A note dated 1694 arrived in London with a special
missive attached. This declaration had been left at
Johanna (Anjouan) in the Comoro Islands to be
delivered to any visiting EIC ship. Those captains
subsequently delivered the missive to officials in
Bombay whose agents forwarded it to the company’s
headquarters in England.
To all English
Commanders, let this satisfie, That I was riding
here at this instant in the Ship Fancy Man of
War, formerly the Charles of the Spanish
Expedition, who departed from Croniae the 7th of May
1694 Being (and am now) in a Ship of 46 Guns, 150
Men, and bound to Seek our Fortunes. I have never as
yet wronged any English or Dutch, nor ever intend
whilst I am Commander. Wherefore as I commonly speak
with all Ships, I desire whoever comes to the
perusall of this to take this Signall, That if you,
or any whom you may inform, are desirous to know
what wee are at a distance, Then make your Ancient
up in a Ball or Bundle and hoist him at the
Mizenpeek, the Mizen being furled. I shall answer
with the same and never molest you, for my Men are
hungry, Stout, and resolute, and should they exceed
my Desire I cannot help myself. As yet an
Englishmans Friend
Henry Every.
Two artistic renderings of Henry Every.
Left: Woodcut from 1725 edition of Captain Charles
Johnson's A General History of the Robberies
and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates. (Source:
Beej's Pirate Image Archive)
Right: Unknown artist's 18th-century engraving of
Every with his ship attacking the Fancy in
the background. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The EIC’s Governor added, “having likewise understood by
some fresh Advices from Persia . . . That the said
Pirate had in pursuance of his said Declaration pillaged
severall Ships belonging to the Subjects of the Mogull
in their passage from the Red Sea to Surrat, upon notice
whereof the Factoryes of the said Company at Surrat had
guards set upon their Houses by the Governour of the
place till such time The Mogulls pleasure was known,
Whereby the said Governour and Company have reason to
fear many great inconveniences may attend them not only
from the Reprizalls which may be made upon them at
Surrat or other their Factories But also from the
Interruption which may be thereby given to their Trade
from Port to Port in India, as well as to their Trade to
and from thence to England.
"Wherefore your Petitioners do most humbly beseech your
Excellencies to use such effectuall means for the
preventing the great Loss and damage which threatens
them hereby, as to your Excellencies great wisdom shall
be thought fit.1 (Jameson,
154-155)
The Lords
Justices, who were ruling during William III’s
absence, read the missive on 16 July 1696. Two days
later, they declared Every and his men pirates and
ordered their apprehension. They also deemed the EIC
would pay a £500 reward should Every be captured.
Proclamation for the Apprehending
of Henry Every, alias Bridgeman, and sundry other
Pirates
Edinburgh, Scotland, 1696. (Source:
Wikimedia
Commons)
On 15 March
1695, Every’s Fancy sailed close to Johanna
again, but this time several Company ships attempted to
capture him. This information was relayed to Bombay,
which sent the following warning to the Company in
London in a letter dated 28 May.
[H]ee was too
nimble for them by much, having taken down a great
deal of his upper work and made her exceeding snugg,
which advantage being added to her well sailing
before, causes her to sail so hard now that shee
fears not who follows her. This Ship will
undoubtedly [sail] into
the Red Seas and Wee fear disappoint us of Our above
expected Goods, And it is probable will after shee
had ransacked that Gulph proceed to Persia and doe
what mischief possible there, which will procure
infinite clamours at Suratt and the Government will
be for embargoing all that ever Wee have there.
(Jameson, 156)
Which is exactly what
Every did. He met up with two other pirate ships, the Dolphin
and the Portsmouth Adventure, and their
commanders, Captains Richard Want and Joseph Faro
respectively, and the duo preyed in consort with Every’s
Fancy. Upon arriving at the Red Sea, they met two
more sea rovers: Thomas Tew
and his sloop Amity out of Rhode Island, and a
brigantine called the Pearle, commanded by
William Mues. They, too, joined with Every and, in 1695,
the five vessels lay in wait for a fleet of twenty-five
pilgrim and merchant ships coming down from Mocha
(Al-Mukhā, Yemen).
