Page 259 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

THE ENGLISH SECURE A FOOTHOLD TN INDIA 259

a glimmering perception of the value of this splendid site.
Prior to the visit of the fleet, to which we are about to
refer, the Directors, writing out from home, had urged upon
their representatives at Surat the advisability of establish­
ing a fortified settlement on the island of Bombay or some
other suitable spot in its vicinity. Mr. William Foster,
in his introduction to one of the volumes of his transcripts
of the Indian Records, suggests that the Court were prompted
to make this proposal by Jeronimo de Pavia, a converted
Portuguese Jesuit, who was taken to England in one of the
\ Company’s ships in 1625. Whether this was the case or
not, the suggestion came to nothing, for the excellent reason
that the Surat factors had no means at their disposal to
carry out such a bold policy as was implied in the virtual
conquest of a Portuguese possession within easy striking
distance of Goa. In the communication in which the pro­
position was shown to be impracticable the Company’s
representatives mentioned that they had proposed to the
i
Dutch a joint scheme of fortified posts but had received an
unsympathetic reply. As far as the special object of the
Company’s attentions was concerned, the Surat function­
aries agreed that the position was a desirable one. “ Bom­
bay,” they wrote, “ is noe ill ayre, but a pleasant, fruitful
t
soyle and excellent harbour.”
When about the middle of October, 1626, the combined
fleet sailed into Bombay harbour, they found that the
Portuguese Admiral, Botelho, had escaped them. He had
probably heard of the approach of the formidable force of
the enemy and had taken shelter under the guns of the Goa
*
fortifications where the English and Dutch could not safely
assail him. In their exasperation at being robbed of their
! anticipated prey, the two commanders decided to lay waste

j