History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c83.s8.1

v5.c83.s8.1

'European piracy in the Indian Ocean had begun with the coming of Vasco da Gama at the end of the 15th century. It excited no moral reprobation in Christendom. "To prey upon Muham-madan ships was simply to pursue in other waters the chronic warfare carried on against Moors and Turks in the Mediterranean." [Biddulph's *Pirates of Malabar*, 2.] Merchants and adventurers of all classes and nationalities flocked from Europe to the Indian seas in the 16th and 17th centuries, and with the growth of Indian trade there was a corresponding growth of piracy. 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 by the Mughal Government for seven months.