John Dann, one of Every’s men, would later say in a
deposition:
After
. . . 5 or 6 dayes the Moores ships (being about 25
in number) past by them in the night unseen, though
the passage was not above 2 miles over. . . . the
next morning they saw a Ketch comeing downe, which
they tooke, and by them they heard the ships were
gone by, whereupon it was resolved they should all
follow them and accordingly they wheighed on Monday
. . . . about 3 dayes before they made Cape St. John
they mett with one of the Moores ships, betweene 2
and 300 tons, with 6 Guns, which they tooke, she
haveing fired 3 shott. they tooke about 50 or 60,000
l. in that ship in Silver and gold, and kept her
with them . . . . 2 (Jameson, 168)
This vessel was the
Fateh Muhammed, which belonged to Abd-ul Ghafur,
and she, along with the Ganj-i-Sawai, Emperor
Aurangzeb’s flagship, had fallen behind the rest of the
fleet. Tew’s Amity fired first, then Every’s Fancy
unleashed a broadside. As his ships narrowed the
distance, the pirates fired pistols and muskets at their
prey before boarding her. The 600-ton Fateh Muhammed
fired thrice on the pirates during the one- to two-hour
engagement, but the pirates survived relatively
unscathed. One exception happened aboard Amity,
where the crew discovered their captain, Thomas Tew, had
been killed. As Charles Johnson wrote: “in the
Engagement, a Shot carry’d away the Rim of Tew’s Belly,
who held his Bowels with his Hands some small Space . .
. .” (Defoe, 439)
Aboard Fateh
Muhammed, the pirates found “£50-£60,000
in gold and silver.” (Reddy, 136) Every learned from her
master that most of the twenty-five vessels in the
pilgrim fleet had already passed and were safely out of
his reach. But there was one more to come, the flagship,
which was heavily armed. Every consulted his fellow
pirates, who decided to pursue that vessel. Leaving a
small crew aboard their prize, the pirates reembarked
their five ships and sailed away to wait for the
flagship to pass. On 5 September, the Ganj-i-Sawai
– a 1,600-ton vessel that the English tended to refer to
as Gunsway – came into view. Compared to her, Fancy
was a dwarf. The only equality between the two vessels
was their crews; both numbered around 200. Aside from
that, Ganj-i-Sawai carried eighty guns, 600
passengers, and 400 to 500 soldiers.
Fancy gained ground on
the other pirate ships and was the first to pull
alongside Ganj-i-Sawai. The prey’s response was
to let loose a broadside, to which Every responded with
his own. His gunners aimed high in hopes of disabling
her sails and rigging. An explosion on board Ganj-i-Sawai
silenced her guns. An array of hot, iron fragments
showered the deck, but only three or four men died from
the exploding cannon. Fancy’s next broadside
toppled her prey’s mainmast, which crippled the
flagship, dumped seaman aloft into the water, and acted
like an anchor, slowing the ship. After the pirates
boarded and subdued all their victims, a tally was taken
of the damages to their brotherhood. Only 180 out of
roughly 290 men lived to share the spoils. The total
haul from both Muslim vessels ranged somewhere between
£155,000 and £600,000.3 According to John
Dann, “They tooke out of that ship soe much Gold and
Silver in Coyned money and Plate as made up each mans
share with what they had taken before about 1000 l. a
man, there being 180 that had their Dividents, the
Captain haveing a Double share and the Master a share
and a halfe.” (Jameson, 168-169)
Eventually,
both Fateh Muhammed and Gang-i-Sawai
were released to lumber home to Surat. The former
arrived on 11 September, but she only served as proof to
the rumors that had already surfaced in the city. Samuel Annesley was the EIC’s
president in Surat. He
had come to India in 1678 and steadily worked his way up
the ranks until he attained his current position in May
1694. When the first rumors reached him, he sent
messages to all his employees to return to the factory
where the high, thick walls should protect them from any
backlash. It proved a wise precaution, because angry
mobs congregated outside the factory. Shortly thereafter
the city’s military commander, backed by a cavalry
troop, demanded to be let inside. Once that was
accomplished, he informed Annesley that they would
remain there to protect the English.
Things quieted
down until 13 September when Ganj-i-Sawai
arrived and elevated the ire of the people even more
than her predecessor had. Surat’s governor, Ahmanat
Khan, had any stray Englishmen in the city taken to the
factory, including the captain of the Company’s ship Benjamin,
which had recently arrived in port – the same vessel
that had conveyed Henry Every’s note from Johanna to
Bombay the year before. The anger was such that three
other trading posts were also shut down and Indian
soldiers guarded those compounds as well.
