Skip to main content

Sacking of Hooghly Port by Shah Jahan in 1632

Mast of a Portuguese Ship at Bandel Church, Hooghly / Image Credit 

Portugal was the first European power to establish factories and trading settlements in India in the early 16th century. In 1579–80, a Portuguese captain named Pedro Tavares received a firman from Mughal emperor to establish a city in Bengal for the Portuguese. The Portuguese were also allowed to preach their religion.  As a consequence, a Portuguese colony was established at Hughli (in 1579 AD). The famous church of Bandel in Hooghly was built by the Portuguese. 

The friendly attitude of Akbar towards the Portuguese was continued by his son and next Mughal emperor Jahangir.  

Jahangir died in October 1627 and after a short interregnum marked by violent conflict among the other claimants for the throne, his son Shah Jahan became emperor in 1628 by eliminating all other possible contenders to the throne. Shahryar Mirza (youngest son of Jahangir), Dawar Bakhsh (Grandson of Jahangir and Khusrau’s eldest son), two sons of Akbar's son Daniyal (Tahmuras and Hushang) were all executed.  

Shah Jahan was harbouring a grudge against the Portuguese as the latter did not side with him when he rebelled against his father Jahangir in 1622. 

Added to this, the casus belli for the sack of Hooghly by Shah Jahan in 1932 was the abduction of two slave girls of his consort Mumtaz Mahal by the Portuguese in 1624 during the reign of Jahangir. The Portuguese, on the other hand, became involved with the slave trade. This was rankling in Shah Jahan's mind. Hence he ordered Bengal governor Qasim Khan to crush the Portuguese. In 1632 Qasim Khan captured Hooghly after three months. The Bandel church was burnt down during the sacking of Hooghly.   


x

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Muhammad Shah Rangila

Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor, died in 1707. Muhammad Shah became Mughal emperor in 1719. During the interregnum, Bahadur Shah I , Jahandar Shah, Farrukhsiyar, Rafi-ud-Darajat and Rafi-ud-Daula ascended the Mughal throne. Jahandar Shah was murdered on the orders of Farrukhsiyar who had the support of the two powerful Mughal nobles Sayyid Abdullah and his brother Sayyid Husain Ali at that time. They are famous in history as Sayyid brothers, the King-makers. In 1719, Farrukhsiyar were murdered in utter disregard of a Mughal emperor by Sayyid brothers. Rafi-ud-Darajat died of consumption in a few months. Rafi-ud-Daula was addicted to opium and died in 4 months. Sayyid brothers now chose Raushan Akhtar, a son of Jahan Shah (the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I), to be the emperor. Raushan Akhtar ascended the throne under the title of Muhamamd Shah in September 1719. In the beginning Muhammad Shah was a puppet in the hands of Sayyid brothers who soon began to lose their gri...
1 comment
Read more

Turkan-i-Chahalgani, the Group of Forty

Amir-i-Chahalgani, known variously as Turkan-i-Chahalgani and Chalisa (The Forty), was a group of 40 faithful slaves which came into existence with the task of protecting Shamsuddin Iltutmish , the third Slave Sultan of Delhi Sultanate. The idea to form the group was taken by him when he came to realize that Turkish nobles cannot be trusted and could be a threat to his rule. With the passage of time the group went on to become very influential and powerful. Though Iltutmish succeeded in keeping the group under control, after his rule they became notorious and intrigued against nearly all his successors.  The Forty acquired domination on the affairs of the state so much so that no ruler could defy them. Without their support it was utterly out of questions for the rulers to win the battle for succession. The members of this Turkish nobility used to appropriate all the offices of the state to themselves. Some of the rulers of the Slave dynasty after Iltutmish were murdered by these s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sanskrit Books and Authors in Ancient India

  Books Authors Abhigyan Shakuntalam (Recognition of Shakuntala) Kalidasa Aihole Prasasti Ravikirti Amarakosha   Amarasimha   Arthashastra Kautilya Ashtadhyayi   Panini Bhattikavya Bhatti Brihat Samhita   Varahamihira Buddhacharita   Asvaghosa   Charaka Samhita ( Compendium of Charaka ) Charaka Devichandraguptam   Vishakhadatta Gita Govinda  ( Song of the Cowherd) Jayadeva Gatha Saptashati Hala Lilavati   Bhaskara II   Hammira Mahakavya   Nayachandra Suri Janakiharana   ( Janaki's abduction) Kumaradasa   Kama Sutra Vatsyayana ...
Post a Comment
Read more