The naval Battle of Swally took place on 29-30 November 1612 off the coast of Suvali (anglicised to Swally), a village near the city of Surat, Gujarat, India, and was a victory for four British East India Company ships over four Portuguese galleons and 26 barks (rowing vessels with no armament). (Redirected from 29 November) November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining, as the final day of November. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Surat (Gujarati:સુરત) is a port city in the Indian state of Gujarat and administrative headquarters of the Surat District. ... Gujarat (Gujarati: , Hindi: ; , IPA ; also spelled Gujrat and sometimes Gujarath) contained many of the former Princely states of India, and is the second-most industrialized state in the Republic of India after Maharashtra. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company string of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1599, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... A Spanish galleon A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. ...

Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Surat (Gujarati:સુરત) is a port city in the Indian state of Gujarat and administrative headquarters of the Surat District. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company string of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1599, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company string of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1599, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... Motto: none Anthem: A Portuguesa Capital Lisbon (Lisboa) Largest city Lisbon Official language(s) Portuguese1 Government President Prime Minister Parliamentary democracy Aníbal Cavaco Silva José Sócrates Formation Independence Recognized 868 June 24, 1128 October 5, 1143 Area  â€¢ Total  â€¢ Water (%)   92,391 km² (111th) 0. ... For the fictional unit of money called a galleon, see Money in Harry Potter. ...

Importance

This relatively small naval battle is historically important because it marked the beginning of the end of Portugal's commercial monopoly, and marked the ascent of the British East India Company's presence in India. The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company string of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1599, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ...

This battle also convinced the British East India Company to establish a small navy to safeguard their commercial interests from other European powers and also from pirates. This small beginning was the root of the modern Indian Navy. The British were trying to control was the Maratha Admiral Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre Components Indian Army Indian Air Force Indian Navy Indian Coast Guard Indian Paramilitary Forces Strategic Nuclear Command History Military history of India British Indian Army Indian National Army Ranks Air Force ranks and insignia of India Army ranks and insignia of India Naval ranks and insignia of India Related Info... Shivaji and his faithful Maratha comrades The Marāthās is a collective term referring to an Indo Aryan group of Hindu, Marathi-speaking castes of warriors and peasants hailing mostly from the present-day state of Maharashtra, who created a substantial empire, covering a major part of India, in... Kanhoji Angre or Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angre (? - 1729) was the first notable chief of the Maratha Navy in 18th century India. ...

The background to this battle also points to the reason for the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie being organized in 1602. Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... This page is about the year. ...

Background

This battle was the result of the Portuguese monopoly over trade with India in the late-15th and 16th centuries. Two British ventures, The Company of Merchant Adventurers (established 1551) which morphed into the Muscovy Company in 1555, and the John Company, also known as British East India Company (established 1600) were desperately attempting to find routes to the East Indies and the spice trade. Events Russia, Reforming Synod of the metropolite Macaire, Orthodoxy: introduction of a calendar of the saints and an ecclesiastical law code ( Stoglav ) Major outbreak of the sweating sickness in England. ... Ivan IV of Russia demonstrates his treasures to the English ambassador (1875) Muscovy Company (also called Russian Company or Muscovy Trading Company, Polish Kompania Moskiewska, Russian: Московская компания), was a trading company chartered in 1555. ... Events Russia breaks 60 year old truce with Sweden by attacking Finland February 2 - Diet of Augsburg begins February 4 - John Rogers becomes first Protestant martyr in England February 9 - Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake May 23 - Paul IV becomes Pope. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company string of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1599, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... 1597 1598 1599 - 1600 - 1601 1602 1603 |- | align=center colspan=2 | Decades: 1570s 1580s 1590s - 1600s - 1610s 1620s 1630s |- | align=center | Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century |} // Events January January 1 - Scotland adopts January 1st as being New Years Day February February 17 - Giordano Bruno burned at the...

