Mughal–Portuguese conflicts

Mughal–Portuguese conflicts refers to the various armed engagements between the forces of the Portuguese Empire in India and the Mughal Empire, between the 16th century and the 18th century.

The Mughal Empire came into direct contact with the Portuguese Empire in 1573 after Akbar annexed Gujarat, which bordered the Portuguese territories of Dio, Damaon & Bassein (Vasai) near Portuguese Bombay. The Portuguese governor António de Noronha then signed a treaty with Akbar, officially establishing bilateral relations between Portugal and the Moghal Empire.

Hostilities usually broke out because of diplomatic blunders, or steadfast Portuguese rejection of Mughal demands for tribute.

Despite occasional incidents, Mughal-Portuguese relations were usually pragmatic in practice, as the Moghals prioritised land and Portuguese authorities the sea. Starting in 1573, the Mughals agreed not to harbour pirate fleets, welcomed Portuguese ambassadors and Jesuit missions in Agra and in return the Portuguese Crown granted a single naval license or cartaz each year to the Mughal emperors, who in effect tacitly acknowledged Portuguese naval supremacy.

Conflict with the Portuguese also caused the Mughal Empire to favour relations with the English East India Company, who were allowed to open a trading post at Surat, in the hopes that the English might be of assistance against the Portuguese.

Background
Portugal established direct contact with India after Vasco da Gama first reached the subcontinent by sea via the Cape Route in 1498. A first fortress was then built in the allied Kingdom of Cochin in 1502 in exchange for a military alliance against the Zamorin of Calicut and Goa was captured by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1510.

The Sultanate of Gujarat was hostile towards the Portuguese but when war broke out between Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat and Humayun in 1532, Bahadur offered Portugal the territory of Bassein in exchange for peace and military assistance against the Mughals. The Portuguese governor of India Nuno da Cunha agreed and the Treaty of Bassein was signed in 1534. Bahadur was however routed in battle and as a result, the following year he allowed the Portuguese to erect a formidable fortress at the strategically important Island of Diu in the southern tip of the Kathiawar Peninsula, in exchange for protection should his sultanate fall.

Gujarat was subsequently invaded by Mughal troops and under these circumstances they first clashed with the Portuguese, though the region would only be annexed in 1573.

Early engagements 1535-1573
Between the signing of the Treaty of Bassein in 1534 and the annexation of Gujarat in 1573, the Portuguese occasionally engaged invading Mughal troops in defense of their territory or in support of the Sultanate of Gujarat.

Siege of Verivene, 1535
At the request of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Portuguese governor of India Nuno da Cunha dispatched Vasco Pires de Sampayo at the head of a naval squadron with 250 soldiers to recover the fort of Verivene by the mouth of the Indus River, which had been taken by the Mughals. An attack was made one morning, but before the Portuguese could land their artillery the Mughals abandoned the fort during the night and it was recovered for Gujarat the following day.

Siege of Daman, 1565


When the Mughals invaded the Sultanate of Gujarat in 1565, 3000 Mughal horsemen invaded the Portuguese territory of Daman. After receiving reinforcements from Goa, Chaul and Bassein, the captain of Daman João de Sousa marched north beyond the Daman Ganga River with a force of 600 arquebusiers, 120 horse cavalry and some field guns to Pernel, where the Mughals had set up camp but the Mughals immediately withdrew, leaving behind all their material, which was captured.

Gujarat campaigns, 1569
In 1569, Nuno Velho Pereira was dispatched from Daman with a naval squadron to clear the Gulf of Cambay of Portuguese enemies. He burnt two settlements, ships, captured prisoners and later attacked a Mughal stronghold three leagues away from Daman at Pernel, which was abandoned after six days of artillery bombardment and razed.

Ayres Telles de Menezes helped Rustum Khan resist a Mughal siege on Bharuch with a squadron of seven ships. Rustum Khan offered to become a tributary vassal of Portugal in exchange but after the Mughals were driven off Rustum Khan repudiated his part of the agreement.



While the siege of Bharuch was ongoing, the captain of Daman sailed to Surat and confiscated two large merchant ships loaded by the lord of Surat Agaluchem without the authorization of the Portuguese viceroy of India. They were valued at 100,000 ducats.

Siege of Daman, 1581
In 1580, Diogo Lopes Coutinho de Santarém at the head of a force of eight ships had a village near Surat burned, after its garrison had killed six Portuguese who had gone ashore. At the request of the Mughal governor of Surat Caliche Mahamed, the Mughal governor of Bharuch Qutub ud-Din Khan (Cutubidicam in Portuguese ) joined forces into an army of 15,000 men, war elephants and a cannon to attack Daman.

Portuguese reinforcements flowed into Daman by sea while the Mughals attacked the surrounding territory of Daman. Despite their numerical advantage, facing stiffer resistance than anticipated the Mughals hesitated in assaulting the unwalled city and withdrew their army after six months of maneuvers and skirmishes.