At this point,
everyone inside the EIC’s factory at Surat went from
being protected for their own safety to shackled
prisoners, three to a cell. They were not permitted to
contact anyone outside the walls. Nor could they see
beyond their cells since all windows had been boarded
over. Some were badly beaten; one was stoned and died.
Extra guards were also assigned, enough to ensure that
there were four or five guards per man twenty-four
seven. Annesley later penned:
It is needless
to write of the indignities, slavish usages and
tyrannical insultings wee hourly bear day and night;
and to expatiate on so hateful a subject would no
wayes redress or alleviate our sufferings. (Keay, 187)
In all,
sixty-three Englishmen were imprisoned there, and they
would remain so until 27 June 1696.
One reason for
such vehemence stemmed from the fact that both vessels
were Muslim ships carrying pilgrims home from the holy
city of Mecca. Making this hajj was one of the Pillars of Islam and every
believer was expected to make the journey at least once
in his or her lifetime. To attack these ships was deemed
a sacrilege – so much so, for some, that the only just
recompense would be immediate execution of all
Englishmen. Governor Khan questioned whether he had such
authority under Islamic law and consulted a qadi or
Islamic judge, who informed him that without evidence of
collusion with the pirates, Annesley and the other
prisoners could not be punished. That answer did not
appease the mob; in fact, one man threatened to harm the
governor.
In a letter
from Bombay, dated 12 October 1695, Governor Sir John
Gayer, who was also the Company’s president there,
described what happened when news reached Indian
officials.
One of Abdull
Gofores Ships arriving, their people sent the
Governour word, that they were plundered by an
English Vessell, severall of their Men killed in
fight, and others barbarously used; Upon which there
was a great noise in Towne, and the Rabble very much
incensed against the English, which caused the
Governour to send a Guard to Our Factory to prevent
their doing any violence to Our People. the 13th in
the Morning, the Gunsway, one
of the Kings Ships, arrived from Judda and Mocho,
the Nocqueda and Merchants, with one voice,
proclaiming that they were robbed by four English
Ships near Bombay of a very great Sume, and that the
Robbers had carryed their plundered Treasure on
Shoar there, on which there was farr greater noise
than before. upon this the Governour sent a very
strong Guard to the Factory and clapt all our People
in Irons, shut them up in a room, planked up all
their windows, kept strict Watches about them, that
no one should have pen, ink, or paper to write,
stopped all the passages, that no Letters might pass
to Us. att this time Captain Brown being att Surat,
with some of his Officers and Boats Crew, faired in
Common with the rest, and so did some others, that
were on shoar . . . .
Wee are
informed, that one English man in Surrat carrying to
Prison, was so wounded by the Rabble, that he dyed
three days after, and that severall others were
barbarously used. it is certain the Pyrates, which
these People affirm were all English, did do very
barbarously by the People of the Gunsway and
Abdul Gofors Ships, to make them confess where their
Money was, and there happened to be a great Umbraws
Wife (as Wee hear) related to the King, returning
from her Pilgrimage to Mecha, in her old age. She
they abused very much, and forced severall other
Women, which Caused one person of Quality, his Wife
and Nurse, to kill themselves to prevent the
Husbands seeing them (and their being) ravished. All
this will raise a black Cloud att Court, which We
wish may not produce a severe storme.
The
Pyrates, being neglected of all hands, begin to grow
formidable, and if some Course be nott taken to
destroy them, they will yearly increase, having
found their trade so beneficiall, and how soon the
Companys servants, as well as their Trade, may be
sacrificed to revenge the Quarrell of the Sufferers,
they know not.4 (Jameson,
156-159)
Gayer also
wrote to the Surat Council, the body that had elevated
Annesley to his present position.
