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Shivaji and His Times c12: Chapter XI. Naval Enterprises

Shivaji and His Times c12

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Chapter XI. Naval Enterprises

§1. The Abyssinians of the West Coast

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The expansion of Shivaji's rule across the Western Ghats into the coast-district of Konkan brought him into contact with the maritime Powers of our western seaboard. Chief among these were the Siddis or Abyssinians of Janjira, a rocky island 45 miles south of Bombay, and guarding the mouth of the Rajpuri creek. Half a mile east of it, on the mainland stands the town of Rajpuri, and two miles south-east of the latter is Danda on the shore of the creek. But these two towns are regarded as one place and formed the head-quarters of the land-possessions of the Siddis, covering much of the modern district of Kolaba. From this tract were drawn the revenue and provisions that nourished the Government of Janjira.

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An Abyssinian colony had settled here in the 15th century. One of them secured the governorship of Danda-Rajpuri under the Sultans of Ahmadnagar. But the dissolution of that monarchy and the situation of the district on the extreme frontier of the State beyond the Western Ghats, made it easy for the Siddi to establish himself in practical independence of the central authority, so that, when the partition treaty of 1636 gave the west coast to Bijapur, that Government recognized the Siddi chief as its representative in the district, gave him the title of a *wazir*, and added to his charge the whole seaboard from Nagothna to Bankot, on condition of his protecting Bijapur trade and Mecca pilgrims at sea.

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As the Siddis formed a small military aristocracy dominating a vast alien population, their constitution provided for the rule of the ablest, and on the death of a chief not his son but the first officer of the fleet succeeded to the governorship. The Abyssinians were hardy, skilful and daring mariners and the most efficient fighters at sea among the Muslim races, while their courage and energy, joined to coolness and power of command, made them enjoy a high estimation as soldiers and administrators.

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The Siddi chief of Janjira maintained an efficient fleet, and throughout the 17th century he was officially recognized as the admiral, at first of Bijapur and latterly of the Mughal empire. There was no native Power on the west coast that could make a stand against him at sea. (Bom. Gaz. xi. 434, 416.)

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To the owner of Konkan it was essential that the Siddi should be either made an ally or rendered powerless for mischief. Shivaji found that unless he created a strong navy, his foreign trade would be lost, and his subjects on the sea-coast and for some distance inland would remain liable to constant plunder, enslavement, outrage, and slaughter at the will of a band of pirates alien by race, creed and language. The innumerable creeks and navigable rivers of the west coast, while they naturally fostered the growth of rich ports and trade centres, made it imperatively necessary for their protection that their owner should rule the sea. On the other hand, the possession of Danda-Rajpuri and its adjacent district was necessary to the owner of Janjira for his very existence. The political separation of the two made war against the mainland an economic necessity to him.

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§2. Maratha conquests from the Abyssinians, up to 1661.

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Shivaji had early captured the eastern part of the Kolaba district adjoining the Siddi's territory, but the latter still held Danda-Rajpuri and much of the neighbouring land. There were constant skirmishes between the two Powers thus occupying the eastern and western portions of the Kolaba district, but no record of them has come down to us. The Siddi had too small an army to defy the regular Maratha forces on land, and he seems to have confined himself to making raids by surprise and doing petty acts of mischief to Shivaji's villages in that region, as is clear from the Maratha chronicler's description of the Siddi as "an enemy like the mice in a house." (Sabh. 67.)

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Very little activity was probably shown by Yusuf Khan who ruled Janjira from 1642 to 1655.

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But his successor Fath Khan was a brave active and able leader. In 1659, when Afzal Khan was advancing against Shivaji from the east, Fath Khan seized the opportunity of trying to recover his own. But, on hearing of the destruction of the Bijapur army (November), he retired in haste. Next year, when Ali Adil Shah II. opened a campaign against Shivaji, who was invested in Panhala fort, Fath Khan renewed his invasion of Konkan. The Kay Savant, a loyal vassal of Bijapur, co-operated with the Siddi. After an obstinate battle both the Savant and Baji Rao Pasalkar (Shivaji's general) fell in a single combat, and both parties retreated to their bases. (Sabh. 66.)*

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∗ The dates relating to the struggle with the Siddis given in this section are very doubtful, as Sabhasad is never accurate in his order of events and there is no independent check on his statements here. The Shivapur Daftar Yadi says that in July 1657, Raghunath was sent to Rajpuri. This date cannot be reconciled with the other narratives, and is unsupported by Jedhe. The meaning also is not clear. An English Factory letter (1659) states, "Those that inhabit Danda-Rajpuri are pirates and rogues, and maintain vessels abroad to rob all that they master." (Foster, 214.)

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To retrieve the position, Shivaji next sent a larger force, five to seven thousand strong, under Raghunath Ballal Korde, who beat the Siddi forces, captured Tala, Ghonsala, and other forts, and wrested the sea-coast up to Danda. The Marathas continued the campaign even during the rains, and after a long siege captured the fort of Danda, and following up their success opened batteries against Janjira itself. But their weakness in artillery defeated their attempt on this sea-girt rock. Hopeless of relief from Bijapur, the Siddi came to terms with Shivaji and formally ceded Danda-Rajpuri. Thus, no stronghold was left to the Siddi on the mainland. (Sabh. 67.)

