Sir John Gayer (died 1711) was the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

's General from May 1694 to November 1704. The General was in charge of all the company's affairs in India. He was also the governor of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

for the same period. Gayer's tenure was dominated by conflict with the English Company Trading to the East Indies (New Company), set up in 1698. This led to his imprisonment in Surat for many years.

Life

He was the son of Humfrey Gayer, merchant, of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, and nephew of Sir John Gayer,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

. The Gayer family originally came from

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...

. At an early age, he entered the service of the

, and rose to be a sea captain. On being appointed by the owners commander of the ship Society, he was admitted into the freedom of the company on 7 April 1682. On 3 June 1692 he was chosen governor of the port and island of Bombay. In 1693, when Sir John Goldsborough was appointed General by the company, Gayer was to succeed him in case of death. He went out in December 1693 as governor of Bombay and General, reaching the Indian coast at

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

on 5 March 1694, and there hearing of the death of Goldsborough. In 1699 the forerunners of the New Company were followed by Sir Nicholas Waite (a dismissed agent of the old company) as president at

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

and king's consul. Waite intrigued against the Old Company, and charged his rivals with

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

. The servants of the Old (or London) Company refused to recognise the new men or the authority of Sir William Norris, who came out as William III's ambassador to

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

. The ambassador arrived on 10 December 1700, convoyed by four king's ships. A contest in bribery began between the agents of the two companies. Gayer left his stronghold at Bombay and came to Swally (Suvali), the roadstead of Surat, to arrange the disputes in which the governor of Surat was involved. He was arrested there, in consequence apparently of Waite's charges. Along with his wife and some of his council, Gayer was removed to Surat by a body of native troops, and confined to the factory. His confinement, with some temporary suspension, endured for years. He was still a prisoner at the beginning of 1709, when the Old and New companies had been amalgamated. In letters dated from Surat, 31 March and 25 April 1706, Gayer and his council give a picture of the anarchy in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

and the country between Surat and

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. In the end the Old Company, in a letter to Gayer, dated 20 April 1708, stated that Waite had been removed; and, as Gayer's captivity disqualified him from succeeding, William Aislabie, deputy-governor at Bombay, had been appointed general in his place. They also hinted that Gayer might have gained his liberty had he not stood so much on the details of the release. He was released by 5 October 1710. On that day he made his will in

Bombay Castle Bombay Castle (also Casa da Orta) is one of the oldest defensive structures built in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The current castle is a structure built by the British on the site of the ''Manor House'' built by a Portuguese nobl ...

, and died there, probably in the following year. He was twice married but had no children.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayer, John Governors of Bombay Year of birth missing 1711 deaths