How often have
we been falsely charged. Nay, how often hath it been
proved so, and yett upon every fresh alarm of a
pyrate on the coast all is still laid upon the
English, and the Company’s Chief and Council, and
gentlemen of quality, must like the meanest and
basest criminals be clapt up in irons, chained
together like a company of doggs to secure their
lives being made a sacrifice to the rabble . . . .
and we further say, suppose it should be proved
there is English pyrates in the seas as well as
other nations, is the English East India Company to
be charged with their crimes? How unreasonable a
thing would that be. (Wright, 170)
It didn’t help
matters that some crew members from the Ganj-i-Sawai
were willing to swear under oath that they knew some of
the pirates who had attacked their ship. The reason for
this recognition? They had seen these men working for
the EIC in Bombay. In the days and months afterward,
more details emerged as to what occurred. Facts and
rumors merged, depending on who told the story, making
it difficult to ascertain embellishment from verity.
What could not be contested was the fact that English
pirates had assaulted two pilgrim ships laden with great
riches, and the EIC bore the brunt of Emperor
Aurangzeb’s and his people’s outrage.
Eventually,
Annesley received permission to write to his superior,
Sir Gayer in Bombay.
For nine years
past have been the same false aspersions on us, and
all along wee have at last appeared merchants and
not pyrates. If wee were the latter, would we live
amongst them and bring so many 100,000 rupees’ worth
of goods to the City? He might consider how
unreasonable and ridiculous it would be to expect
anything of the nature from persons meriting such a
character. Were wee pyrates, would wee rob under our
own colours and tell everybody who wee were? No,
rather if wee had plundered the ship wee should have
sunk her, that 100 years after none should have
known what had become of her. Wee have declared, if
it can be proved on us, wee will give two for one,
and do the same now again; but if it be false, then
those that so wrongfully accuse us to our prejudice
must make us a full satisfaction of that damage. Is
their King answerable for any of his runagate
subjects that may do mischief abroad? No more is our
prince or we for those of his that have shook
subjection to the laws and pyrate it up and down. If
any of the Right Honourable Company’s subjects have
done it, its another matter. Our Generall should be
informed of the dishonour and tyranny unreasonably
laid upon us, and wee hoped a just remedy would be
found. (Wright, 167)
In the aftermath of
Every’s attacks, Aurangzeb wanted to seize all of the
Company’s assets and employees, as well as to capture
Bombay. His ultimate purpose was to throw every
Englishmen out of his country. He also halted trade with
all European companies, not just the English East India
Company. The embargo would remain in force until his
demands for recompense and protection were met. Cooler
heads cautioned the emperor against taking too drastic
an action. His prime minister explained that the loss of
just England’s trade would be severe. Admiral Kazin Khan
wrote:
O King of
Kings, the English are great merchants and drive a
vast trade in your country. ’Tis well, for in these
days Sir John Gayer, Generall for the English that
lives in Bombay, does very good service to the
subjects of your Majesty and that in every respect.
There are a great many hat men (European) thieves in
these seas, but such busyness is not from the
English cast, nor will ever be. (Wright, 176)
Emperor
Aurangzeb heeded his advisers and decided not to
banish the English, but he did insist that all East
India companies, regardless of nationality, had to
provide protection for ships carrying pilgrims. They
also needed to make a more concerted effort in hunting
pirates. Like the EIC at home, President Gayer
considered the use of Company ships to escort merchant
convoys onerous, but to Annesley it was “a golden
opportunity.” (Burgess, 56) He saw this as a way to
elevate the Company’s stature and took matters into his
own hands. He guaranteed England’s protection with a
Bank of England note of credit. He also averred that
Every and his men would be hunted down and dealt with
severely. After Annesley’s release, Gayer relieved him
of his duties. He stayed in Surat until he died in 1732.
In spite of his promises to the emperor, the EIC
remained relatively passive in hunting down the pirates.
But it was only
a matter of time before pirates attacked another convoy.
The Mocha fleet had even been under the protection of
VOC ships. The pirates plundered four ships, one of
which belonged to Ghafur and was deemed a total loss.
Although the EIC had nothing to do with this attack, Emperor
Aurangzeb closed all their factories and halted
trade. Surat’s trading post was looted to compensate
Ghafur, and several other posts were also ransacked.
In the
aftermath of Every’s attack, as well as those by other
pirates, the Privy Council in William III’s name issued
orders to its colonial governors to seize all pirates,
especially Every and his men.
William By the
Grace of GOD, King of Great-Britain,
France and Ireland . . . are Informed that
Henry Every, alias Bridgeman, together
with several other Persons . . . to the Number of
about One Hundred and Thirty, did . . .
