Bombay: The First Visit of the English to their Future Capital of Western India
On 13th October 1626, six English ships and eight Dutch ships reached Bombay with the objective of defeating the Portuguese squadron commanded by Botelho (Botello) that was creating extreme difficulties for both the English and Dutch ships in their operations in the Arabian sea, covering the coastal cities from Surat to Gombroon (now called Bandar Abbas, Iran). David Davis, a master’s mate on board the ship Discovery, drew a sketch map of Bombay during this visit.[1]
Image Source: William Foster, The English Factories in India, 1624-1629; A Calendar of Documents in the India Office, etc. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909), frontispiece
The following explanation was appended with the sketch.
“The letter BB is the bay; T is the towne; Ry is the three rivers. The Ro. Is ij rockes on boath sides. Where the stime of the anckors, we roads before the greate howse without the stakes. Wher the wood is the island. The higher great piramides is a castell, as we thinke, up in the land. The letter C by the great tree is a hermitadg. The letter M is a monastri, and the littell towne of cittjohn howses betwix it and the wood. Wher the letter F ther weare a dozen friketts riding. The letter N over the Bassine is a nunery.”[2]
Sir Henry Morland, a British administrator who began his career in the navy,[3] and James M Campbell, another British administrator, added references to the maps based on their understanding of the city of Bombay and its coastline.[4]
Image Source: James Douglas, Bombay and Western India; A Series of Stary Paper, Vol 1 (London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1893), 39-40.
- Bandara: Bassein is twenty miles, and in his small vessel he would not be able to see it.
- Mahim Fort
- Worli Fort
- Mahim Bay and Creek
- Byculla Flats
- Navara Hill
- Chandni Hill- “Queen of Marathas’ Castle”
- Pir Point
- Thana Creek to Bassein
- (Davies’ C) Trombay old Church; may have been a Hermitage
- Line of Persik Hills
- Funnel Hill
- Butcher’s Island
- Elephanta Island (may have had a building on it; some ruins remain, but the sketch is exactly the same as the tower and tree on Butcher’s Island)
- Panwel River
- (M) Karanja Hill; ruins still exist
- Oyster Rock
- Kolaba Point, Prongs Reef
- Great Karanja
- Pen River
- Thal Knob
- (F) High land of Thal
- Kanderi or Khenery Island
- Malabar Point
- Mahalakshmi and Breach Candy
Henry Morland explains his interpretation of the map by Davis David:
To one who has looked at the surroundings as I have for the last thirty-nine years, the several views come quite familiar. David Davies must have made his sketch, partly from two spots, viz. at anchor in the harbour and when sailing off the Port, a little north, and principally from the latter point, probably at anchor off Worli or Mahalakshmi, for this part of the view is exact. I send you a modern chart with marginal sketch, to compare the two, and it is exactly as I saw it from my yacht a short time back. The interpretation of the MS. is excellent. I think, however, in the fort paragraph the author’s words should be ‘when ye flues’ (the word usually employed amongst sailors for flukes) ‘of ye anchors.’ The flukes of the anchors are also termed the ‘palms’ and are close to the points…
I quite agree with you that ‘F lands’ is the Byculla Flats. There is no doubt that the creek from Mahim Bay came out to the west of Salsette and between it and Sewri. Sion must have been an island – in fact a part of the Thana Creek formerly came down to the west of Salsette, between Pir Point and Green Island, and was only stopped by the Chimbur causeway – this current scoured the Bombay foreshore, and its having been stopped accounts for the annual silting up in the north-west part of the harbour, now and for years back occurring between Mazagon (correctly spelt ‘Much-gawn’ – a fishing village) and Pir Point.
It has been a very interesting study, now that I have had time to go into the plan thoroughly, and I am quite satisfied you may depend on the accuracy of my deductions.[5]
John Vian’s Account of the Attack on Bombay[6]
1626, October 8: The Dutch and English fleets sailed from Swally.
October 10: Met two Dutch ships, the Zierikzee and Wapen, from Batavia.
October 12: Anchored five miles off ‘Bombay’, ‘we thinking our enimye the Portingall gad bene there, but he was not theare with anie shipps.’
October 13: ‘We and the whole fleete, both of English and Duch, went into Bumbay and came to an anckor in 9 fatham; one pointe beareing WNW. Per compasse, the other SSW; the one 3 mile off, the other 3 leagues of. This was in the entringe of the harbor.’
October 14: ‘This daie we went with the whole fleete in farther, neare a smalle towne or village, where there were Portingalls. Wee anckored, and rode a mile of in 6 faddam, one point per compasse beareing WSW. 5 mile of, the other S. & by W. some 5 leagues of. Wee ame sor neere the towne with two of our shipps that wee drove them all awaye with our great ordnance, viz. the Morrice of the English and the Mauritius of the Duch. In safetie we landed our men on shore, whoe pilladged the towne and set their houses all on fire, with their fort neere the water side. Yea, we staide there the 15th daye, doeinge all the spoyle that possible could; but we gott nothinge to speake of but vittuall. Soe when wee had done all the harme we could, the 15th daye in the evening wee gott our men aboord, leaveinge the towne on fire. And the 16 daie in the morning, when the winde cam of shore, wee wayed anckor and went off to sea againe.’
