View source for Anglo-Mughal war 1686 1690-265717

{{Short description|First Anglo-Indian war, 1686–1680}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Child’s War
| image             = The English ask pardon of Aurangzeb.jpg
| caption           = [[Kingdom of France|French]] illustration of [[Josiah Child|Sir Josiah Child]] requesting a pardon from the [[Mughal Emperor|Emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]]
| date              = January 1686 &ndash; February 1690
| partof            = the [[Anglo-Indian wars]]
| place             = [[Bengal Subah|Bengal]]
| result            = Mughal victory
| territory         = 
| combatant1        = {{flagicon image|British East India Company flag.png}} [[East India Company]]
| combatant2        = [[Mughal Empire]]
| commander1        = [[Josiah Child]]<br>[[Thomas Pitt]]<br>[[Job Charnock]]
| commander2        = [[Shaista Khan]]<br>[[Daud Khan Panni]]<br>[[Yakut Khan]]
| strength1         = '''Total: 3,300'''<br>
* Including 150 Portuguese, 600 Bengali [[mercenaries]]
* 2,300 at Bombay
* 1,000 at Madras
| strength2         = '''Total: 980,000'''<br>
* ~500,000 professional army
* ~400,000 militia
* ~50,000 [[Heavy Cavalry]]
* ~30,000 [[War Elephants]]

'''Siege of Bombay'''<ref name="Hunt2017">{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48554769 | jstor=48554769 | title=The 1689 Mughal Siege of East India Company Bombay | last1=Hunt | first1=Margaret R. | journal=[[History Workshop Journal]] | year=2017 | issue=84 | pages=149–169 | doi=10.1093/hwj/dbx034 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* 14,000 total
| casualties1       = '''Bombay'''<br>
* ~115 deserters
* ~2,000 killed

'''Madras'''
Unknown
| casualties2       = '''Total'''<ref name="Hunt2017" />
Light to none
}}

[[File:Fort St. George, Chennai.jpg|thumb|upright=1.47|In 1702 [[Daud Khan of the Carnatic|Daud Khan]], the [[Mughal Empire]]'s local [[Subahdar]] of the [[Carnatic region|Carnatic]], besieged and blockaded [[Fort St. George, India|Fort St George]] in [[Chennai|Madras]] for more than three months;<ref name="Blackburn 2007">{{cite book|title=A Miscellany of Mutinies and Massacres in India|last=Blackburn |first=T. R.|date=2007|publisher=APH Publishing Corporation|isbn=9788131301692|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQgt5SYepi8C|page=11|access-date=2015-02-23}}</ref> the governor of the fort, [[Thomas Pitt]], was instructed by the [[East India Company]] to sue for peace.]]

The '''Anglo-Mughal war''',<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Conflict and Cooperation in Anglo-Mughal Trade Relations during the Reign of Aurangzeb|first=Farhat|last=Hasan|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=34|issue=4|date=1991|pages=351–360|doi=10.1163/156852091X00058|jstor=3632456}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=John Company Armed: The English East India Company, the Anglo-Mughal War and Absolutist Imperialism, c. 1675–1690|first=James M.|last=Vaughn|journal=[[Britain and the World]]|volume=11|issue=1|date=September 2017|doi=10.3366/brw.2017.0283|pages=101–137}}</ref> also known as the '''Child's War''', was the first [[Anglo-Indian wars|Anglo-Indian war]] on the [[Indian subcontinent]].

The [[East India Company|English East India Company]] had been given a monopoly and numerous fortified bases on the western and south-eastern coasts of the [[Mughal Empire]] by [[the Crown]], which was permitted by the local governors. In 1682, [[William Hedges (colonial administrator)|William Hedges]] was sent on behalf of the Company to negotiate with the governor of the [[proto-industrialisation|proto-industrialised]] [[Bengal Subah]], [[Shaista Khan]], and to obtain a [[firman]], an imperial decree that would allow the English company regular trading privileges across the Mughal provinces.

