Page 258 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

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258 EARLY ENGLISH ADVENTURERS IN THE EAST

crippled, was yet capable of inflicting nasty wounds. From
Goa might sally forth galleons which would take at a seri­
ous disadvantage ships of either English or Dutch origin sail­
ing up or down the coast. A defensive arrangement by
which the vessels of the two nations would render mutual
assistance was, therefore, most useful to both; and it
became more serviceable in the period following the cap­
ture of Ormuz, when the Portuguese, rendered desperate
by the losses they had sustained, sought to retrieve their
laurels under the direction of Ruy Freire, who had man­
aged to escape from English custody at Surat, and had made
his way to Goa within a short period after the return of the
triumphant English fleet from the Persian Gulf.
1
Towards the close of 1626, stirred to vigorous action by
the reprisals of the Portuguese upon English and Dutch
shipping, a combined fleet, consisting of six English and
eight Dutch ships, sailed out of Swally roads to deal, if
possible, a crushing blow at the enemy. The immediate
objective of the squadron was Bombay, where it was known
that the principal Portuguese fleet had for some time been
anchored. At this period where is now a proud city—“ the
- gate of India ”—was merely a squalid Portuguese settle­
ment, with a population of 10,000, mostly poor Mohamme­
dans and low-caste Indians, who obtained a precarious
living by fishing and rice cultivation. The close proximity
of the place to Goa probably accounts for the comparative
insignificance of the Portuguese town. Nevertheless, it
is remarkable that with their keen instinct for a good strate­
gic position on a sea-board the Portuguese should have
allowed the superb harbour of Bombay to drop into a quite
inferior place in their chain of settlements in the East.
In the English mind before this period there had dawned