Shivaji and His Times c12.s6: § 9. Naval war, 1676-1680

Shivaji and His Times c12.s6

Language: English

§ 9. Naval war, 1676-1680

c12.s6.1

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.

c12.s6.2

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.

c12.s6.3

∗ 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.

c12.s6.4

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.

c12.s6.5

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.

c12.s6.6

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.

c12.s6.7

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.)

c12.s6.8

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.

c12.s6.9

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

c12.s6.10

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.)

c12.s6.11

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.)

c12.s6.12

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.)

c12.s6.13

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.)

c12.s6.14

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.)

c12.s6.15

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

c12.s6.16

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.)

c12.s6.17

∗ 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.)