The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c17.28.3

c17.28.3

and when this vessell was taken without my pass, it was on the same penalty, but I am not yet determined to do so'.² Thus it is clear that the practice of controlling the navigation of the Arabian Sea by the maritime powers of Western India had been by common consent recognised as a lawful act, and although the greed and cupidity of naval officers had frequently led to misuse of the custom, there is no doubt that it originally arose from a much-felt need. The coast was in those days infested by numerous pirates. They could and did frequent the ports in the guise of inoffensive traders and assumed their true character on the high seas when a suitable opportunity occurred.³ Such practice could to a certain extent be stopped by the issue of passes to genuine merchants, and the price demanded for these safeguards does not seem to have been very high. From the Portuguese *cartazes* granted to Maratha merchants it appears that the Goa Government demanded 20 Xerafins for each hundred *Khandis*⁴ of the cargo carried by the vessel. The price of an English pass varied according to the distance of the destination;