The siege of Daman of 1639, also called the great siege of Daman was a military engagement between Portuguese forces and those of the Mughal Empire in the city of

Daman Daman may refer to: place Places *Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, a union territory in India **Daman and Diu, former union territory of India, now part of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu **Daman district, India ***Daman, India ...

, in India. A Mughal army commanded by the Mughal prince Muhi-al-Din (Aurangzeb) attempted to assault Daman, but was repulsed in the face of stubborn Portuguese resistance.

The siege

After invading the territory of Daman, the Mughals set up their camp in ''Magravará'', and from there dug trenches and

siege works A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

to approach Daman.Ignacio Barbosa Machado: ''Fastos Politicos, e Militares da Antigua, e Nova Lusitania'', Officina de Ignacio Rodrigues, 1745, pp.681-682, All male Portuguese residents able to bear arms were called up for service, and engaged with the Mughals outside the walls in an attempt to keep them at bay. As reports reached Goa and neighbouring Portuguese garrisons of the siege, reinforcements were dispatched to Daman. The viceroy sent a detachment of troops under the command of the captain-major of the north Dom Brás de Castro, who upon arriving at Daman conducted a number of limited sallies against the Mughals outside the walls several times, though he was strictly forbidden on the viceroys orders. The defenders of Daman were later joined by reinforcements under the command of general Luís de Melo e Sampaio, who ordered a general sally with all of his troops. The Portuguese managed to surprise the Mughals and capture the siege-works closest to the city, but were afterwards forced to withdraw back behind the city walls by the numerical superiority of the Mughals. General Sampaio and his son Diogo were both wounded in the action while covering the retreat of their men, and general Luís de Melo Sampaio died two days later at Daman. He was replaced by captain-major António Teles de Meneses. On the evening of 5 January 1639, an English ship transporting

William Methwold William Methwold (sometimes spelled Methold), (baptised 1590 in South Pickenham, near Swaffham, Norfolk; died 5 March 1653, Kensington), was an English merchant and colonial administrator in India. He is credited with identifying the site of Bomba ...

, who had recently resigned the position of president of the English commerce in India called at Daman, and despite the siege, the Portuguese captain of the city offered Methwold a barrel of wine and other refreshments.''The Calcutta Review'', Volume 75, 1882, p.87. Because the Mughals were unable to cut the naval supply lines to Daman, the Portuguese were able to continuously reinforce the city from the sea. Unable to break through Portuguese defenses despite mounting casualties, the Mughals requested peace through the governor of

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

Mir Musa, with the help of the president of the

English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southe ...

factory at Surat, and later lifted the siege, having lost 700 to 7,000 men in the action.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Daman (1638-1639)

1630s in Portuguese India

1638 in India 1639 in India 1630s in the Mughal Empire Daman, India

The siege

See also

References