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But this peace could not possibly last long. To the Siddi the loss of the Kolaba territory meant starvation, and, on the other hand, it was Shiva's "lifelong ambition to capture Janjira" and make his hold on the west coast absolutely secure. Hostilities soon broke out again. The Siddis resumed their depredations on the coast, while Shiva fired upon Janjira every year during the dry season, without being able to take that island-fortress.

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The Maratha gains on the Kolaba coast were now organized into a province, and placed under an able viceroy, Vyankoji Datto, with a permanent contingent of 5 to 7 thousand men (Sabh. 68.) He defeated the Siddis in a great land-battle, totally excluded them from the mainland, improved the defences of Danda-Rajpuri by fortifying a hill that commanded it, and built a chain of forts (such as Birwadi and Lingana) which effectually prevented Siddi depredations in that quarter. At this the Siddis, in order to "fill their stomachs," had to direct their piracy against the villages and ports further south, in the Ratnagiri district, which had now come under Shiva's sway. The Maratha chief, therefore, realized that he must create a formidable navy and set up fortified bases along the coast, if he was to ensure the protection of his seaside districts and the conquest of Janjira which would continue as a thorn in his side if left in enemy hands. (Sabh. 68.)

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∗ The English merchants of Rajapur write on 10 Dec. 1659, of "Shivaji having already taken the town of Danda-Rajpuri, but not the castle." (F. R. Rajapur.)

§3. Shivaji's navy described

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Shivaji's navy had its humble origin in his early conquest of the Thana district. Already in 1659 his first few war-vessels, launched on the creeks near Kalian, Bhivandi and Panvel, are found plying the sea and provoking the alarm and opposition of the Portuguese. With the extension of his power along the entire west coast down to the frontier of Goa, the rapid increase of his navy became not only necessary but also very profitable. With so many naval bases of supply and points of shelter and embarkation in his hands, the entire Malabar coast with its immense riches lay at his mercy. He knew that without naval supremacy his position even as a land power would be precarious. Therefore, as his courtier Sabhasad puts it, "The Rajah put the saddle on the ocean."

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The Marathi chronicles speak of Shivaji's fleet as consisting at its best of four hundred vessels of various sizes and classes, such as *ghurabs* (gun-boats), *tarandes*, tarambes, gallivats, shibars, pagars, manchwas, &c. But the English factory reports never put their number above 160, and usually as 60 only. They were formed into two squadrons (of 200 vessels each, if we accept the Marathi accounts), and commanded by two admirals who bore the titles of Daria Sarang (Admiral of the Ocean) and Mai Nayak or Mian Nayak.*

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The numerous creeks on the Bombay coast had developed among many low-caste Hindus of the region (such as the Kolis, Sanghars, Vaghers and the Maratha clan of Angrias) hereditary skill in seafaring and naval fight. The "Malabar pirates" were a terror even to the English. From them† Shiva recruited his crew, and he afterwards added to them a body of Muslims, notably a discontented Siddi named Misri and Daulat Khan.

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† "The Bhandari [caste of husbandmen] are found in most parts of the Ratnagiri district, but chiefly in the coast villages. They supplied the former pirate chiefs with most of their fighting men. A strong, healthy and fine-looking set of men.....they are fond of athletic exercises.....and do not differ from the Marathas and Kunbis." (Bom. Gaz., x. 124.) For the Koli pirates, ix. pt. i. 519-522; and the Angrias, i. pt. ii. 87-88; xi. 145.

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Shivaji's navy immediately took to plundering the coast of Kanara and Goa, and brought to him vast quantities of booty in the same way as his land-forces did. They often fought the Siddi fleet. (Sabh. 68.) We may here record what little is definitely known about Shivaji's mercantile marine. Soon after getting possession of the ports in North Konkan, he began to engage in foreign trade on his own account. Early in January 1660 he captured at Rajapur one of the junks of Afzal Khan and turned it to his own use. In February 1663 the English at Surat report that he was fitting out two ships of considerable burden for trading with Mocha (in western Arabia) and loading them at Jaitapur, two miles up the Rajapur river, with "goods of considerable value which were by storms or foul weather driven upon his coast." Two years later (12th March 1665), they write that from each of the eight or nine "most considerable ports in the Deccan" that he had seized, he used to "set out 2 or 3 or more trading vessels yearly to Persia, Basra, Mocha, &c." Again, we learn that in April, 1669, a great storm on the Karwar coast destroyed several of his ships and rice-boats, "one of the ships being very richly laden." (F. R. Surat, Vols. 2, 86, 105.)

