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50 HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.

loose, soon made all the rest run aground, and most of them lost,
especially the great ships. The little English army pursued
tlie Portuguese, and killed many in their flight ; but at a point of
land, about three miles from the shii)S, the Portuguese made a
stand, and rallied ; but the little victorious army soon made
them take a second time to their heels, and so the English got
an entire victory, with small loss, for there were not twenty
killed on the English side, but above fifteen hundred of the
Portuguese. In anno IGDOIwas on the field of battle, and saw
many human skulls and bones lying above ground, and the
story of the battle I had from an old Parsee, who was born at a
village called Tamkin, within two miles of the field, and could
perfectly remember the action." By this account it will be seen
that the officers and seamen of the Company's ships, well main-
tained the reputation for valour they had acquired by their deeds
under Best and Downton, and at Ormuz in 1622.
The Surat President represented to the Directors in England,
the absolute necessity of sending out stores and reinforcements,
to enable them to defend their houses of trade and ships against
the superior force of the Portuguese ; for, though the Dutch
were also at war with that nation, no reliance could be placed
on any assistance they would afford, and, indeed, all their efforts
were turned to weakening the connection between the English
and the Mogul Government, and striving to ruin the Company
by actually selling European goods at a loss, and paying such
high prices for Indian goods as to paralyze the markets. The
iH'gency was the greater, from no shipping having arrived from
Bantam at Surat, and from the naval power of the Portuguese
being solely directed against the English.*
The Viceroy of Goa having failed at Surat, now directed his
attention to reviving the Portuguese influence in Persia, where
all previous firmans, even those to the English, were abrogated
by the death of Shah Abbas ; but in this his efforts
were doomed to disappointment, for the new Sovereign, Shah
Sophi, whose reign terminated by his death, in May, 1642,
renewed previous firmans, and a body of two hundred Persian
soldiers were sent to Gombroon to protect the English factory
and shipping against the hostility of their rivals.
It having become an important object to conciliate the friend-
ship of the Governor of the province of Ears, on whom their trade
more immediately depended, the Agents had been obliged to offer
the assistance of the English ships to co-operate with him in an
expedition which he was preparing, to dislodge the Portuguese
from Muscat. This offer was made, because the Agents had
the alternative either of incurring his displeasure, or of giving
an opportunity to the Dutch (who would readily have embraced
it) to regain the favour of the Shah and of the Governor.
The Agents, to avoid similar embarrassments, suggested to
p. 30i.
* Eruce's " Aauals," vol. i.,