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Attack in Hooghly

The Attack in Hooghly (Danish; Angrebet i Hooghly) was a Danish attack on two Bengali ships during the Dano-Mughal War in 1671. The Danes succeeded in blowing up the Bengali ships, and violence continued off the coasts of Kalingapatnam and Balasore.

Attack in Hughli
Part of Dano-Mughal War

A View of Chinsura, the Dutch settlement in Bengal
Date1671
Location
Hugli-Chuchura, (modern-day West Bengal, India)
22°54′N 88°23′E / 22.90°N 88.39°E / 22.90; 88.39
Result Danish victory
Belligerents
 Danish India Bengal Subah
Commanders and leaders
Danish India Unknown Unknown
Strength
6.500 men
Multiple ships		 2 ships
Casualties and losses
1.500 dead[a] 2 ships destroyed

Background

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Further information: Late phase (1669-1698)
 
Danish trade routes and settlements in India during the isolation from Denmark, 1643-1669

In 1642 the Danish East India Company declared war on the Mughal Empire.[1][2] Because of the Dano-Swedish Wars Denmark did not have the means to send any ships to Danish India, and relations were subsequently cut.[3] Relations with Denmark were reestablished in 1669 together with a new Danish East India Company.[4] At this point the war against Bengal was approved by the Danish government, yet urged the Danes in India to sue for peace if advantageous.[4][5]

In 1672 king Christian V of Denmark (r 1670–1699) requested compensation for the losses of Danish vessels, though this request was never fulfilled by the Mughals.[4] This, along with other factors, made the Danes increasingly brazen, and the Danes even attacked Bengal itself in 1671.[4]

Expedition to Bengal

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In 1672 a Danish force of 6500 men were brought to Hooghly.[6] 1500 of the men was lost due to the sinking of a barge on the Ganges River.[6] The Danish East India Company sold most of their goods to two local Bengali merchants; Rangsordas and Sonderdas.[6] They sold their goods to them as a compromise not to trade with others for the next couple of months.[6] At Hooghly the Danes noticed two Bengali ships, which were returning from a voyage to Ceylon.[6] The ships were driven towards land near Hooghly, and the Danes subsequently blew the Bengali vessels up.[6][4]

Aftermath

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The renewed violence continued during the following years.[4] In 1673 the Danes took a large Bengali ship of 170 cargoes near Balasore, and transported it to Tranquebar. This also happened to another ship which was carrying Maldivian cowries the same year.[4][7]

See also

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  • Dannemarksnagore – City/town in West Bengal, India
  • Skirmish at Pipli – Confrontation between the Danes and Mughals in Pipli
  • Cattle War – Conflict between Danish India and the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom
  • Loss of the St. Jacob – Seizure of a Danish ship by Benglis
  • Dano-Mughal War – Danish colonial conflict against the Mughal Empire

Notes

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  1. ^ Lost due to the sinking of a barge on the Ganges River

References

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  1. ^ Wellen 2015, p. 448.
  2. ^ Videnskab 2018.
  3. ^ Bredsdorff 2009, p. 129.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Wellen 2015, p. 457.
  5. ^ Andersen 1669.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Coolhaas 2007, p. 764.
  7. ^ Coolhaas 2007, p. 907.

Works cited

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  • Andersen, Eskil (1669). Ostindiske sager (1668 - 1699). Copenhagen: Danske Kancelli.
  • Bredsdorff, Asta (2009). The Trials and Travels of Willem Leyel. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. ISBN 9788763530231.
  • Coolhaas, Ed (2007). Generale missiven van gouverneurs-generaal en raden aan heren XVII (in Dutch). Vol. III. pp. 763–764.
  • 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.
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