| September 7 |  |
Editor says, what if the British Raj had never been? muses Jeff Provine on the This Day in Alternate History web site. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the September 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1695, on this day Henry Every (pictured), captain of the Fancy (formerly Charles II), and his crew of pirates raided the Indian Ocean after mutinying against England's ally, Spain.
Piracy Ends India-UK RelationsAfter a year of good hauls, Every joined up with other pirates to prey on the pilgrimage fleet of Grand Mughal Aurangzeb. There he took the greatest prize in pirating history: the Ganj-i-Sawai treasure ship, valued at between £325,000 and £600,000 (over $100,000,000 in 2011) in gold, silver, and gemstones. After seizing the great wealth, Every and his crew disappeared into history with only twenty-four ever being captured.
Also on board was "something more pleasing than jewels", believed to be Aurangzeb's daughter. She, too, was taken with rumors claiming she went willingly with the daring pirate captain. Aurangzeb was furious and announced an end to the treaties and trade that had grown up with the British East India Company. Despite Company efforts to pay the insured amount for the lost ship, Mughal forces marched on Bombay and chased the English out of India.
A new article by Jeff ProvineWith an enormous market at stake, the East India Company made efforts to strike back into India, but Aurangzeb turned to another European power, France. Frenchman Francois Bernier had served as his physician for twelve years, and the Mughal offered the new vacuum in Bombay to the French East India Company, which happily seized profits and ended the expansive British control there. As Mughal power began to fade in the eighteenth century, French domination expanded.
The British, meanwhile, began to focus more on holdings in the Caribbean and expanding into further markets in the Pacific such as China and Japan, which were opened by force. Colonies continued to trade hands with war, but India remained under French influence and served as a conduit to expand French colonial control into the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
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Jeff Provine
© Jeff Provine, 2010-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Jeff Provine Blog Source: Jeff Provine’s Blog Labels: India, Raj, Aurangzeb, Henry Every, Mughal. Editor says, in reality though the East India Company had records suggesting a relative of Aurangzeb was on board the Ganj-i-Sawai, there is no solid evidence as to it being his daughter. He later agreed to the East India Company's apologies (agents pleaded prostrate before the emperor) and £600,000 repayment. The Company battled with French influence for decades as Mughal power waned, eventually coming to control India as the jewel of the British Empire.
~ French India would be different in quite a few ways. Would there have been a French-speaking "Kipling?"
~ Bombay was just an entrepot. The Brits would have gone to Kochin or some other place outside the Mongol's sphere. The idea that the Mogol would blame Britain for the depredations of an outlaw is a bit stretched. After all, India was filled with outlaws.
~ Would French domination of India give the French government a much-needed infusion of cash during and after the American Revolution? If so, could it derail or at least delay the French Revolution?
~ It'd be interesting to see if Gaston Leroux turned up in India during his wild days of youth before turning to journalism and The Phantom of the Opera. The whole eighteenth century would be different with that much colonial funds coming in, along with a whole frontier to absorb French folks in need of a new start. It butterflies fast, even if all the money is wasted on Bourbon wars.
~ I just wonder if Ghandi's passive resistance would have worked as well with the French. Also, I can't help wondering what happened to The Pirate and the Princess (since it does sound so suspiciously close to a Pirate Capture Romance).
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
