The Capture of ''St. Michael'' ( Danish; ''Kapre af St. Michael'') or the Seizure of ''St. Michael'', was a Danish seizure of a Bengali ship in the Bay of Bengal. The Danes captured the Bengali ship and the vessel was subsequently incorporated into the Danish Navy given the name ''St. Michael''.

Background

In 1625 the Danish vessel, ''Jupiter'' was lost off the coast of Odisha in Bengal along with its men and goods, which resulted in the imprisonment of the captain and his crew by local Bengali authorities. Similar events happened to ''Nattergalen'' in 1626 and ''St. Jacob'' in 1640. Such considerable losses could not be tolerated by

Danish India Danish India () was the name given to the colonies of Denmark (Denmark–Norway before 1814) in the Indian subcontinent, forming part of the Danish colonial empire. Denmark–Norway held colonial possessions in India for more than 200 years, i ...

, and in 1642 governor

Bernt Pessart Bernt Pessart, Berndt Pessart or Berent Pessart ( June 1645) was a Dutch Overhoved, o''verhoved'' and self-proclaimed President (corporate title), President of Danish India from 1636 to 1643. In his earlier years, he would serve the Dutch East Indi ...

declared war on the Mughal Empire to retaliate for their initial losses. Pessart was afterwards deposed, and

Willem Leyel Willem Leyel or Willum Leyel ('','' – Spring 1654) was a Danish governor of Tranquebar and captain in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. Willem Leyel was born in c. 1593 in Elsinore and would be employed by the in Batavia during his early 20s ...

assumed office.

Capture

Leyel resumed privateering against the Bengalis, when he put the vessel ''Fortuna'' at sea. At sea it confronted a Bengali ship, which was on its way home from the Maldive islands. On board were

coconut fibre Coir (), also called coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, and mattresses. Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell an ...

and Crownies, which in ancient time were used as jewellery and as local Indian currency. When the Bengali captain (a ''Nakoda'') saw the ''Fortuna'' he figured that resistance was to be useless, and so he jumped into a boat with some ambergris and other goods and fled. The Bengali captain also took the

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

s, presumably in the hope that the Danes would have hardship to remove the ship. St Michael Ship Coin

Aftermath

Despite new sails the ship still sailed very slow, so Leyel sailed ahead to Emeldy, where he would wait a fortnight before the prize arrived. When arriving at Emeldy the prize was incorporated into the Dano-Norwegian Navy, and since it was seized on

St. Michael's Day Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, an ...

, it received the name ''St Michael''.

''St Michael'' in Danish service

During the rest of Leyel's regime ''St Michael'' would be one of four Danish ships that were active in the East Indies. In October 1644 ''St Michael'' was nearly wrecked in a storm. It lost both anchors and the crew were stranded on a coast near Narasapuram, though they managed to safe the ship by cutting the mainmast. In February 1645 it was sent to a Dutch

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

at Cotiari to be repaired, and later in 1645 it would set sail for Queda ( Kedah) on the basis of trade.

Notes

References

Works cited

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capture of St. Michael

St. Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

1644 in India 1640s in the Mughal Empire Bay of Bengal

1640s in Danish India