October 17 and 18: ‘We plied it for Surratt againe, seeing wee could not meete with the Portingalls shipps, for we came purposlie to meete them, and did seeke for them.’
October 21: Met the Christopher between Gandevi and Surat Bar.
October 23: Anchored near Swally.
October 24: The William, Blessing, Discovery, Morris, and Christopher went into ‘Swallie Swack’.
October 25: The Palsgrave and Dolphin came in also.
David Davis’s Account of the same Incident[7]
1626, October 8: The allied fleets sailed.
October 9: Met the Zierikzee and Wapen Van Zeeland.
October 11: Anchored ‘in the offing before Bombaye.’ Consultation held aboard the William.
October 12: ‘We waied and sayled in neere the going into the baye, to see yf the Portingalls weare ther. And the commanders sent their shallupps to chase fisher boats that weare in the offing, wherof they tooke two, the one loaden with sault, which came out of the baye and roade without the stakes, as you maye see in the draft following’.
October 14: ‘The Moris and two Dutch shipps went in neere the greate howse to batter against it: in which batterie tow of the Moris ordnance splitt. The same daie we landed 300 men, Englishe and Dutch, and burnt all their kittjonns howses[8], and tooke the greate howse, with two basses of brasse and one fakon of iron.[9]
October 15: ‘All our men embarkqued aboorde the shipps, being Sonday in the evening, and lefte the greate howse, which was boath a warehowse, a friery, and a forte, all afire burning with many other good howses, together with two nywe frigetts not yet from the stockes nor fully ended; but they hadd caried awaye all their treasur and all things of any value, for all were runde awaye before our men landed.’
October 16: ‘In the morning we wayed and sayled out of Bumbaye.’
October 21: The Christopher joined them.
October 23: Anchored in Swally Road.
October 25: Went over the bar.
Another Account by Andrew Warden[10]
1626, October 8: Sailed to meet the expected Dutch and English ships and protect them against the Portuguese.
October 10: Met two Dutch vessels. The fleet now numbered fourteen sail.
October 12: Anchored four leagues from ‘Bumbaye’.
October 15: In the morngn stode in and ankred, and landed of the Eingles and the Duche sum 400 meane at the leaste, and tooke the forte and casell and the twone, and sett fire of it and all the towne and all the howesein theraboutes, the pepell being all run away that night and ded caray away all the best cometeies levein nothein butt trashe.’
October 16: ‘In the moringen we sete sayle and ame out to seae.’
October 21: Anchored with the Christopher off Surat Bar. A boat brought orders from the President for the ships to go to Diu Head, but as water was scarce it was decided to make Swally.
October 24: Anchored in the Hole.
The account of the same incident as given by the Portuguese is the following:
An English and Dutch Squadron, both consisting of 17 Sail, sailed to Bombaim thinking to find him [Nunno Alvarez Botello or Botelho] there. They battered the Fort, and meeting no Opposition burnt the poor Towns along the Coast. A Dutch Captain entering the Church of Our Lady of Hope, with his Sword cut to pieces a great Crucifix, and burnt part of it. He had soon after the Reward of this Barbarity, his Ship being burnt by Ruy Freyre, and he with all the Men slain. Nunno hearing if this Action begged the Crucifix of the Rector, vowing to carry it always with him, till he had revenged the Wrong, or died in the Execution of it.[11]
[1] William Foster, The English Factories in India, 1624-1629; A Calendar of Documents in the India Office, etc. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909), fn, p.xx-xxi.
[2] ibid.
[3] Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 106 Issue 1891, Part 4, pp. 350-352.
[4] James Douglas, Bombay and Western India; A Series of Stary Paper, Vol 1 (London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1893), 39-40.
[5] ibid.
[6] William Foster, The English Factories in India, 1624-1629; A Calendar of Documents in the India Office, etc. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909), 142-143.
[7] William Foster, The English Factories in India, 1624-1629; A Calendar of Documents in the India Office, etc. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909), 143.
[8] Houses thatched with Cadjan, i.e. the leaves of the coco palm.
[9] The ‘base’ was the smallest kind of Cannon in use, with a bore of little more than an inch. The ‘falcon’ was a larger size, with a bore of two and half inches.
[10] William Foster, The English Factories in India, 1624-1629; A Calendar of Documents in the India Office, etc. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909), 144.
[11] Manuel de Faria e Sousa, The Portugues Asia, Tom III, Part IV, 340-341.