In 1685, after some breaking of negotiations by [[Josiah Child]], the Governor of Bengal reacted by increasing the tributaries of the trade with the north-east from 2% to 3.5%. The company refused the newly introduced taxes and began to try to get the province of Bengal to accept new terms in favour of the trading power and expressed to capture [[Chittagong]]. They also planned to establish fortified enclaves throughout the region, and attain independence of the surrounding [[subah]] from the Mughal territory by bringing the local governors and the [[Hooghly River]] under their control, which would later allow formation of relationships with the [[Kingdom of Mrauk U]] based in [[Arakan]] (today's [[Myanmar]]) and hold substantial power in the [[Bay of Bengal]].<ref>John Keay, ''India: A History'', pp. 79–81, {{ISBN|9780802195500}}</ref>

Upon the Company's request, King [[James II of England|James II]]<ref>The Evolution of Judicial Systems and Law in the Sub-continent by Ayub Premi, page 42, [[University of California]]</ref> sent 12 warships to help out the [[company rule in India]], but the expedition failed as he was overthrown by [[William III of England|William III]] in 1688, whose reign was hostile to the company.<ref>{{cite book |title=From Plassey to Partition |first=Śekhara |last=Bandyopādhyāẏa |year=2004 |page=39 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=81-250-2596-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-EpNz0U8VEQC&q=plassey+to+partition |via=Google Books}}</ref> Following the dispatch of twelve warships loaded with troops, a number of battles took place, leading to the siege of [[Bombay Harbour]] and bombardment of the city of [[Balasore]]. New peace treaties were negotiated, and the East India Company sent petitions to the emperor, [[Aurangzeb]], about trade involving the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] at [[Hugli-Chuchura|Hooghly]] and religious intolerance of the [[Tamils|Tamil community]] in [[Madras]], but praised Aurangzeb's imperial majesty and compared him with [[Achaemenid Empire|ancient Persia]]'s emperors [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]] and [[Darius I|Darius]].<ref name="British Rule page 19-22">{{cite book |title=India under British Rule |pages=19–22 |author=[[James Talboys Wheeler]]}}</ref> However, the company eventually failed to reach an agreement.

The English naval forces established a blockade of the Mughal ports on the western Indian coast, engaged in several battles with the Mughal Army, and captured ships with [[Muslim]] pilgrims journeying to [[Mecca]].<ref name="The Cambridge Modern History page 699">{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Modern History |page=699 |volume=5 |author1=Ward |author2=Prothero |publisher=Macmillan, [[University of Michigan]] |year=1908}}</ref><ref name="British Rule page 19-22" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813 |author=Jaswant Lal Mehta |date=January 2005 |pages=16–18 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. |isbn=9781932705546}}</ref>

The blockade started to affect major cities like [[Chittagong]], [[Madras]] and [[Mumbai (Bombay)]], which resulted in the intervention of [[Mughal Emperor|Emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]], who seized all the factories of the company and arrested members of the [[Presidency armies|East India Company Army]], while the Company forces commanded by Josiah Child captured further Mughal [[Merchant ship|trading ships]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Anglo-Mughal Commercial Relations, 1583–1717 |first=Phanindranath |last=Chakrabarty |page=257 |publisher=O.P.S. Publishers, [[University of California]] |year=1983}}</ref>

Ultimately the Company was forced to concede by the [[Army of the Mughal Empire|armed forces of the Mughal Empire]] and the company was fined 150,000 rupees (roughly equivalent to today's $4.4 million). The company's apology was accepted and the trading privileges were restored by Aurangzeb.<ref>{{cite book |last=Keay |first=John |title=India: A History |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |page=372}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Imperialism and the Developing World: How Britain and the United States Shaped the Global Periphery |first=Atul |last=Kohli |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=31 January 2020 |pages=42–44}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Between Monopoly and Free Trade: The English East India Company, 1600–1757 |first=Emily |last=Erikson |page=193 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |date=13 September 2016 |isbn=9780691173795}}</ref>