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∗ Sabh. 68. Ghurabs are floating batteries or gun-boats carrying two masts and moving slowly. Gallivats are vessels constructed for swift sailing. Shibars are trading boats, manchwas being a stronger kind of trading vessel than shibars. (Orme's Frag. Sec. 1.) A tarande is a large sailing vessel. The machwa (a round-built two-masted craft of from 3 to 20 tons) and the shibar (a large square-sterned, flat-bottomed vessel with 2 masts but no deck) are described in Bom. Gaz. xiii. pt. ii, 717. Sabhasad, 68, speaks of Daria Sarang as a Musalman and of Mai Nayak as a Hindu of the Bhandari caste. But a Bombay letter dated 21 Nov. 1670 says, "The admiral of the [Maratha] fleet is one Ventgee Sarungee, commonly called Durrea Sarangee." Another Bombay letter, 11 Sep. 1679, speaks of 'Mia Nayak, a Bhandari of Rajapur.' (Orme MSS. 116.) Daulat Khan was an officer distinct from the Daria Sarang (Rajwade, viii. 27 and T. S.)

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§4. Doings of the Maratha navy, 1664-1665.

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The rise of the Maratha naval power caused anxiety to the Siddis, the English merchants, and the Mughal Emperor alike. On 26th June, 1664, the Surat factors report that Shiva was fitting out a fleet of 60 frigates for an attack on some unknown quarter, probably "to surprise all junks and vessels belonging to that port and to waylay them on their return from Basra and Persia," or to transport an army up the Cambay creek (Sabarmati) for making a raid on Ahmadabad. At the end of November it was learnt that the fleet had been sent to Bhatkal, to co-operate with his army in the invasion of Kanara. The English President describes the Maratha vessels as "pitiful things, so that one good English ship would destroy a hundred of them without running herself into great danger." (*F. R. Surat*, Vol. 86, 26 November 1664.) In addition to the inferior size and build of their ships, the Marathas on land and sea alike were very weak in artillery and, therefore, powerless against European ships of war.

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In February 1665, Shivaji's fleet of 85 frigates* and three large ships conveyed his army to Basrur for the plunder of South Kanara. (Ch. 10.)

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He had very early begun to plunder Mughal ships, especially those conveying pilgrims for Mecca from the port of Surat (called *Dar-ul-hajj*, "the City of Pilgrimage.") The Emperor had no fleet of his own in the Indian Ocean able to cope with the Marathas. Early in 1665 when Jai Singh opened his campaign, in accordance with his policy of combining all possible enemies against Shivaji, he wrote to the Siddi to enter into an alliance with the Mughals. (*Haft Anj.*, Benares MS., 78a.) Late in the same year, when Jai Singh was about to begin the invasion of Bijapur, he invited these Abyssinians to join the Mughal force, promising them *mansabs*.† By the Treaty of Purandar, the Mughals left the territory of Janjira adjoining Shiva's dominions to him, if he could conquer it. (*Ibid.*) Shiva also offered to attempt the conquest of Janjira for the Emperor. (*Ibid.* 78*b*. But *Tarikh-i-Shivaji*, 22*b*, states that Jai Singh definitely refused to make the Siddis give up Janjira to Shiva.)

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∗ Duff (i. 201n) suggests that by the term *frigates* were probably meant small vessels with one mast, from 30 to 150 tons burden, common on the Malabar coast.

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† A Siddi Sambal fought on the Mughal side during the invasion of Bijapur in 1666. (*A. N.* 1012.) The informal connection thus established between the Emperor and the Siddis continued, as we find that during Shivaji's siege of Janjira in 1669, Aurangzib wrote to him commanding him to withdraw from the attempt. (Bombay to Surat, dated 16 Oct., 1669, *F. R. Surat*, Vol. 105.)

§5. Maratha attack on Janjira fails

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In 1669 Shivaji's attack upon Janjira was renewed with great vigour. In the earlier months of the year the hostile armies made almost daily inroads into each other's country and the warfare closed the roads to all peaceful traffic. In October, the Siddi was so very hard pressed and Janjira was in such danger of being starved into surrender that he wrote to the English merchants of his "resolve to hold out to the last and then deliver it up to the Mughal." (*F. R. Surat* 105, Hubli to Surat, 17 July, Bomb. to Surat, 16 Oct.)

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The contest came to a crisis next year (1670.) Shivaji staked all his resources on the capture of Janjira. Fath Khan, worn out by the incessant struggle, impoverished by the ruin of his subjects, and hopeless of aid from his suzerain at Bijapur, resolved to accept Shiva's offer of a large sum and a rich *jagir* as the price of giving up Janjira. But his three Abyssinian slaves roused their clansmen on the island against this surrender to an infidel, imprisoned Fath Khan, seized the Government, and applied to Adil Shah and the Mughal viceroy of the Deccan for aid. The Mughals readily agreed, and the Siddi fleet was transferred from the overlordship of Bijapur to that of Delhi, and Siddi Sambal, one of the leaders of the revolution, was created imperial admiral with a *mansab* and a *jagir* yielding 3 *lakhs* of Rupees. His two associates, Siddi Qasim and Siddi Khairiyat, were given the command of Janjira and the land dominions respectively. The Siddi fleet was taken into Mughal service on the same terms as under Bijapur. The general title of Yaqut Khan was conferred on successive Siddi admirals from this time onwards, and the government of Janjira was separated from the admiral's charge and placed under another Siddi, who was regarded as the second leader of the tribe and heir to the admiral's post. Yaqut Khan was merely first among his equals. "The other Siddi captains preserved the distinct command over their own crews and dependents, and an aristocratical council determined the general welfare of this singular republic." (Orme's Frag. 57; K. K. ii. 224.)

