Loss of the St. Jacob
| Loss of the St. Jacob | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the prelude to the Dano-Mughal War | |||||||
 East Indiamen in a Gale, by Charles Brooking | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Danish India | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Nicolaj Samson |
 Unknown local authority | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
St Jacob | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 ship | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 ship 16 men | None | ||||||
The Loss of the St. Jacob (Danish: Tabet af St. Jacob) also referred to as the Seizure of St. Jacob was a destruction and seizure of the Danish merchant ship, St. Jacob, by local Bengali authorities. The loss and destruction of the ship and its crew, led to the Dano-Mughal War, which would last for 56 years.
Background[edit]
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With the establishment of Danish India in 1620 by Ove Gjedde, the governorate at Tranquebar, which was the center of Denmark's trade in Asia, was handed over to the Dutchman, Ronald Crappé (admin. 1621-1636)[1] During his administration he established a far-flung string of Danish factories from Malabar in South India to Makassar on Sulawesi.[2] Because of the strong royal support from Christian IV, the company was able to focus on trading between those factories, rather than focusing on sending regular cargoes to Europe.[2][3][4]
Interests in Bengal[edit]
Bengal was one of the many locations Crappé tried to establish a Danish presence at.[2] With some early unsuccessful ventures, the Danish East India Company nevertheless established a manned factory at Pipli in 1626, which according to Dutch records, did well during its first year.[5] Concurrently in 1626, a delegation was sent by Crappé to Bengal, with the intention to make the Mughals grant the Danes favorable commercial terms, yet this mission could not be completed due to the lack of money for the company.[6]
Ronald Crappé's establishments laid a foundation for Danish trade in Asia, yet they were not maintained by his successor Bernt Pessart (admin. 1636-1643)[2] Which encountered large debts from the start of his administration.[2] In response Pessart attempted a number of risky ventures to make financial profit.[2] While trade with Bengal continued,[5] Pessart traded more with less important economic places like Persia, ignoring the most profitable commercial contacts like Tanjore and Makassar, yet he also resided in Masulipatnam instead of Tranquebar, which in turn fell into chaos.[7]
Seizure[edit]
Even though there are some evidence that suggests to Danish seizures of Bengali ships in the 1630s, the main reason behind the war declaration of the Danish East India Company, was the loss of the ship St. Jacob.[8] St. Jacob. was a ship with 130 loads, which left Copenhagen together with the ship St. Anna in 1635 and reached Tranquebar on 3 September 1636.[9]
The ship was on a regular voyage from Makassar to Masulipatnam when it was driven by harsh weather into Bengali waters.[2][9] It then tried to go to the port at Pipli, where it was spotted by local authorities.[2] The local Bengali authorities allegedly prevented Danish assistance to St. Jacob.[2] This subsequently led to the ship being wrecked, its crew being allegedly poisoned, its passengers were imprisoned and its cargo was seized.[2] Even though the Danes who survived escaped and the ship passengers eventually were freed, the Danes could not negotiate the release of the cargo from the Bengalis.[8]
Aftermath and consequence[edit]
Dutch records suggest that the St. Jacob cargo was seized in response to the high Danish debts, yet the Danes saw this as a tyrannous act of the Bengalis,[5] and demanded 25.000 rigsdaler for the replacement of the ship and 150.000 Rigsdaler for the lost goods.[9] Appalled by the loss, Pessart sent a formal declaration of war in 1642 and sent two of Tranquebar's best ships to retaliate the loss of St. Jacob.[2]
See also[edit]
- Danish East India Company – Defunct Danish trading company
- Dano-Mughal War – Danish colonial conflict against the Mughal Empire
- Capture of the sloop Anne – 1825 sea battle
- Dutch East India Company – 1602–1799 Dutch trading company
- Bengalis – Ethnic group native to Bangladesh and India
- Cattle War – Conflict between Danish India and the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom
References[edit]
- ^ Laursen, L. "Roland Crappé". DANSK BIOGRAFISK LEKSIKON (in Danish).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wellen, Kathryn (2015). The Danish East India Company's War against the Mughal Empire, 1642-1698 (PDF). Royal Netherlands Institute for Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies. p. 446.
- ^ Feldbæk, Ole. The Organization and Structure of the Danish East India, West India and Guinea Companies. p. 140.
- ^ Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (2011). "The coromandel trade of the Danish East India Company, 1618–1649". Scandinavian Economic History Review. 37: 41–56. doi:10.1080/03585522.1989.10408131.
- ^ a b c Coolhaas, Ed (1960). Generale Missiven van Gouverneurs-Generaal en Raden van Heren XVII Der Verenigde Oostinische Compagnie (in Dutch). Vol. I. pp. 185–205.
- ^ Bredsdorff, Asd´ta (2009). The Trials and Travels of Willem Leyel: An Account of the Danish East India Company in Tranquebar, 1639-48. p. 20.
- ^ Larsen, Kay (1907). Rebellerne i Trankebar: Et Stykke Dansk Koloni-Historie (in Danish). Gads Dansk Magasin. p. 621.
- ^ a b Letter from Poffeul Hansen in Dansborg. Vol. III. W. Leyels Arkiv. 1646. p. 246.
- ^ a b c Sejerøe, Olav. "Mønter og skibe fra kaperkrigen". Danskmoent.dk.