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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 101

piracies, in 1722 engaged in a joint expedition, with the Portu-
guese, against the strongly fortified island of Colabah, situated
about five miles from Kener}^ from which it bears S.S.E., near
the shore, at the entrance of a river. The Portuguese furnished
the land forces, and there were three ships ot the Bombay
Marine, commanded by Commodore Matthews, but the attempt
failed, owing to the cowardice of the Portuguese ; indeed it was
said they acted with treachery, having a secrc understanding
with Angria, from whose depredations they suffered less than
other nationalities. The Bombay ]\larine highly distinguished
itself on that occasion, and lost several officers and men. Two
years afterwards a powerful Dutch squadron of seven ships,
carrying between thirty and fifty guns, and two bomb-vessels,
with a body of troops, made an attempt on Angria's stronghold
of Viziadroog, but they were repulsed with great loss.
Nor was Angria the onl}^ piratical power from whose dei)re-
dations the English trade suff"ered, for the Sanganians, whose
chief seaport was Beyt, at the entrance of the Gulf of Cutch,
also preyed on English commerce. An attempt made by them, in
1717, to capture the Company's ship ' Morning Star,' detailed
b}^ Hamilton, led to one of the severest of the naval contests
which have been waged on the western coast of India. Ascer-
taining through their spies that she was on her passage from
Gombroon to JSurat with a valuable cargo, the pirates waylaid
her with two squadrons, consisting of one vessel of nearly
500 tons, three others of between 200 and 300 tons, and four
smaller craft, carrying in all about two thousand men. Wc-
sides her native crew, only seventeen European fighting
men were on board the ']\Iorning Star,' but they were
resolute and prepared to defend themselves to tlie last. The
pirate's largest ship opened the engagement by coming at once
to close quarters, and the English commander's thigh was
pierced with a lance, but they were then com[)elled to sheer ofi".
After taking a day to consider a new plan of attack, they threw
their two largest vessels on tiie Englishman's bows, another on
his quarter, and closed with the tliive others, so as to board him
from five points. A desperate conflict ensued ; seven men of
the 'Morning Star' were killed, and as many wounded, she was
set on fire in three places, so that her poop and half-deck were
burnt through, but, after four hours' close conflict, her crew
contrived to disengage her, and, leaving her five enemies so
entangled with one another that they could not give chase, she
bore away with all speed for Bombay. One of her native
seamen and twenty-six native merchants, who had gone from
her to the pirates with the hope of dissuading them from their
attempt, reuiained in their hands, and the Sanganians revived
.£600 for their ransom. So dissatisfied, however, were their
chiefs with the result of the attempt to capture the small