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This revolution at Janjira is said by Khafi Khan to have taken place in January or February 1671.* Shortly before it the Maratha fleet had met with a great reverse. In November 1670, Shivaji collected at Nandgaon, 10 miles north of Janjira, 160 small vessels (under Daria Sarang) and an army of 10,000 horse and 20,000 foot, with full provisions for a siege, large numbers of mining tools (pick-axes, shovels and crow-bars), and victuals for 40 days. Another body of 3,000 soldiers, with a great number of pioneers, was kept "ready to embark and depart with the fleet at a minute's notice." His secret design was to march to Surat by land, where the fleet would join him, and then the fort would be delivered to him on 29th November, as had been secretly agreed upon by its commandant. If he succeeded there, he intended to march on and take Broach also.

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∗ But the date is evidently wrong. On 4th April 1674, Narayan Shenvi, the English agent, writes from Raigarh to Bombay "I have discoursed with Niraji Pandit concerning the peace you desired might be concluded with the Siddi Fath Khan." (F. R. Surat, Vol. 88.) This proves (a) that Fath Khan was a Siddi and not an Afghan as stated by Khafi Khan, and (b) that he was in power in 1674, instead of having been deposed in 1671. Here Khafi Khan is proved by contemporary records to be unreliable. But Siddi Sambal was undoubtedly admiral of the fleet from 1671 onwards.

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But the plan failed. The fleet left Nandgaon on 24th November and passed northwards skirting the Bombay island the next day, and Mahim on the 26th. The army under Shivaji marched in the same direction by land. But on the 26th he suddenly turned back and recalled his fleet. He had discovered that the seemingly treacherous *qiladar's* promise to sell the fort to him was only a trap laid for him. Quickly changing his plan, he turned to an easier and surer prey. Early in December he suddenly burst into Khandesh and Berar and looted them far and wide. During his absence on this raid, his fleet met with a defeat. In passing by Daman, his admiral had captured a large ship of that place worth Rs. 12,000, bound for Surat. The Portuguese retaliated by capturing 12 of his ships* and leaving the prizes at Bassein went in pursuit of the rest of the Maratha fleet, which, however, succeeded in escaping to Dabhol. (F. R. Surat, Vol. 105, Bomb. to Surat, 17, 21 and 28 Nov. and 17 Dec., 1670.)

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§ 6. Abyssinians recover Danda fort, 1671.

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Siddi Qasim, the new governor of Janjira, "was distinguished among his tribesmen for bravery, care of the peasantry, capacity, and cunning. He busied himself in increasing his fleet and war-material, strengthening the defences of his forts and cruising at sea. He used to remain day and night clad in armour, and repeatedly seized enemy ships, cut off the heads of many Marathas and sent them to Surat." (K. K., ii. 225.) His crowning achievement was the recovery of Danda from Shivaji's men. One night in March, 1671, when the Maratha garrison of that fort were absorbed in drinking and celebrating the Spring Carnival (Holi), Qasim secretly arrived at the pier with 40 ships, while Siddi Khairiyat with 500 men made a noisy feint on the land-side. The full strength of the garrison rushed in the latter direction to repel Khairiyat, and Qasim seized the opportunity to scale the sea-wall. Some of his brave followers were hurled into the sea and some slain, but the rest forced their way into the fort. Just then the powder-magazine exploded, killing the Maratha commandant and several of his men, with a dozen of the assailants. Qasim promptly raised his battle-cry *Khassu! Khassu!* and shouting "My braves, be composed; I am alive and safe," he advanced slaying and binding to the centre of the fort where he joined hands with Khairiyat's party, and the entire place was conquered.

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∗ Father Navarette says, there were 15 small ships, which the Portuguese drove up to the shore and took without the expense of a grain of powder. (Orme's Frag. 207.)

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Shiva had been planning the capture of Janjira, and now he had failed to hold even Danda! It is said that during the night of the surprise, at the moment the powder-magazine blew up, Shiva, who was 40 miles away, started from his sleep and exclaimed that some calamity must have befallen Danda! He was, however, unable to make reprisals immediately, as his army was busy elsewhere, in the Nasik and Baglana districts, where the Mughal viceroy was pressing him hard. Qasim, therefore, could easily follow up his success by capturing seven other forts in the neighbourhood. Six of them opened their gates in terror of his prowess after his grand victory at Danda. The seventh stood a siege for a week and then capitulated on terms, which Qasim faithlessly violated, enslaving and converting the boys and handsome women to Islam, dismissing the old and ugly women, and massacring all the men of the garrison. For some time afterwards the Marathas were forced to stand on the defensive in their own territory. (K. K. ii. 225-228, only authority.)

