The naval Battle of Swally, also known as Battle of Suvali, took place on 29–30 November 1612 off the coast of Suvali (anglicised to ''Swally'') a village near the Surat city (now in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India) and was a victory for four English East India Company

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...

s over four Portuguese galleons and 26

barks Barks may refer to: * Carl Barks (1901 – 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter * Coleman Barks (b. 1937), an American poet, and former literature faculty at the University of Georgia * Samantha Barks (b. 1990), a Manx actress an ...

(rowing vessels with no armament).

Importance

This relatively small naval battle is historically important as it marked the beginning of the ascent of the English East India Company's presence in India (though it would only be relevant centuries after). This battle also convinced the English East India Company to establish a small navy to safeguard their commercial interests from other European powers and also from pirates. This small beginning is regarded as the root of the modern

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. The background to this battle also points to the main reason for the Dutch ''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'' being organised in 1602.

Background

This battle was the result of the Portuguese monopoly over trade with India in the late-15th and 16th centuries. Two English ventures, The Company of Merchant Adventurers (established 1551) which became the

Muscovy Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint s ...

in 1555, and the English East India Company also known as "John Company" (established 1600), were desperately attempting to find routes to the ''

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

'' and the spice trade. The following three individuals played a key part in the events leading up to this battle:

Ralph Fitch

The Portuguese guarded their new-found routes to Asia very well. During July 1583, an English merchant,

Ralph Fitch Ralph Fitch (1550 – 1611) was a gentleman merchant of London and one of the earliest British travellers and merchants to visit Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, south Asia & Southeast Asia. At first he was no chronicler but he di ...

, was arrested for spying at Ormuz (near the modern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian port of

Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās ( fa, , , ), is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musand ...

). He was on a voyage from Syria to the Indian Ocean in his ship, ''Tiger'', via what is now

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

using the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

river. Ralph was presented before the Portuguese

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

where he was placed under arrest. He was released on the surety provided by Jesuit priests, but escaped from Goa and wandered around India for several years. He returned to England in 1591, and became a valuable advisor to the company.

Jan Huyghens van Linschoten

Jan Huyghens van Linschoten (1563–1611) was a Dutch

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

traveller and historian who also served as the Portuguese Viceroy's secretary in

between 1583 and 1588. He returned to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

in 1592. He published a book, ''Itinerario'' in 1596 (later published as an English edition as ''Discours of Voyages into Y East & West Indies'') which graphically displayed for the first time in Europe, detailed maps of voyages to the East Indies, particularly India. During his stay in Goa, abusing the trust put in him by the Viceroy, Jan Huyghens meticulously copied the top-secret charts page-by-page. Even more crucially, Jan Huyghens provided nautical data like currents, deeps, islands and sandbanks, which was absolutely vital for safe navigation, along with coastal depictions to guide the way. His publications were also responsible for the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'') in 1602 to unify Dutch efforts at trade with Asia.

Sir William Hawkins, First envoy

Sir William Hawkins led the first voyage of the English East India Company to India and sailed into the

port of Surat on 24 August 1608 aboard the ''Hector''. He had with him 25,000 pieces of gold and a personal letter to the Mughal Emperor

Jehangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

(sometimes also rendered as ''Cehangir'' or ''Ichan Guire'') from King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

seeking trade concessions. He persisted for over two years, however pirates stole his gold, and tried several times to murder him while on shore. He returned to England empty-handed. The next envoy, Paul Canning, lasted only a few months.

Tenth voyage

The initial voyages of the English East India Company were not necessarily to India. Each voyage was a venture in itself, separately funded by issuance of subscription stock. An eighth voyage was led in 1611 by Captain

John Saris John Saris () was chief merchant on the first English voyage to Japan, which left London in 1611. He stopped at Yemen, missing India (which he had originally intended to visit) and going on to Java, which had the sole permanent English trading sta ...

to Japan. The ninth voyage (February 1612 – August 1615) was to India and Sumatra. The tenth voyage (1612–1614) on behalf of the English East India Company was led by Captain Thomas Best. It set out from Gravesend on 1 February 1612 passing via the present day

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, then Daman on 3 September 1612 eventually reaching Surat on 5 September 1612. Surat was the principal port for the Mughals, and was then situated at the mouth of the river

Tapti The Tapti River (or Tapi) is a river in central India located to the south of the Narmada river that flows westwards before draining into the Arabian Sea. The river has a length of around and flows through the states of Maharashtra, Guja ...

