The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c17.12

c17.12

The Portuguese power in the east gradually declined, but they did not give up this claim. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, the Italian traveller, Gemelli Careri, still found them exercising this right. He writes: ‘So that being become formidable to all the Princes of Asia, they had made all the Country about Tributary; and being Sovereigns of the vast Ocean by means of their mighty fleets, no ship of any Nation whatsoever could sail those Seas without their Leave and Pass; seizing the Ships and Goods, and Imprisoning the Men for presuming to Sail without their Protection. This authority the Portuguese, tho weak, still exercise over all Ships of Moors and Gentils; for the *Europeans* are got above it.’¹