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These disasters fully roused Shiva. The recovery of Danda fort became an absorbing passion as well as a political necessity, with him. To the end of his life and throughout the reign of Shambhuji, hostilities continued between the Marathas and the Siddis, intermittently, indecisively, but with great bitterness and fury. Gross cruelty and wanton injury were practised by each side on the captive soldiers and innocent peasantry of the other, and the country became desolate. The economic loss was more keenly felt by the small and poor State of the Abyssinians than by the Marathas, and the Siddis at times begged for peace, but did not succeed, as they were not prepared to accept Shiva's terms of ceding their all to him.

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In September 1671, Shivaji sent an ambassador to Bombay to secure the aid of the English in an attack on Danda. But the President and Council of Surat advised the Bombay factors "not to positively promise him the grenadoes, mortar-pieces, and ammunition he desires, nor to absolutely deny him, in regard we do not think it convenient to help him against Danda, which place if it were in his possession would prove a great annoyance to the port of Bombay." (F. R. Surat, 87.)

§ 7. Naval war, 1672-1675

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Towards the end of 1672, Aurangzib sent a fleet of 36 vessels, great and small, from Surat to assist the Siddi of Danda-Rajpuri by causing a diversion by sea. This squadron did Shivaji "great mischief, burning and plundering all his sea-port towns and destroying also above 500 of his vessels" (evidently trading boats.)* At this time (21st December) Shiva had six small frigates, which he laid up in Bombay harbour in fear of the Mughal armada, and which the English saved from the latter by pretending that they themselves had attached them as compensation for the plunder of their Rajapur factory in 1661. (O. C. 3722.) Early in January next, the Mughal fleet visited Bombay after its successful campaign against the Marathas. At this time both Shiva and the Emperor were eagerly courting the naval help of the English in a war with the other side. But the foreign traders very wisely maintained their neutrality, though it was a "ticklish game." (O. C. 3734 and 3722.) In the following August, however, the ship *Soleil d' Orient* of the new French East India Company founded by Colbert, arrived at Rajapur and secretly sold 80 guns (mostly small pieces) and 2,000 maunds of lead to Shiva's fleet. The French gave similar help in November 1679 when they sold him 40 guns for the defence of Panhala. (F. R. Surat 87, Surat to Co., 12 Jan., 1674; Vol. 108, Rajapur to Surat, 30 Dec., 1679.)

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The difference between the English and Shivaji was utilized by Reickloff Van Goen, the Dutch commodore, who about March 1673 opened negotiations with the Maratha chief, promising him the help of the entire Dutch fleet (of 22 ships) in retaking Danda-Rajpuri, while Shivaji was to lend 3,000 of his soldiers for a Dutch attempt to conquer Bombay. Shivaji, however, durst not trust the Dutch and continued to remain friendly to the English, though he had by this time spent a vast treasure and incurred the loss of nearly 15,000 men in his vain attacks upon the Siddi strongholds. (O. C. 3760.)

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∗ "Sacked and burnt Dabhol, burnt the fleet of Shivaji at Kelsht (17.55 N., near Bankot) and eight large vessels,......robbed all the coast." [Portuguese records, Pissur., i. 35-37.]

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The Mughal fleet of 30 frigates, commanded by Siddi Sambal, returned from Surat to Danda-Rajpuri, in May 1673, and after passing the south-west monsoon (June-September) there, sailed down the coast, taking many Maratha trading vessels and some ships of war. On 10th October it entered the Bombay harbour, sent landing parties to the Pen and Nagothna rivers, laid waste the Maratha villages opposite Bombay, and carried off many of the people. These devastations were frequently repeated. But at the end of the month, "some of Shivaji's soldiers [from Raigarh] surprised a parcel of the Siddi's men as they were on shore cutting the standing rice in his country, and destroyed about a hundred of them, carrying away the heads of some of the chiefest unto Shivaji." The great cruelty practised by the Siddis on his subjects and their burning of several small towns in his territory "provoked Shivaji much," and his reprisals were apprehended in the Mughal dominions, especially at Surat. (O. C. 3779 and 3870.)

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In February 1674 we learn from an English letter, "The war betwixt the Siddi and Shivaji is carried on but slowly, they being both weary," and the President of Surat was requested by the Siddi "to mediate a peace between them." (O. C. 3939.)

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Next month (March 1674), however, Siddi Sambal attacked Shivaji's admiral Daulat Khan in the Satavli river (i.e., the Muchkundi creek in the Ratnagiri district), both the admirals being wounded and the two sides losing 100 and 44 men respectively. The Marathas were left victors, and Siddi Sambal withdrew to Harishwar, a port 21 miles south of Janjira. In May Shivaji, who "was resolved to take that castle (Danda-Rajpuri) let it cost him what it will," was reported to be daily sending down more artillery, ammunition, men and money to strengthen his siege-troops. In the course of this year he reduced the whole coast of South Konkan from Rajpuri to Bardes north of Goa, but not the fort of Danda-Rajpuri. (F. R. Surat 88.) By the end of 1672 he had already spent a vast treasure and 15,000 soldiers in his futile attacks on Janjira. (O. C. 3760.)