Commit several Acts of Pyrracy under English Colours
upon the Seas of India or Persia Contrary
to the Law of Nations, and of this Kingdom in
particular; And that the said Henry Every,
and severals of his Accomplices, since, Committing
of the saids Acts of Pyrracy, having left the said Ship
in the Island of Providence, are
Returned to, and have Dispersed themselves within
this Our antient Kingdom, thinking, and intending
thereby to Save & Shelter themselves from the
Punishment & Execution of Law Due to such
Hainous and Notorious Offenders: And We being
Resolved, that outmost Diligence shall be Used for
Seizing, and Apprehending the Persons of such Open
and Villanous Transgressors; Do therefore, with the
Advice of the Lords of Our Privy Council, Require,
and Command, the Sheriffs . . . and Our Good
Subjects . . . to do their outmost Indeavour and
Diligence to Seize upon, and Apprehend the Persons
of the said Henry Every . . . together with
. . . his Accomplices, . . . and such others as were
with them in the said Ship (who may be Probably
known and Discovered by the Great Quantities of Person
and Indian Gold and Silver which they have
with them) and Deliver him or them Prisoners to the
next Magistrat of any of Our Burghs, to be by them
keeped in safe Custody until farther Order be taken
for bringing him or them to such . . . Punishment as
their Crime does Deserve, and out of Detestation to
such a Horrid villany, and to the Effect the same
may not go Un-punished; and for Incouraging the
Magistrats . . . and any other of Our Good Subjects
to Search for, and Apprehend such Nottrorious
Rogues: We . . . do make Offer, and Assure the
Payment of the Sum of Five Hundred Pounds Sterling
for the said Henry Every . . . and Fiftieth
Pounds Sterling Money . . . for every one of the
other Persons above-named to any Person or Persons
who shail Seize and Apprehend them or any of them,
and Deliver him or them Prisoners to any of the
Magistrats of Our Burghs . . . Indemnifying hereby
all and every one of Our Subjects from any Hazard of
Slaughter, Mutilation, or other Acts of Violence
which they may Commit against the said Henry
Every, or any of his Accomplices, or any Persons
that shall Assist them, to Hinder and Oppose their
being Seized and Taken . . . .
Given under Our
Signet at Edinburgh the
Eighteenth Day of August, and of Our Reign the
Eighth Year, 1696.
. . .
GOD Save
the King. (Proclamation)
Although Every eluded the authorities, some of his men
did not. Six men were eventually tried for the attacks
on Fateh Muhammed and Ganj-i-Sawai, but
the Crown failed miserably in showing just how tough it
could be on the pirates. The jury acquitted the men, and
the government did its best to silence any reports about
this in the newspapers. Why were they deemed not guilty?
As someone within the Company opined, “Some of the old
hardened Pirats said, they lookt on it as little or no
sin to take what they could from Heathens as the Moors
and other Indians were.” (Hanna, 203) At least some of
the public shared that sentiment, and not everyone
thought well of the EIC. Perhaps a verdict of innocence
allowed the jury to give them a bit of comeuppance.
Determined to see
the pirates punished, the government tried a different
tact. In spite of their acquittals, the six men were
tried a second time – just not for their offenses
against India. This time they were tried for crimes
against England, and this jury gave the Crown what it
wanted – convictions and executions. In all, only
twenty-four members of Every’s crew were ever brought to
justice.
One of these
was John Dann, who confessed his sins on 3 August 1696.
He had been with Every prior to the taking of the Charles.
The Shipps Company mutinied at Corunna for want of
their pay, there being 8 months due to them; some of
the men proposed to Captain Every, who was master of
the Charles, to
carry away the Shipp, which was agreed on and sworne
too; accordingly they sayled from the Corunna the
7th of May 1693. when they were gone out they made
up about 85 men. Then they asked Captain Gibson, the
Commander, whether he was willing to goe with them,
which he refusing, they sett him a shoar, with 14 or
15 more. (Jameson, 165)
Every, who had
been the navigator of Charles prior to the
mutiny, was elected captain. From Spain they sailed down
the west coast of Africa, pillaging along the way, until
they reached Johanna, where Every had left his note
warning English captains that he and his men had gone on
the account. A letter dated 7 August 1696, from the
Court of the EIC, reported that his crew “consisted of
52 French, 14 Danes, the rest [104] English, Scottish,
and Irish.” (Jameson, 171, n. 8)
William
Phillips, another of the original mutineers, also gave a
voluntary testimony in August. In it, he described the
taking of the two vessels carrying pilgrims.