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 a British merchant, Ralph Fitch was arrested for spying at Ormuz (now the Iranian port of Hormuz). He was on a voyage from Syria to the Indian ocean in his ship,Tiger, via modern Iraq using the Euphrates river. Ralph was presented before the Portuguese Viceroy in Goa 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 the next decade. He returned to England in 1591, and became a valuable consultant for the John Company. 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Ralph Fitch (died 1616) was a British merchant and one of the earliest English travellers and traders in Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, India and Southeast Asia. ... Distorted from Persian Ohrmuzd, Ahura Mazda. ... The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name for the river, Arabic: الفرات; Al-Furat, Old Persian: Ufrat, Syriac: ܦܪܘܬ/ܦܪܬ; Prâth/Frot, Turkish: Fırat, Assyrian Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu, Hebrew: פְּרָת) River is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (Beth Nahrain in Syriac), the other being the Tigris. ... For other uses, see Goa (disambiguation). ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Events June - Capture of Zutphen by the Dutch under Maurice of Nassau. ...

Jan Huyghens van Linschoten

Jan Huyghens van Linschoten (1563-1611) was a Dutch Protestant traveller and historian who also served as the Portuguese Viceroy's secretary in Goa between 1583 and 1588. He returned to Holland 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 voyage 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 maps 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. Jan Huyghens van Linschoten (1563-1611) was a Dutch Protestant merchant, traveller and historian. ... Events February 1 - Sarsa Dengel succeeds his father Menas as Emperor of Ethiopia February 18 - The Duke of Guise is assassinated while besieging Orléans March - Peace of Amboise. ... Events June 23 - Henry Hudsons crew maroons him, his son and 7 others in a boat November 1 - At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeares romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... For other uses, see Goa (disambiguation). ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1588 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Holland is a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands. ... Events January 30 - The death of Pope Innocent IX during the previous year had left the Papal throne vacant. ... Events February 5 - 26 catholics crucified in Nagasaki, Japan. ...

His publications were also responsible for the establishment of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie in 1602 to unify Dutch efforts at trade with Asia. Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... This page is about the year. ...

Captain William Hawkins, First envoy

Captain Hawkins led the first voyage of the British East India Company to India and sailed into the Gujarat port of Surat on 24 August 1608. He had with him 25,000 pieces of gold and a personal letter to the Mughal Emperor Jehangir (sometimes spelt incorrectly as Cehangir or Ichan Guire) from King James I seeking trade concessions. He persisted for over two years, however Portuguese pirates stole his gold, and tried several times to murder him while on shore. He returned to England empty-handed. Gujarat (Gujarati: , Hindi: ; , IPA ; also spelled Gujrat and sometimes Gujarath) contained many of the former Princely states of India, and is the second-most industrialized state in the Republic of India after Maharashtra. ... Surat (Gujarati:સુરત) is a port city in the Indian state of Gujarat and administrative headquarters of the Surat District. ... August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... Events March 18 - Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia May 14 - Protestant Union founded in Auhausen. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... Nuruddin Jahangir (August 31, 1569 - October 28, 1627) was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until 1627. ... James VI of Scotland and James I of England and Ireland (Charles James) (June 19, 1566–March 27, 1625) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland. ...

The next envoy, Paul Canning, lasted only a few months.

Tenth voyage

The initial voyages of the British East India Company were not necessarily to India. Each voyage was almost a venture in itself, separately funded by issuance of subscription stock. An eighth voyage was led in 1611 by Captain John Saris to Japan. The ninth voyage (Feb. 1612 - Aug. 1615) was to India and Sumatra. Events June 23 - Henry Hudsons crew maroons him, his son and 7 others in a boat November 1 - At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeares romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the 3rd largest island of Indonesia after Kalimantan and New Guinea. ...

The tenth voyage (1612-1614) on behalf of the British East India Company was led by Captain Thomas Best. It set out from Gravesend on February 1, 1612 passing via the present day [[Trinidad]?????????], then Daman on September 3, 1612 eventually reaching Surat on September 5, 1612. Surat was the principal port for the Mughals, and was situated at the mouth of the river Tapti. Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ... Gravesend can refer to: Gravesend, Kent, England Gravesend, New York, USA This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Daman may mean: Daman and Diu, a formerly-Portuguese territory of India Daman, a philosopher of ancient Greece This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Surat (Gujarati:સુરત) is a port city in the Indian state of Gujarat and administrative headquarters of the Surat District. ... September 5 is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years). ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ...