Battle of Valsad, 1582


Wishing to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Emperor Akbar's aunt Gulbadan Begum gifted Valsad to the Portuguese in 1572 while waiting for a Portuguese naval pass at Surat so as to ensure a safe passage. Upon her return and no longer needing to be on good terms with the Portuguese she demanded that Valsad be retaken and troops were dispatched from Surat to occupy the town but they were routed by the Portuguese with considerable loss.

Luso-Mughal War 1613-1615
The years up to 1613 were marked by affinity between the Mughal capital and the capital of the Portuguese State of India. After the Battle of Swally however, the Mughals allowed the East India Company to set up a trading post at Surat and as reprisal the Portuguese seized the imperial Mughal merchant ship Rahimi, belonging to Emperor Jahangir's mother Mariam-uz-Zamani, worth 200,000 pounds and carrying 700 persons.

The Rahimi incident sparked a major diplomatic incident and renewed hostilities between the Mughals and the Portuguese. The Jesuit church in Agra was closed. The territory of Daman was invaded by a Mughal detachment from Surat and in mid 1614 they clashed with reinforcements dispatched from Goa under the command of Luiz de Brito, who forced the Mughals to withdraw. The city of Bharuch was then sacked and the surrounding region pillaged by the forces of Brito.



Portuguese trade with the Mughal Empire ceased during the conflict, providing the English East India Company with an unexpected windfall. After two years, the Portuguese Viceroy of India Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo compensated the Mughals and reestablished bilateral relations.

Luso-Mughal Crisis, 1630
A crisis between the Portuguese State of India and the Mughal Empire erupted in March 1630 when captain Dom Francisco Coutinho de Ocem captured two large Mughal trade ships in the Surat harbour for lacking cartazes, one of which belonged to Shah Jahan. Another large Mughal trade ship was apprehended by Dom Francisco in September, however a treaty was negotiated in November and further conflict averted.

Siege of Hooghly, 1632
In 1578, the Portuguese merchant Pedro Tavares had obtained authorization from the Mughal Court for Portuguese merchants to settle at Hooghly. Although the city came to contain a large community of Portuguese traders, churches and monasteries, it was not officially part of the Portuguese Empire.

Having received complaints of illegal Portuguese activities in the region and angered that the Portuguese did not support his revolt, Shah Jahan ordered the destruction of Hooghly. Although the city was unwalled and defended by no more than 300 Portuguese it was only taken after a three-month siege and its inhabitants taken captive to Agra. The viceroy of India interceded on behalf of the Portuguese traders and they were allowed to resettle in Bengal the following year.

Luso-Mughal War 1638-1639


After being appointed viceroy of the Deccan, Prince Aurangzeb determined to attack Daman. In late 1638 a Mughal army of 10,000 to 40,000 men invaded Portuguese territory and set up camp at Magravará, two miles from the city.

Reinforcements flowed into Daman by sea and the Portuguese conducted limited attacks against the Mughals. Although the siege was closely fought, on the evening of January 5, 1639, the Portuguese captain of the city nevertheless offered William Methwold refreshments when his ship docked there. Because the Mughals were unable to cut the naval supply lines to Daman, the Portuguese were able to continuously reinforce the city.

Unable to break through Portuguese defenses despite their numerical superiority, the Mughals requested peace through the Governor of Surat Mir Musa, with the help of the president of the English East India Company factory at Surat, and later lifted the siege, having lost between 700 and 7000 men in the action.

Luso-Mughal War, 1692-1693


While at war with the Maratha Empire, a Mughal army sought to pass through Portuguese territory near Bassein, however this was refused by the Portuguese. As the Mughal general Matabar Khan accused the Portuguese of favouring the Marathas and harbouring the families of their officers, in 1692 he invaded Portuguese territory and pillaged the region of Bassein.

By diplomatic means however, the Portuguese viceroy Pedro António de Meneses Noronha de Albuquerque got Emperor Aurangzeb to order the cessation of hostilities. Matabar Khan was instructed to return any prisoners of war and compensate the Portuguese with 200,000 rupees.

Aftermath
Conflict with the Portuguese caused the Mughal Empire to gradually turn to the English East India Company for trade.

Portuguese maritime supremacy was complete as far as the Mughals were concerned, as the Mughals paid the Portuguese tolls to sail the Indian Ocean.

As a land-based power, the Mughals did not wish to hostilize the Portuguese because it could result in reprisals against Mughal merchant ships and most importantly disturb the naval Hajj pilgrimage route from Surat to Mecca, which they sought to present themselves as sponsors and protectors of. Mughal trade ships were still required to acquire Portuguese naval licenses to sail the Indian Ocean and they cost between 3000 and 8000 mahmudis. They also sought the sympathy of the Portuguese to check the activities of the Marathas in the Konkan. The Portuguese sought to preserve their territory in India against the Mughals.

Although open conflicts tended to be avoided, the Portuguese Viceroy of India covertly supported the Marathas against the Mughals and promoted anti-Mughal alliances in the Deccan with Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golkonda.

After the Maratha conquest of Konkan and Gujarat in the 18th century, contact between Portuguese India and the by then declining Mughal Empire ceased.