We . . . met
with a ship of 6 guns which we took without
resistance. She had a pretty quantity of silver and
gold on board. We took her within 10 Leagues of
[Surat] where we have an English Factory. He told us
the Juda ships were all gone another way, only the
Admirall of Mecca a very rich ship was still behind.
The next morning we saw a sail . . . standing up to
her a prisoner we had on board told us it was the
Admirall of Mecca a ship of 70 Guns and 700 men. Our
vessel agreed to fight her with guns, and the
Brigantine and Ferrar were to board her; but they
seeing her so big a ship durst not come near her . .
. . When we came within shott she fired two chase
guns of 18 pounders at us. They grazed our Missen
mast but did us no damage. We not intending to fire
at them till we came board and board they fired the
first broad side at us, and overshott us being so
large a ship, upon which we gave them Eleven broad
sides in all and boarded her, they then immediately
surrendered, so we were Masters of her in about two
hours. They fired very warmly upon us all the while
and threw fireworks into us to set our sails etc on
fire, but we lost never a man only one wounded in
boarding. When we were on board, they being all run
into the hold, we called them up and gave them good
quarter. We askt the Captain what money he had on
board he told us he had one basket of about £2000
that belonged to him, the rest belonged to Turkish
merchants which we found in the hold in baskets,
there might be in the whole about £150,000. . . .
After two days . . . we sail’d . . . to Roger Poole
about 30 Leagues from [Bombay] where we have an
English Factory. There we watered and shared the
money.5 (Pirates,
26-27)
John Sparks,
who testified on 10 September 1696, described what
happened this way:
abt 20 leagues
. . . off Surat they came up with a Moorish ship
which after abt an hour’s fight they took and out of
her great quantities of gold and silver to ye value
of least 20 thousand pound . . . of the same month
came up with another Moorish ship called the Gunsway of abt
one thousand tons with whom they fought abt three
hours and a half and they took her and after having
plundered her and taken out great quantities of gold
and silver they sent ye two Moorish ships into Surat
and so ended their voyage. That he believes there
was taken away and plundered out of the last Moorish
ship to ye value of abt one hundred and thirty
thousand pounds . . . this Examinate was kept onbd
. . . as a kind of slave to wash their clothes,
sweep the decks and light their pipes and had but
upwards of one hundred pounds for his share when
others of ye Company had above nine hundred pounds a
man. (Pirates, 36)
Among those who
gave evidence against Every’s captured men was Philip
Middleton, who was an eleven-year-old boy when he joined
the crew of Charles II in 1694. (He later
received an education compliments of the EIC and, in
1706, became one of their pursers, serving aboard the Halifax,
which traveled to Madras and Bengal.) Once he arrived in
Ireland, he went to authorities and became an important
crown witness. In one of his five depositions he
explained what transpired once they arrived in the Red
Sea. They
heard of two
rich ships from Mocha bound to Surat, but passed
them in the night, as they learned from a small junk
which they took the next day. They came up with the
smaller vessel, which made little or no resistance,
but the great ship fought for two hours, having
about 1,300 persons on board. The other had 700.
They kept possession of both ships, and all the crew
except one man boarded her by turns, taking only
provisions, necessaries and treasure, which was very
great, but little in comparison with what was on
board; for though they put several to the torture
they would not confess where the rest of their
treasure lay. They took great quantities of jewels,
and a saddle and bridle set with rubies designed as
a present for the Great Mogul. Several of the Indian
women on board were, by their habits and jewels, of
better quality than the rest. Having taken these
prizes the pirate went to Rajapere for water, and
then to Mascarenas, where all the Danes and French
were set ashore with their share of booty, amounting
to £970 per man in value.6 (Pirates,
173)
Many of the
pilgrims aboard the ships were women, and one was
related to the emperor. (The accounts disagreed on what
this relationship was; some identified her as his
daughter, others as an elderly relative.) They were
among those who protested in the streets and some were
willing to testify about what transpired to Indian
officials. Khufi Khan, a contemporary Indian historian,
recorded that the attackers
busied
themselves for a week . . . stripping the men, and
dishonouring the women, both young and old . . . .
