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Rule Britannia! Britannia Rule the Waves!

These are the very famous words from one of Britain’s most popular patriotic songs. But were they true? Up until the catastrophic defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 by the English, the waters around Western Europe were not Britain’s to control. For 2 centuries, from the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1499-1503 to the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic were commanded by the Ottoman Navy, not the Royal Navy. It was only after the final and total defeat of Napoleon’s Navy in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 that Britannia really, truly ruled the waves (until World War 2). Now this may seem a disingenuous investigation into the lyrics of Rule Britannia, as the song was composed to boost morale during the wars against Napoleon. But it does give the listener an image that Britannia had always been the world’s dominant naval power – a purpose it fulfils brilliantly.

Surely, however, the Royal Navy, or the East India Company Marine did rule the waves in Asia? In the Asia where the Mughal Empire and the Qing Dynasty, though they commanded the most powerful land armies of their time, had no naval might to boast of? In the Asia where trade was flowing, with ships creaking under the weight of gold, silver, silk and spices? Short answer: no. They were – up until the latter parts of the 18^th Century – in constant competition for control over the southern half of the Bay of Bengal with the French. In the 17^th Century, the Portuguese and British were constantly locking horns over the Arabian Sea and the trade routes from India to Europe and Persia. In the end, even in the Indian Ocean, Britannia would only rule the waves after the end of the turmoil and warfare of the 18^th Century, in which Britain emerged the clear winner and ruler of the world.

In all these memorable and well recorded conflicts, there is one – a conflict of great importance, between players of equal importance – that is often overlooked. The Maratha Empire, often known as the Maratha Confederacy, was the last of India’s great empires. Captain James Grant Duff, a veteran of all 3 of the BEIC’s wars against the Marathas and one of the most accessible primary sources to the history of the period, was greatly respectful towards the Marathas’ military capability in his 3 volume history The History of the Mahrattas, rightfully recognising them as “our immediate predecessors in [the] conquest [of India]”. While the Maratha Army’s conquests, leaders, victories and defeats are well known, widely studied and household words, the Maratha Navy is very often ignored.

In 1650, after the first sea forts were captured by Emperor Shivaji along the Konkan Coastline, he realised the importance of a navy. By the end of the decade, the Marathas had built two fleets, commanded by two separate Admirals and had created a long series of sea forts and island fortresses along the Konkan coastline, defended by thick walls and powerful cannons. They were crewed by local Konkani sailors and fishermen and individual vessels were commanded by Portuguese mercenaries. It was not long before the Navy proved itself. In 1664, Shivaji sacked the immensely important port city of Surat in Gujarat, through a combined attack from the sea and over land. This city was the gateway of all trade west, towards Europe. In 1679, the Navy attacked and captured the island fortress of Khanderi, 11km off the entrance to Bombay Harbour. From here, his Navy could keep a check on the movements of European Indiamen (ships belonging to Companies). In response to this, the English – with mercenary sailors from the Siddis of Janjira (a clan of sailors loyal to the Mughals) – mounted multiple attacks on this fortress, none of which succeeded. The Maratha Navy, under Shivaji, would raid all along India’s Western Coast.

They raided the Portuguese holdings in Goa and British assets in Bombay. By the time Shivaji died in 1680, the Maratha Navy was undefeated and taxed traders (Arabs, French, Portuguese, British) all the way from Muscat to the Konkan. At this time, the Maratha Navy was substantial – they had over 80 gallivats (gunboats) in service and multiple triple-masted large warships called gurabs. Despite this, the Maratha warships were far smaller than their European counterparts. A gurab – the largest of Maratha ships – only carried between 24-36 cannons. An English galleon, the Revenge, built a century prior in 1577 carried 46 guns. A galleon roughly contemporary to Shivaji’s Navy, the Swedish Vasa, carried 64 guns. The English Triumph – also built a century prior – carried 84 guns. Then how did the Maratha Navy maintain their superiority in battle?

Quite like his land campaigns, where he utilised trickery, ambush tactics and hit and run attacks, Shivaji’s campaigns on the sea were no different. Even well after Shivaji’s death, the Navy used these tactics until their ultimate defeat in 1757. The Maratha ships were smaller and therefore, much faster than their European counterparts. The galleons they fought were built for strong and lethal broadsides, with half their cannons firing at once. But the Maratha ships stayed well away from these powerful salvos. Instead, they would always attack from behind, using their forward-facing cannons to great effect. They would also stay away from powerful fleets of ships – instead attacking ships that sailed in ones or twos. And if ever the Maratha ships found themselves on the back foot, they had a very, very powerful trick up their sleeves. Using their greater speed, they would draw the large European ships towards the shallow coastline of the Konkan. Here, in the shallows, the European galleons would flounder, and the Maratha gallivats would sail up-river. As the European ships floundered, they would be set upon by the Marathas’ powerful artillery and sea forts and torn apart in the shallows.

It was unconventional tactics like these that earned the Maratha Navy the moniker “Sivajee’s Pirates” or, more famously, the “Malabbar Pirates”. And the most famous Malabbar Pirate, Admiral Kanhoji Angre, was yet to enter the scene.

PS: I would be remiss if I did not give much of the credit for this article, to my friend Bruno Bingley. He and I did the research on this topic together, for an article we wanted to publish in our undergraduate. Though we did not get it done in time, it’s done now.