Page 129 - INDIANNAVYV1

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 97
with Sambhajee against Shao, grandson of Sevajee, but was
induced by certain concessions to renounce the cause of the
former, and release the Peishwa. Kanhojee possessed all the
coast from Sawunt Waree to Bombay, but now received, as a
bribe for his compliance, ten forts, including Kenery, Kolahah.
Severndroog, and yiziadroCrg,--(as the Moguls called it), or
G4ieriah, and sixteen fortified places, of less strength, together
'^rtttr ctrmUiand of the fleet and the recognition of the title of
'Surkheil. The consequence of this compact was, that the Seedee
found himself deprived of some places, the revenues of which he
had enjoyed for twenty years ; but Ballajee Wishwanath, who
commanded Shao's armies, and was now appointed Peishwa,
compelled him to submit.* Angria now le\ied his " Chout." by
continuing to plunder ships of all nations that appeared off his
coast, but he refrained from molesting the English.
At this time his fleet consisted of ten grabs, mounting
from sixteen to thirty guns each, an'd Smn^ of nearly 400
tons, and also fifty galivats, some of 120 tons, and mounting
four to ten ^ gimsT Atrimated by a lust for plunder, there
now flocked to his standard numerous adventurers, including
renegade Christians, mostly Dutch and Portuguese, Arabs,
Mussulmen and negroes, a most daring and desperate band.
Off the jMalabar coast, two ships and four grabs, in Kan-
hojee's pay, attacked the Company's ship 'President,' when
a desperate action ensued. I'liree of the grabs gra})pled and
attempted to board, and the crew of one actually gained a
footing on the ' President's' deck ; but their success was
short-lived, for they were beaten back with terrible loss. Two
of the grabs were sunk, and a third was blown up while
lying close alongside the 'President,' so that several of the
English crew were scorched, and the ship set on fire in
sixteen places. The rest of the enemy's fleet now retreated,
and the ' President' was left to refit and enjoy her hardly-won
triumph. In this action she lost eleven men killed and thirty-
five wounded, but the pirates, whose loss was enormous,
learned a lesson as to the necessity of caution in attacking a
Company's shi[), which they were not slow to take to heart.
In 1717, Angria's cruisers captured the sliip 'Success,'
sailing under British colours, which so incensed Mr. Boone that
he resolved to commence active hostilities against the pirates.
"In April, 1717," says Lieutenant Downing, "we got all our
fleet together for the siege of the Castle of Gheriah, and, on the
10th, the President reviewed the land forces on shore, and saw
all things put in good and sufficient order. We proceeded down
the coast, which is not above twelve hours' sail from Pxiuibay,
where we, with all our navy, soon arrived, and ran boldly into
the harbour, Captain Berlew, Commodore, and arranged a line
* Grant Duff's " History of the Mahrattas," vol. i., pp. 433-436.
H
VOL. I.