arranged. The fort was completed, and a most flourishing trade in pepper and cotton cloth speedily grew up. Anjengo became the first port of call for outward-bound ships. The Anjengo fortification appeared so formidable to the Dutch, that they closed their factories at Cochin, Quilon, and Cannanore.[7] About 1700, Rani Ashure died, and the little principality fell into disorder. It was a tradition that only women should reign, and Ashure's successor was unable to make her authority felt. The Poolas, who governed the four districts into which the principality was divided, intrigued for power against each other, and before long the Rani became a puppet in the hands of Poola Venjamutta. In 1704, a new Governor, Sir Nicholas Waite, was appointed to Bombay. For some reason he left Brabourne without instructions or money for investment.[8] Their small salaries and their private trading seem to have made the Company's servants very independent. We constantly find them throwing up the service and going away, without waiting for permission. Brabourne went off to Madras, after delivering over the fort to Mr. Simon Cowse, who had long resided there, apparently as a private merchant, and who proved, as times went, a good servant to the Company. The Company's service in those days was full of intrigue and personal quarrels. The merchant second in rank at Anjengo, John Kyffin, intrigued against Cowse so successfully, that Cowse was deposed, and Kyffin was made chief of the settlement. He appears to have been a thoroughly unscrupulous man. To enrich himself in his private pepper trade 'he stuck at nothing.' He took part in the local intrigues of Attinga, from which his predecessors had held aloof, played into the hands of Poola Venjamutta, quarrelled with the other local officials, and behaved with great violence whenever there was the slightest hitch in his trade. Kyffin's want of loyalty to the Company was still more clearly shown by his friendly dealings with their rivals, a proceeding that was strictly forbidden.

In June, 1717, Kyffin made known to the Council at Bombay his wish to retire, and William Gyfford was appointed to succeed him as soon as the monsoon would permit. So, in due course of time, Gyfford and his wife went to Anjengo; but, in spite of his resignation, Kyffin stuck to his office, and evidently viewed Gyfford with unfriendly eyes. In the following April, intelligence reached the Council at Bombay that Kyffin had had dealings with the Ostenders, and had been 'very assisting' to them; so, a peremptory order went down from Bombay, dismissing him from the Company's service, if the report of his assisting the Ostenders was true. If the report was not true, no change was to be made. A commission to Gyfford to assume the chiefship was sent at the same time. Interlopers and Ostenders, he was told, were not to receive even provisions or water. So Kyffin departed, and Gyfford reigned at Anjengo in his stead.