==Background==
In 1682 the [[East India Company|English East India Company]] sent [[William Hedges (colonial administrator)|William Hedges]] to [[Shaista Khan]], the Mughal governor of [[Bengal Subah]], in order to obtain a [[firman]], an imperial directive that would grant the Company regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal Empire. The intervention of the company's governor in London, Josiah Child, with Hedges's mission caused [[Mughal Emperor|Emperor]] Aurangzeb to break off the negotiations. After that Child decided to go to war against the Mughals.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Asia.aspx# |title=Asia Facts, information, pictures &#124; Encyclopedia.com articles about Asia &#124; Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World |publisher=encyclopedia.com|access-date=2015-02-23}}</ref>

==Events==
In 1685, Admiral Nicholson was sent out with twelve warships, carrying 200 pieces of cannon and 600 men, to be reinforced by 400 men from [[Madras]]. His instructions were to capture and fortify [[Chittagong]], with 200 additional guns placed on board, to demand the cession of the encompassing territory, to conciliate the [[Zamindar]]s and [[Taluqdar]]s, to establish a mint, and to enter into a treaty with the ruler of [[Rakhine State|Arakan]]. But the fleet was dispersed during the voyage, and several of the vessels entered the [[Hooghly River|Hooghly]] instead of steering to Chittagong, joining English troops from Madras, and anchoring off the Company's factory.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

The arrival of the formidable expedition alarmed Shaista Khan, and he offered to compromise his differences with the English; but an unforeseen event brought the negotiation to an abrupt close. Three English soldiers, strolling through the marketplace of Hooghly, quarrelled with Mughal officials, and were severely beaten. After that, Nicholson dispatched a force to capture the town.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In 1686, new negotiations started in Chuttanutty which the Mughals intentionally prolonged till their troops could be assembled to attack the English encampment, and English commander Job Charnock retired with his soldiers and establishments to the island of Ingelee, at the mouth of the [[Hooghly River]]. It was a low and deadly swamp, covered with long grass, without any fresh water. In three months, half of the English troops had died from disease.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In 1688, an English fleet was dispatched to [[blockade]] the Mughal harbours in the [[Arabian Sea]] on the western coast of India. Merchantmen containing [[Muslim]] pilgrims to [[Mecca]] (as part of the ''[[hajj]]'') were among those captured. Upon hearing of the blockade, Emperor Aurangzeb resumed negotiations with the English.<ref name="The Cambridge Modern History page 699" /><ref name="British Rule page 19-22" /> However, the Company sent out reinforcements commanded by Captain Heath who on his arrival disallowed the treaty then pending and proceeded to [[Balasore]] which he bombarded unsuccessfully. He then sailed to Chittagong; but finding the fortifications stronger than he had anticipated, landed at Madras.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

After that, Emperor Aurangzeb issued orders for the occupation of the East India Company's possessions across the subcontinent, and the confiscation of their property. As a result, possessions of East India Company were reduced to the fortified towns of Madras and [[Bombay]].{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In 1689, the strong Mughal fleet from [[Janjira State|Janjira]] commanded by [[Sidi Yaqub]] and composed of [[Siddi]] from the [[Ethiopia]] blockaded the East India Company fort in Bombay. After a year of resistance, a famine broke out due to the blockade, the Company surrendered, and in 1690 the company sent envoys to Aurangzeb's court to plea for a pardon and to renew the trade firman. The company's envoys had to prostrate themselves before the emperor, pay a large imperial fine of 150,000 rupees, and promise better behavior in the future. [[Aurangzeb|Emperor Aurangzeb]] then ordered [[Sidi Yaqub]] to lift the [[siege of Bombay]] and the company subsequently re-established itself in Bombay and set up a new base in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]].<ref name="encyclopedia" />

==See also==
* [[Henry Every]]
* [[Thomas Tew]]
* [[Battle of Buxar]]
* [[Sloop]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Mughal Empire}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglo-Mughal war (1686-1690)}}
[[Category:Wars involving the British East India Company]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:1680s in India]]
[[Category:1690 in India]]
[[Category:1680s in the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:1690s in the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:1680s in the British Empire]]
[[Category:1690 in the British Empire]]
[[Category:James II of England]]