Administrative System of the Marathas c15.10

c15.10

The main strength of the Maratha fleet consisted in the gallivats and the ghurabs, vessels peculiar to the Malabar coast. The ghurabs and the gallivats of the Angria's fleet have been thus described by Robert Orme:† "The grabs have rarely more than two masts, although some have three; those of three are about 300 tons burthen; but the others are not more than 150: they are built to draw very little water, being very broad in proportion to their length, narrowing however from the middle to the end, where instead of bows they have a prow, projecting like that of a Mediterranean galley, and covered with a strong deck level with the main deck of the vessel, from which, however, it is separated by a bulkhead which terminates the fore-castle : as this construction subjects the grab to pitch violently when sailing against a head sea, the deck of the prow is not enclosed with sides as the rest of the vessel is, but remains bare, that the water which dashes upon it may pass off without interruption : on the main deck under the fore-castle are mounted two pieces of cannon of nine or twelve pounders, which point forwards through the port holes cut in the bulkhead, and fire over the prow ; the cannon of the broadside are from six to nine pounders. The gallivats are large row-boats built like the grab, but of smaller dimensions, the largest rarely exceeding 70 tons : they have two masts of which the mizen is very slight ; the main mast bears only one sail, which is triangular and very large, the peak of it when hoisted being much higher than the mast itself. In general the gallivats are covered with a spar deck, made for lightness of bamboos split, and these only carry petteraroes fixed on swivels in the gunnel of the vessel; but those of the largest size have a fixed deck on which they mount six or eight pieces of cannon, from two to four pounders : they have forty or fifty stout oars and may be rowed four miles an hour." It is not difficult to understand why such clumsy vessels manned by inexperienced sailors should not be able to contend with the English on their peculiar element on equal terms. But we should note that Shivaji's sailors had on more than one occasion attacked Portuguese men-of-war with success.