Grounding of the Nattergalen
1626 grounding of a Danish ship
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The grounding of the Nattergalen (transl. Nightingale) and subsequent Mughal imprisonment of its Danish crew took place in 1625 off the coast of Pipli in Bengal.
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changes Danish factories at Pipli and Balasore are abandoned
| Grounding of the Nattergalen | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the prelude to the Dano-Mughal War | |||||||||
A Dutch West Indiaman from Navium Variæ Figuræ et Formæ, by Wenceslaus Hollar in 1647 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Opposing parties | |||||||||
 Danish India | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Unk. Nawab |
Unk. captain (POW) | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Unknown |
Nattergalen | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | 35 men | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| None | 35 men imprisoned | ||||||||
After a successful voyage to the Sunda Islands, the Danish vessel, the Nattergalen, ran aground off Bengal during its return voyage. Despite most of its crew being saved by the Mughal government, they were imprisoned by the local Mughal Nawab and transported to Cuttack, only being released after the Danes had sent a considerable gift to the Nawab.
Background
In 1616, the Danish East India Company was founded,[2][3][4] and after a successful expedition to India in 1620,[5][6] it established the colony of Tranquebar.[7][8][9] Afterwards, Danish ships were regularly sent to India.[7][10][11] As such, in October 1624, the D.E.I.C. management in Copenhagen[12] sent 2 ships to Tranquebar, the Christianshavn and the yacht Nattergalen (transl. Nightingale),[13] for 97,500 Danish rigsdaler,[12] reaching Tranquebar in the following year.[12][14]
Voyage to Bantam
In the same year,[b] Nattergalen, together with the governor of Tranquebar, Roland Crappé, on Christianshavn,[12] became involved in the intra-Asian trade,[12][15] initiating a voyage that would end at the port of Bantam.[12] After reaching Masulipatnam and Makassar, where the ships got a cargo of cloves, the ships continued to Sukadana and Banjarmasin on Borneo in May 1626 before reaching Bantam.[12] Afterwards, Nattergalen initiated a return voyage from Bantam.[16]
Grounding
However, in 1626[17][18][19][a] during its voyage,[16] Nattergalen grounded off the coast of Pipli[18] in Bengal[20][21][14] during a cyclone.[20][18] The ship itself perished,[21] and its cargo was consequently lost,[22] although the crew was saved[21] by the Mughal government.[22] Nevertheless, the 35-man-strong[18] crew was imprisoned by the local Mughal Nawab[23] and transported to Cuttack.[18]
Release of the survivors
Meanwhile, Governor Crappé[22] on Christianshavn safely reached Balasore, but had to stay there due to long negotiations[18] with the Nawab about the release of the survivors from Nattergalen.[22] Eventually, the crew at Cuttack[18] was released after the Danes had sent a gift to the Nawab to the value of 20,000 Danish rigsdaler.[23][18]
Aftermath
The incident, together with the grounding of the Jupiter, was a major blow to Crappé[24] and left the Danish factory in Pipli without money.[25] Crappé[26] subsequently abandoned trade in Bengal, and the Danish factories in Pipli and Balasore were left in the charge of Indian caretakers.[27][18]
Casus belli for the Dano-Mughal War
The D.E.I.C.'s later economic difficulties partially resulted from the grounding of Nattergalen,[28] and consequently, it was seen by the Danes as reasonable to demand the unpaid compensation.[29] Already after its grounding, many of the high-ranking Danes[27] in Tranquebar planned to get compensation through military means;[27][18] however, Crappé would not risk a confrontation with the Mughal emperor without the company management's approval.[18] Later in 1644, during the Dano-Mughal War, the governor of Tranquebar, Willem Leyel, launched a privateering campaign against the Mughal Empire with the compensation of grounded ships as the primary goal for the campaign.[29] As such, the grounding of Nattergalen was consequently mentioned in his manifesto justifying the war.[19]
See also
- Grounding of the Jupiter – 1625 grounding of a Danish ship
- Grounding of the St. Jacob – 1640 grounding of a Danish ship