The Loss of the ''St. Jacob'' (), also referred to as the Seizure of the St. Jacob(), was a destruction and seizure of a Danish merchant ship, the ''St. Jacob'', by local
Bengali authorities. The loss and destruction of the ship and its crew, led to the
Dano-Mughal War, which would last for 56 years.
Background
With the establishment of
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 ...
in 1620 by
Ove Gjedde, the governorate at
Tranquebar, which was the center of Denmark's trade in
Asia, was handed over to the Dutchman,
Roland Crappé (. 1621-1636).
During his administration, he established a far-flung string of Danish factories from
Malabar
Malabar may refer to the following:
People
* Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India
* Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion
Places
* Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
in
South India to
Makassar
Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...
on
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
.
Bengal was one of the many locations where Crappé tried to establish a Danish presence at, and he eventually established a manned factory at
Pipli
Pipli is a village in Gaighata CD Block in Bangaon subdivision of North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India.
Geography
The village is near the Ichamati River which is the border between India and Bangladesh. Pipli has two primary school ...
in 1626, which according to Dutch records, did well during its first year.
Seizure
Despite evidence suggesting Danish seizures of Bengali ships in the
1630s
The 1630s was a decade that began on January 1, 1630, and ended on December 31, 1639.
References
{{Reflist
...
, the main reason behind the declaration of war by the
Danish East India Company, was the loss of the ship ''St. Jacob''. ''St. Jacob'' was a ship with 130 loads, which left
Copenhagen together with the ''St. Anna'' in 1635 and reached Tranquebar on 3 September 1636.
''St. Jacob'' was on a regular
voyage from Makassar to
Masulipatnam when she was driven by harsh weather into Bengali waters.
She then tried to go to the port at Pipli, where she was spotted by local authorities. The local Bengali authorities allegedly prevented Danish assistance to ''St. Jacob'', which subsequently led to her being wreckage.' The governor, Hadi Gayas, fed the surviving Danish crew, however, it contained poison and 16 men died within 3 days of health issues. The captain, Nicolaj Samson, and a couple of
seamen fleed the situation in a boat and eventually reached Tranquebar. Despite this, the Danes could not negotiate the release of the cargo from the Bengalis.
Aftermath and consequence
Dutch records suggest that the ''St. Jacob'' cargo was seized in response to the high Danish debts, yet the Danes saw this as a tyrannous act of the Bengalis, and demanded 25.000 ''
rigsdaler'' for the replacement of the ship and 150.000 ''Rigsdaler'' for the lost
goods.
Appalled by the loss, Pessart sent a formal declaration of war in 1642 and sent two of Tranquebar's best ships to retaliate the loss of ''St. Jacob.''
See also
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References
Works cited
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Loss of the St. Jacob
Conflicts in 1640
Battles involving Denmark
Battles involving Norway
Battles involving the Mughal Empire
1640 in India
1640s in the Mughal Empire
Battles involving the Danish East India Company
1640s in Danish India