§8. Grand assault on Janjira, 1675-1676

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In September 1675, we read of his making preparations for taking that fort by a land and sea attack. His fleet had by this time increased to 57 sail, of which 15 were ghurabs and the rest gallivats. The cruise of the Siddi fleet along Shiva's coast in January and February of this year had proved unsuccessful. But it returned in November with reinforcements, and sailed down the coast to Vingurla, plundering and burning that town. Maratha squadrons from Gheria (Vijay-durg) and Rajapur took the sea, seeking a fight, but the Siddi escaped to Janjira. (F. R. Surat 107, Bomb. to Surat, 7 Sep.; Orme; Frag., 49, 53.)

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That island had been besieged by Shiva with a great force some months earlier. The neighbouring coast was dotted with his outposts and redoubts, and he also built some floating batteries and made an attempt to throw a mole across the sea from the mainland to the island of Janjira.* The siege was raised at the end of 1675, at the arrival of the fleet under Siddi Sambal; but it was renewed next year with greater vigour than before. The Peshwa Moro Pant was sent (August, 1676) with 10,000 men to co-operate with the fleet and the former siege-troops. They felled all the wood around to make floating platforms with breastworks, from which the walls were to be assaulted.

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But the attempt failed. Siddi Qasim arrived with the Abyssinian fleet, broke the line of investment, infused life into the defence, made counter-attacks, burnt the floating batteries and forced the Marathas to raise the siege (end of December 1676.)

§ 9. Naval war, 1676-1680

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The rest of the struggle with the Siddis is given below in a summary form, on the basis of Orme's narrative (Frag., 55-88) compiled from the English factory records, which I have supplemented by a reference to some additional records in the India Office, London.

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In April 1676, Siddi Sambal, who had quarrelled with the other Siddi leaders, was removed by them from the naval command, which was given to Siddi Qasim, with the governorship of Danda-Rajpuri. But Sambal still retained the Mughal fleet. He cruised along Shivaji's coast (in October) burning Jaitapur (at the mouth of the Rajapur river) in December, but was prevented from advancing further up the river and returned to Janjira, where Qasim had already raised the Maratha siege under Moro Pant.

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∗ Siege of Janjira : Orme, Frag., 48, 57. A very confused and obscurely written account of this struggle is given in Shivadigvijay, 192-196, and Tarikh-i-Shivaji. It is evident that these two works have transferred to Shivaji's reign some of the incidents of Shambhuji's sieges of Janjira in 1681 and later.

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Early in 1677 strict orders came from Delhi that the imperial fleet must be delivered to Qasim. But Sambal put off obeying the order for many months, till the two rival Siddi admirals who were living in Bombay came to blows, and finally through the mediation of the English Council the quarrel was settled, and Qasim was installed as admiral, at the end of October. Sambal in disgust transferred his services to Shiva, carrying his family and personal retainers with himself, the most notable among them being his gallant nephew Siddi Misri.

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Qasim left Bombay with the fleet in November; up to March next he cruised off the Konkan coast, making frequent landings and kidnapping the people, all of whom (including the Brahman prisoners) he forced to do menial services of a defiling character. At the end of April 1678 he returned to Bombay to rest during the monsoons. Shivaji, wishing to avenge the degradation of his Brahman subjects, sent his admirals Daulat Khan and Daria Sarang with 4,000 men to Panvel, a town opposite Bombay (July), with orders to cross the creek and burn the Siddi fleet then anchored at Mazagon in Bombay island. But insufficiency of boats and the violence of the monsoon prevented the army from crossing, and Daulat Khan, after vainly pressing the Portuguese to allow him a passage through their territory, retired to Raigarh. Siddi Qasim sent his boats and plundered the Alibagh coast.

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In October 1678, Daulat Khan was sent with a large army and a mightier train of artillery than before to renew the bombardment of Janjira; but Siddi Qasim could not pay his men for want of remittance from Surat, and had to continue inactive in Bombay harbour.

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Shivaji's navy had by this time been increased to 20 two-masted *ghurabs* and 40 gallivats. "None of his harbours admitted ships of a great size, such as were used at Surat, or by the Europeans. The (immense) traffic from port to port of the Malabar and.........Konkan coasts had from time immemorial been carried on in vessels of shallow burden capable of taking close refuge under every shelter of the land. The vessels for fight (on) these coasts were" also built of the same small size, "and trusted to the superiority of number (and not of gun-power or seaworthiness) against ships of burden in the open sea. Shivaji did not change this system in his own marine." (*Orme's Fragments*, 77-78.)

