THE OPENING OF THE EAST 



already been mentioned on account of its naval results, caused the feel- 

 ing to be as bitter against Holland as it had been against Spain in the 

 previous century. Before long the mainland of India was exploited as 

 well as the islands and the Company was very kindly received by the 

 Great Mogul, whose favour aroused the greatest jealousy among the estab- 

 lished Portuguese. The Company got increased privileges from James I 

 and prepared to take their own part, if necessary by force. One or two 

 smart actions showed the Portuguese that we meant business and greatly 

 increased our prestige with the natives, so that we were in time able to 

 trade not only with the mainland and the East Indies but also with the 

 Persian Gulf and as far afield as Japan. At the same time the traders 

 always had to be on the lookout for trouble and it was never very far 

 away. 

 Swally Hole. 



It was the battle of Swally Hole, not far from Surat, which made all 

 the difference. It was here that Captain Best, with the Company's 

 ships Red Dragon and Hoseander, defeated a greatly superior Portu- 

 guese fleet in 1612, very largely by his better seamanship and the 

 advantage that he took of the numerous shoals and cross-currents that 

 make the port dangerous. After that the power of the Portuguese 

 began to decline at once and they never afterwards succeeded in dis- 

 placing us from the premier place in India, although they still possess 

 small colonies on the coast. The subsequent capture of Ormuz, the 

 strongest Portuguese post on the Persian Gulf, settled the race for 

 Eastern supremacy as far as they were concerned, but the Dutch were 

 not so easily disposed of. 

 The Enemies of the Company. 



While the Company was thus forcing its way forward against its 

 foreign enemies it was but natural that it should make others at home. 

 To begin with its monopoly was bitterly attacked and continued to be 

 attacked as long as it existed. Numerous " interlopers " were fitted 

 out in England to nibble at the Eastern trade, and should any one of 

 them happen to be caught by the Company's ships she was immediately 

 attacked and was almost certain to be taken. In such event her people 

 could be certain of a very bad time, as bad as from the Portuguese or 

 Dutch. On the other hand the chronically impecunious Stuart govern- 

 ment saw in the Company's prosperity an ideal source of revenue and 

 when things were very bad did not hesitate to levy blackmail. When 

 this happened the bill was usually passed on to the unfortunate natives 

 in some form or another. Towards the end of the seventeenth century 

 a rival body was chartered, " The New East India Company," and the 

 competition between the two threatened to wreck the whole trade until 

 finally they united. Meanwhile the French East India Company had 

 been formed and had established itself at Pondicherry in spite of the 

 efforts of the English. 

 Bombay. 



The Dutch Wars did not have as much effect on the fortunes of 

 British trade in the East as might have been expected, and did little 



244 



