History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c84.s1.t3.2

v5.c84.s1.t3.2

Another cause of popular suffering was the defenceless condition of the province on water. During the late interval of confusion and anarchy, the flotilla (*nawwara*) of Bengal had been neglected. "During Prince Shuja's governorship, the extortion and violence of the collectors ruined the villages (yielding 14 lakhs a year) assigned for the support of the flotilla. Many naval officers and workmen holding jagir or cash stipend, were overcome by poverty and starvation......Many naval officers and men perished in the Assam expedition of Mir Jumla ; so that at that nobleman's death the *nawwara* was in utter ruin......Its only remnants were a few broken and rotten boats." [Ibid. 113a.] This unprotected condition of the Bengal sea-board increased the audacity of the half-breed Portuguese pirates of Chatgaon, and the riverside tracts of Noakhali and Barisal, and even Dacca, were ruthlessly devastated by them year after year.