Battle

Coincidentally, on September 13, 1612 a squadron of 16 Portuguese barks sailed into Surat. On September 22, 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 [1]. This may have been partly due to the fact that 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. September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... // Events April 4 – King of Spain signs an edit of expulsion of all moriscos from Spain April 9 – Spain recognizes Dutch independence May 23 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia. ...

On September 30 1612 Captain Best got news that two of his men, Mr Canning (the purser) and William Chambers were arrested while on shore. Fearing the worst, Captain Best detained a ship belonging to the Governor of Gujarat and offered to release it in exchange for his men. HI A governor is also, a monkey who is smart and can fly like a penguin is a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ... Gujarat (Gujarati: , Hindi: ; , IPA ; also spelled Gujrat and sometimes Gujarath) contained many of the former Princely states of India, and is the second-most industrialized state in the Republic of India after Maharashtra. ...

On October 10 Captain Best and his ships sailed to Swally, a small town about 12 miles North of Surat. This may have been because the Governor (Sardar Khan?) was battling a Rajput rebellion at a fort situated in the town. Between 17-21st of October, amidst negotiations he managed to obtain a treaty with the Governor allowing trading privileges, subject to ratification by the Emperor. HI A governor is also, a monkey who is smart and can fly like a penguin is a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ...

On November 27, Captain Best was advised by his men on shore that a squadron of four Portuguese ships was sailing up to attack him.

The Portuguese ships (four great galleons and some twenty-six armed barks) arrived on the 28th, and anchored outside the town putting the English between them and the town.

A skirmish took place between the two navies on the 29th without much damage to either side.

At daylight on the 30th of November, Captain Best in Dragon sailed through the four larger Portuguese ships running three of them 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. But the English watch was alert, and the bark was sunk by cannon fire with the loss of eighty lives. This article is not about the fireboats that fight fire Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588-08-08 by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796, depicts Drakes fire ship attack on the Spanish Armada. ...

A standoff remained until the 5th of December, when Captain Best sailed for the port of Diu. The English lost three men in the ensuing battle, and the Portuguese lost one galleon and about 160 men, though some reports put the number at 300. Diu may mean: An island off the south west coast of Gujarat in India. ...

Tenth voyage continues

On the 6th of 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 January 16 to leave for England, via land, carrying letters of their success. Mr Starkey was later poisoned by two Jesuit friars. Events January - Galileo observes Neptune, but mistakes it for a star and so is not credited with its discovery. ...

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. Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ...

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. Another factor that may have influenced him was that the Portuguese were very anti-Islam, and often harassed Mecca bound pilgrim ships along the West coast of India. Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ...

Vessels involved

British East India Company

• Dragon (Keeling?)
  
• Hosiander
  
• James
  
• Solomon
  

Most references to this battle mention only the first two ships. James and Solomon were also part of the eighth voyage.

Portugal

Four galleons and 26 frigates.

Swally

The exact present day location of the port of Swally is unknown. The Times of India in an article dated April 8, 2003 reported that the Department of Archaeology of the University of Cambridge along with the Gujarat Ecological Society are planning a project to identify the port. It is estimated that the port is close to the modern day village of Suvali, 15-20 km away from Surat. April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Mr. R Sengupta, the Chief Project Co-ordinator (coastal and marine ecology) of GES advised that,"The port was constructed by the British as they found it protected both from sudden squalls and military attacks. Besides, the British 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 port was also better than those located in the mouth of river Tapti. The British did not allow anyone to use the port at Swally and used to charge duty for permission to do so” [2]

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

Additional reading

• Foster, William. The Voyage of Thomas Best to East Indies (1612-14), New Delhi:Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1997

External links

• Single view van Linschoten map - 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

See also

• Battle of Diu
• Battle of Colachel