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In February 1680, Qasim sallying from his anchorage in Bombay harbour burnt many villages on the Pen river and brought away a thousand captives. Then Shiva and the English made an agreement (March) not to let the Siddi fleet winter in Bombay unless they promised to observe strict neutrality. This brings the narrative down to the death of Shivaji, but the same wearisome story of abortive attacks on Janjira by the Marathas and cruel devastation of the coast district by the Siddis continued under Shambhuji.

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§ 10. War with the English for Khanderi island, 1679.

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The difficulty of capturing Janjira set Shiva thinking of some other island in the neighbourhood which would afford him a naval base. His choice fell on Khanderi ('Kennery') a small rocky island, 1½ miles by ½ mile, situated 11 miles south of Bombay and 30 miles north of Janjira. As early as April 1672 the people of Surat learnt of his intention to build a fort on the island. The English President at once decided to prevent it, as affecting the interests of Bombay even more than those of Surat, because no ship could enter or issue from Bombay harbour without being seen from Khanderi. (F. R. Surat 87, Surat to Bomb. 22 April; Vol. 106, 1 May 1672.)

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The progress of the Maratha engineers was very slow, and in September next their fortifications were still incomplete. The English and Siddi fleets came there in concert and warned the Marathas to stop their work. Shivaji's admirals, Daulat Khan and Mai Nayak, finding themselves opposed to very superior forces, withdrew from the island. (F. R. Surat, 106, T. Roach to Surat, 26 Sep. 1672.)

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At the end of August 1679, Shiva again took up the project of fortifying Khanderi, and collected men and materials for the purpose at Chaul. He allotted one lakh of hun from the revenues of Kalian and Chaul to be spent on the work. On 15th September we find that 150 men of Shiva with four small guns under command of Mai Nayak are already on the island and have run up breast-works of earth and stone all around it. (Orme MSS. 116.) A request from the Deputy Governor of Bombay "to quit the place as it belonged to the island of Bombay," was declined by the Marathas in the absence of orders from Shivaji to that effect. The English, therefore, resolved that if the occupation of the island was persisted in and the Maratha fleet under Daulat Khan came there to protect the fortifications, they would "repel them with force as an open and public enemy." (F.R. Surat 4, Consult., 4 and 15 Sep. 1679.)

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The first encounter between the English and the Marathas at sea took place on 19th September and ended in a reverse for the sons of the Ocean Queen. The larger English ships were still outside the bay of Khanderi, because the soundings had not yet been taken and they could not be brought closer to the island. Lieutenant Francis Thorpe, with some *shibars* made a rash attempt to land on the island, "positively against orders." The Englishmen were assailed with great and small shot from the shore works. The impetuous young officer was killed with two other men (John Bradbury and Henry Welch), several others were wounded, and George Cole and many other Englishmen were left prisoners on the island. The lieutenant's *shibar* was captured by the enemy, while two other *shibars* escaped to the fleet in the open sea. Next day the Marathas carried off another English *shibar*, Sergeant Giles timidly offering no resistance. (*Orme MSS.* 116.)

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Early in October the Maratha fleet was got ready to go to the succour of Khanderi. The second battle with the English was fought on 18th October, 1679.* At day-break the entire Maratha fleet of more than 60 vessels under Daulat Khan suddenly bore down upon the small English squadron consisting of the *Revenge* frigate, 2 *ghurabs* of two masts each, 3 *shibars* and 2 *manchwas*,—eight vessels in all, with 200 European soldiers on board, in addition to the lascars and white sailors. The Marathas advanced from the shore a little north of Chaul, firing from their prows and moving so fast that the English vessels at anchor near Khanderi had scarcely time to get under weigh. In less than half an hour the *Dover*, one of the English *ghurabs*, having Sergeant Mauleverer and some English soldiers* on board, with great cowardice struck its colours and was carried off by the Marathas. The other *ghurab* kept aloof, and the five smaller vessels ran away, leaving the *Revenge* alone in the midst of the enemy. But she fought gallantly and sank five of the Maratha gallivats, at which their whole fleet fled to the bar of Nagothna, pursued by the *Revenge*. Two days afterwards the Maratha fleet issued from the creek, but on the English vessels advancing they fled back. Such is the inefficiency of "mosquito craft" in naval battles fought with artillery that even fifty slender and open Indian ships were no match for a single large and strongly built English vessel. At the end of November the Siddi fleet of 34 ships joined the English off Khanderi and kept up a daily battery against the island. (Orme, 81-84.)

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∗ A full description is given in Bombay Gaz. xiii. pt. ii. p. 478. I have followed Orme, 80-81, in addition.