Several honourable women, when they found an
opportunity, threw them selves into the sea, to
preserve their chastity, and some others killed
themselves with knives and daggers.” (Little, 80)
Such treatment
of the women and men was unconscionable, and most likely
contributed to Emperor Aurangzeb’s anger. The EIC
endured the worst of his rage, in part because many in
India, including Aurangzeb, believed that all pirates
were English.
William
Phillips, however, denied that the pirates found any
women on the ships.
We killed about
fourteen or fifteen of the Admirall of Mecca’s men,
but there were no women of any quality on board nor
any ravished as is reported, therefore if any thing
of that kind was done it was done by some of the
ships that are still out. (Pirates,
32)
Another of
Middleton’s depositions contradicted Phillips’s
assertion. Middleton said that “many of the pirates ‘lay
with’ them.” (Pirates, 173, note 203)
The veracity of
these accounts was less relevant to the Company. What
mattered was that Every’s attack, as well as every other
pirate strike, embarrassed the EIC and the Company was
expected to make reparations. In addition to the Crown’s
reward for the capture of Every and each remaining
member of his crew, the EIC promised similar bounties:
each accomplice was worth £50 (£10,608 or $13,617 in
2020) and, initially, Every himself was worth £100
(£21,215 or $27,234). The Company later elevated that to
match the Crown’s reward of £500 (£106,075 or $136,168).
Although the English bore the brunt of retribution, the
VOC and la Compagnie française were also held
accountable. In addition to the bribes they paid to
continue their trade, they had to participate in
safeguarding the convoys. These, as well as some timely
intervention from the Royal Navy, helped to drive
Western pirates from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean by the
time Aurangzeb died in 1707. Until then, pirates, like
Every and his men, continued their depredations.
Notes:
1."Croniac"
is Coruña, Spain. Joanna (Anjouan) is the main island
of the Comoros, volcanic islands found northwest of
Madagascar. "Ancient" is a corruption of the more
familiar term for a flag, "ensign."
At the time of Every's attack, India was ruled by the
Mughal emperors. The empire
began in 1526 and ended in 1761. Emperor Aurangzeb --
whose father built the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife
-- ruled the most powerful and richest empire of the
Asian subcontinent, extending from Afghanistan to
Burma. Aurangzeb came to power in 1658 and ruled for
fifty years. He is considered one of the greatest of
the Mughal emperors, but he also sowed the seeds that
would eventually lead to the empire's downfall.
2.
According to Jameson, Cape St. John might be a
reference to Diu, an island off the west coast of
India. For additional information on this historic
outpost, see here.
3. The National Archives' currency
converter calculates purchasing power in
decades. While it doesn't provide a calculation for
1695, a treasure valued at £155,000 in 1690 would be
worth £18,574,254.50 in 2017. In comparison, that
original sum in 1700 would equal £16,582,411.50 had
the pirates captured the booty in 2017. During that
decade, it would have taken one skilled tradesman
1,722,222 days or 4,718 years to earn £155,000. In
comparison, the £600,000 would have been equivalent to
between £71,900,340 and £64,189,980 in 2017. In this
case, the tradesman would have to work 6,666,666 days
or nearly 18,265 years to amass that sum.
According to the Bank of England's inflation
calculator, which can provide sums for 1695 (the
year the pirates captured the Gang-i-Sawai),
£155,000 and £600,000 that year equated to £32,883,274
and £127,290,093, respectively, in 2020. Since each
man in the pirate company received £1,000 in 1695,
that amount equated to £212,150 in 2020. The captains,
as well as anyone else earning more than a single
share, earned even more than that. The American equivalent of the
treasure in 2020 would be $42,212,259 and
$163,402,293; each man's share was worth $272,337.
4. "Abdull Gofores" refers to
Abd-ul Ghafar, the richest merchant in Surat.
"Noqueda" stems from an Urdu word meaning captain or
master of a ship.
5. "Roger Poole" refers to Rajapur.
According to the Indian ship owners, their losses
amounted to £600,000. The estimate from the EIC's
factory in Surat put the losses at closer to £325,000.
6. "Great Mogul" was how the English
referred to the emperor of India. "Mascarenas" was the
Mascarene Islands -- Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues
-- which are east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
For additional information, I
recommend the following resources:
Pirates
and Privateers