Battle

Coincidentally, on 13 September 1612 a squadron of 16 Portuguese barks sailed into Surat. On 22 September 1612 Captain Best decided to send an emissary to the Emperor asking for permission to trade and settle a factory at Surat. If refused he planned to quit the country. This may have been partly because King James I had extended the company's charter in 1609 on the basis that it would be cancelled if no profitable ventures were concluded within three years. On 30 September 1612 Captain Best got news that two of his men, Mr Canning (the

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

) and William Chambers were arrested while on shore. Fearing the worst, Captain Best detained a ship belonging to the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and offered to release it in exchange for his men. On 10 October Captain Best and his ships sailed to Suvali, a small town about North of Surat. This may have been because the

(Sardar Khan?) was battling a

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

rebellion at a fort situated in the town. Between 17 and 21 October, amidst negotiations he managed to obtain a treaty with the Governor allowing trading privileges, subject to ratification by the Emperor. A skirmish took place between the two navies on the 29th without much damage to either side. At daylight on 30 October, Captain Best in '' Red Dragon'' sailed through the four Portuguese galleons during which three of them ran aground, and was joined by ''Hosiander'' on the other side. The Portuguese managed to get the three galleons refloated. At 9pm that night in an attempt to set the English ships alight, a bark was sent towards them as a

fire ship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

. But the English watch was alert, and the bark was sunk by cannon fire with the loss of eight lives. A standoff remained until 5 December, when Captain Best sailed for the port of Diu.

Tenth voyage continues

On 6 January 1613, Captain Best received a letter from the Emperor ratifying the treaty, which was presented by the Governor. Captain Best then ordered one of his men, Anthony Starkey, on 16 January to leave for England, via land, carrying letters of their success. Mr Starkey later died; it was claimed by the English that he was poisoned by two Jesuit priests. Captain Best then continued on to Ceylon on 18 January, and then onwards to Sumatra, before returning to England around April 1614 without returning to India.

Impact on Mughals

This event sufficiently impressed the ''Sardar'' (Governor) of Gujarat, who reported it to the Emperor. Thereafter the Emperor was more favourable towards the English than the Portuguese.

Ships involved

English East India Company

(Most references to this battle mention only the first 2 ships. ''James'' and ''Solomon'' were also part of the eighth voyage) * '' Red Dragon (1595)'' * ''Hosiander'' * ''James'' * ''Solomon''

Portugal

4 galleons
26 oared barks

Swally

Swally is the anglicization of Suvali. Suvali port is close to the modern day village of Suvali, located in Surat, India. The port was constructed by the English as they found it protected both from sudden squalls and military attacks. Besides, the English found it convenient to use the place for their early trade with Surat as Swally was navigable in low tides. There were several complications in using the ports at Surat as the French and the Portuguese also operated from there.The Times of India – Hunt on to locate port of British entry
/ref> Mr. R Sengupta, the Chief Project Co-ordinator (coastal and marine ecology) of GES advised that, "The port was also better than those located in the mouth of river

. The English did not allow anyone to use the port at Swally and used to charge duty for permission to do so."

References

* Kerr, Robert (FRS. & FAS (Edin.)). ''A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels'', MDCCCXXIV, Vol. IX., Pt. II, Book III, Ch. X, Section XVIII. * Roe, Sir Thomas. ''The Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, Embassador from His Majesty King James the First of England to Ichan Guire, the Mighty Emperor of India, Commonly Called the Great Mogul; Containing an Account of His Voyage to that Country and His Observations There'', London: Awnsham & John Churchill, 1704, First Edition. Quarto. 404 (757–812)pp

External links

Single view van Linschoten map
nbsp;– depicts the early Portuguese Re-Supply Point of St Helena in the south Atlantic: In Latin, ''Insula D. Helena sacra coeli..........Baptista a Doetichum sculp''
Robert Kerr's book at Project Gutenberg
* ( The link is to volume 9.) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Swally Swally Swally Military history of British India Conflicts in 1612 1612 in India History of Surat