Capture of the ship The Bengali Prize
1642 Danish hijacking of a Bengali ship
| Capture of The Bengali Prize | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Dano-Mughal War | |||||||
 A large Bengali vessel, by Frans Balthazar Solvyns | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Danish India |
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Bernt Pessart |  Shah Jahan[a] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Fortuna Valby |  Bengali Prize[b] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2 ships | 1 ship | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 1 ship | ||||||
- v
- t
- e
Dano-Mughal War
- 1st Pipli
- 1st Bay of Bengal
- 1st Balasore
- 2nd Bay of Bengal
- 3rd Bay of Bengal
- 4th Bay of Bengal
- 2nd Pipli
- 2nd Balasore
- Hooghly
The Capture of The Bengali Prize (Danish: Kapre af den bengalske prise), or the Seizure of The Bengali Prize, was a Danish capture and seizure of a larger Bengali vessel in late 1642 in the Bay of Bengal. The capture is known to be the first confrontation of the Dano-Mughal War, after the formal declaration of war.
Background
Danish India had since its creation in 1620 suffered from financial difficulties. The financial situation resulted from the loss of the Jupiter in 1640 and the Nightingale (Nattergalen) in 1626, which the Danes blamed on the Bengalis.[1] Being appalled, Governor Bernt Pessart sent a formal declaration of war in 1642.[2]
Seizure
Immediately after declaring war, as early as the end of 1642, Pessart sent out two Danish privateering sloops, the Fortuna and the Valby, with cannons and crews to lookout for Bengali prizes.[3] In this way he hoped to recoup all his losses.[3]
Before the end of the year, the two Danish sloops seized a fairly large vessel from the Great Mogul, Shah Jahan.[3] The vessel was renamed Den Bengalske Prise (The Bengali Prize)[2] and escorted to Tranquebar, where it would be incorperated into the Danish East Indian fleet.[3]
This capture is the only documented Danish seizure of a Bengali vessel in 1642, likely explained by size of the vessel.[5]
In Danish service
At Tranquebar, The Bengali Prize was armed with guns from Fort Dansborg and served the company for a couple of years.[3] In late 1643, she participated in a voyage from Tranquebar to Masulipatnam, however, got wrecked off the coast of Emeldy by Governor Bernt Pessart.[6][7]
See also
- Capture of the St. Michael – Capture of Bengali ship by the Danes in 1644
- Loss of the St. Jacob – Seizure of a Danish ship by Benglis
- Battle of Balasore – Battle between Mughals and Europeans in Balasore, 1647
Notes
References
- ^ Wellen 2015, p. 447.
- ^ a b Wellen 2015, p. 448.
- ^ a b c d e Bredsdorff 2009, p. 86.
- ^ "Mønter og skibe fra kaperkrigen". www.danskmoent.dk. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
- ^ Bredsdorff 2009, p. 73.
- ^ Bredsdorff 2009, p. 92.
- ^ "Mønter og skibe fra kaperkrigen". www.danskmoent.dk. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
Bibliography
- 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.
- Bredsdorff, Asta (2009). The Trials and Travels of Willem Leyel. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. ISBN 9788763530231.
- Ipsen (1935). Tidsskrift for Søvæsen (PDF) (in Danish). Copenhagen: H.H. Thieles Bogtrykkeri.