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But the cost of these operations was heavily felt by the English merchants, who also realized that they could not recruit white soldiers to replace any lost in fight, and therefore could not "long oppose him (Shiva), lest they should imprudently so weaken themselves as not to be able to defend Bombay itself, if he should be exasperated to draw down his army that way." Moreover, during the monsoon storms the English would be forced to withdraw their naval patrol from Khanderi, and then Shiva would "take his opportunity to fortify and store the island, maugre all our designs." So, the Surat Council wisely resolved (25th October), that the English should "honourably withdraw themselves in time," and either settle this difference with Shivaji by means of a friendly mediator, or else throw the burden of opposing him on the Portuguese governor of Bassein or on the Siddi, and thus "ease the Hon'ble Company of this great charge." The Surat factory itself was in danger and could spare no European soldier for succouring Bombay. (F. R. Surat 4, Consult., 25 and 31 Oct., 3, 8 and 12 Dec. 1679.)

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∗ Surat Consultation, 3 December, 1679: "Sergeant Mauleverer etc., English, taken formerly by Shivaji in the Ghurab Dover, being in great want of provisions and all other necessaries......we having duly considered, and perceiving how cowardly they behaved themselves in the time of engagement, do order them to be stricken out of the muster rolls, but that they may not wholly perish, that some small allowance be made to them for victuals only, if it can be securely conveyed to them [in the Maratha prison.]" (F. R. Surat, Vol. 4.) This was in answer to a letter from Mauleverer, dated 6th November, begging for provisions, clothing and medicines for the wounded, and stating that the prisoners in the Maratha fort (Suragarh?) included 20 English French and Dutch, 28 Portuguese, and 9 lascars. (Orme MSS: 116.)

§ 11. Anxieties and devices of the English of Bombay

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The dreaded reprisal by Shivaji against Bombay almost came to pass. "Highly exasperated by the defeat of his fleet before Khanderi," he sent 4,000 men to Kalian-Bhivandi with the intention to land in Bombay by way of Thana. The Portuguese governor of Bassein having refused to allow them to pass through his country, the invaders marched to Panvel (a port in their own territory) opposite Trombay island, intending to embark there on seven shibars (end of October 1679.) The inhabitants of Bombay were terribly alarmed. The Deputy Governor breathed fire, but the President and Council of Surat decided to climb down. On receiving a courteous letter from Shivaji sent by way of Rajapur, they wrote "a civil answer, demonstrating our trouble for the occasion his people have given the English at Bombay to quarrel with him about his fortifying so insignificant a rock as Khanderi, which is not in the least becoming a prince of his eminence and qualifications; and though we have a right to that place, yet, to show the candour of our proceedings, we are willing to forget what is past, and therefore have given instructions to the Deputy Governor of Bombay to treat with such persons as he shall appoint about the present differences." The Deputy Governor was "very much dissatisfied" with this pacific tone and held that a vigorous policy of aggression against Shiva's country and fleet would "give a speedy conclusion to this dispute, to the Hon'ble Company's advantage." But the higher authorities at Surat only repeated their former orders that Bombay should avoid a war with Shiva and "frustrate his designs of fortifying Khanderi either by treaty or by the Siddi's fleet assisting us to oppose him thereon." The two English captains consulted took the same view. (Ibid.) At the end of December the Marathas dragged several large guns to Thal (on the mainland) and began to fire them at the small English craft lying under Underi for stress of weather. (Orme MSS. 116.)

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But the hope of hindering the Maratha fortification of the island without fighting proved futile, and the English ships were withdrawn (January, 1680) from Khanderi, which, after "holding out [against the Siddis and the English] to the admiration of all," was freed from enemy vessels by the coming of the monsoons, and remained in Shiva's hands. (F. R. Surat 108, Bombay to Surat, 1 Jan. 1680.)

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But the Siddi occupied Underi ('Henery'), a small island about a mile in circumference, close to Khanderi, with 300 men and 10 large guns, fortified it (9th January, 1680), and tried to silence the Maratha guns on Thal. Daulat Khan with his fleet came out of the Nagothna river and attacked Underi on two nights, hoping to surprise it, “but the Siddi’s watchfulness and good intelligence from Chaul frustrated his design.” On 26th January, 1680, Daulat Khan assaulted the island at three points, ready to land 2,000 men and conquer it. But after a four hours’ engagement he retreated to Chaul, having lost 4 *ghurabs* and 4 small vessels, 200 men killed, 100 wounded, besides prisoners,* and himself severely wounded. The Siddi lost only 4 men killed and 7 wounded, but no vessel, out of a fleet of 2 large ships, five three-masted frigates, one ketch and 26 gallivats, with 700 men on board,”—such was the superiority of the Abyssinian ships to the opener and more slender vessels of the Marathas. Underi continued in Siddi hands throughout Shambhuji’s reign, and neutralized the Maratha occupation of Khanderi, the two islands merely bombarding each other. (*Ibid.*, also 31 January.)

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∗ Two letters from Underi to Bombay state that Daulat Khan’s fleet consisted of above 30 *ghurabs* and gallivats, and that he lost 137 men in killed and wounded. The letter of 28 Jan. adds, “Shivaji had threatened hard Daulat Khan that if he did not take Underi, if ever he came back to Negaom again, he would have his life.” On 6th March Daulat Khan came into the town of Rajapur from the fleet, wounded in the foot [Orme MSS. 116.]

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