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[[File:Mahratta pirates attacking the sloop 'Aurora', of the Bombay Marine, 1812; beginning of the action.jpg|360px|thumb|right|Mahratta [[Grab (ship)|grabs]] and gallivats attacking the sloop {{ship|HCS|Aurora|1809|2}} of the Bombay Marine. The boat in the foreground is a gallivat.]]
The '''''gallivat''''' (or ''galivat'', or ''gallevat'', or ''gallowet'', or ''gallouet'') was a small, armed boat, with [[sail]]s and [[oar]]s, used on the [[Malabar Coast]] in the 18th and 19th centuries. The word may derive from Portuguese "galeota"; alternatively, it may derive from [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] "gal hat" - ship. [[Hobson-Jobson]] has an extensive discussion of the origins of the term and its usage.{{sfnp|Yule|Burnell|1886|pp=361-3}}

The gallivat typically had one or two masts with a [[lateen]] sail, and some 20 benches for oarsmen, one on each side. They were generally under 70 tons ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]]) in size, and had a prow much like that of a [[grab (ship)|grab]].

One of the ablest admirals of the 18th Century [[Maratha Navy]], [[Kanhoji Angre]] (a.k.a. Angria), made great use of gallivats. Generally, each of his grabs would have an attendant gallivat, both to tow it in calms and to carry extra men.{{sfnp|Sutton|2010|p=49}}

On 26 December 1735 Angre attacked the [[East Indiaman]] {{ship||Derby|1722 EIC ship|2}} off [[Suvarnadurg]]. He deployed nine galleys, five grabs, and fifteen gallivats. ''Derby'' eventually [[striking the colours|struck her colours]] after having had seven men killed and five wounded. Angre kept the surviving crew prisoners for 11 months until the Governor of Bombay ransomed them.{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=85}}

[[File:Maratha ships scroll.jpg|400px|right|thumb|A painted scroll depicting different grabs, gallivats, and other types of vessels of the Marathan Navy, including some captured English ships.]]

In 1754, a listing of Sidhi vessels seized by the EIC and held at Surat in 1759 gives the names of seven gallivats. The largest, ''Manzul'', had a length of 44 feet, a breadth of 17 feet, and a hold depth of 4 feet. The length and breadth measurements translate into a [[Builder's Old Measurement|burthen (bm)]] of 52 ton. The smallest galivat, ''Ram Chand'', had a length of 29 feet, a breadth, of 13 feet, a hold depth of 4 feet, yielding a burthen of 19 tons.{{sfnp|Barendse|2009|p=392}}

A gallivat that the EIC captured in 1775 measured 84 feet in length, and 24 feet in breadth, which yields a burthen of 213 tons. She had a single, forward-raked mast, and 24 oars, and carried ten 6-pounder guns.<ref>''United Service Magazine'', Vol. 140, (1876), p.307.</ref> This would seem to be at the upper end of the size for a galivat, and represent a vessel more in the range of sizes for a grab.

==Gallivats of the Bombay Marine==
The British [[East India Company]] made some use of gallivats, particularly for the [[Royal Indian Navy#1612-1830|Bombay Marine]], which was the British [[East India Company]]'s (EIC) navy.

===1754===
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Tons (bm)
! Complement
! Armament
|-
|''Shark''
|38
|48
|1 × 3-pounder + 6 × 2-pounder guns
|-
|''Dolphin''
|37
|48
|1 × 3-pounder + 6 × 2-pounder guns
|-
|''Swift''
|15
|27
|1 × 1-pounder + 4 × ½-pounder guns
|-
|2 new and 5 planned
|20
|31
|1 × 2-pounder + 4 × 1-pounder guns
|-
|}

The largest gallivat, ''Shark(e)'', had a crew of six Europeans, six "Christian [[topasses]]", 20 [[lascar]]s, and 16 soldiers. The smallest gallivat, ''Swift'', had a crew of two Europeans, 14 lascars, and 11 soldiers. Her smallest guns (½-pounders) were possibly [[swivel gun]]s.<ref>''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'', Vol. 26, Part 3, p. 220. (Government Central Press, 1894).</ref> The soldiers were frequently from the Bombay Marine Battalion.{{refn|For an example of the service of [[sepoy]]s of the Marine Battalion see: {{ship|HCS|Aurora|1809|6}}.|group=Note}}

In 1759, the Bombay Marine had 13 gallivats, six at Bombay and seven at Surat.{{refn|The six at Bombay were: ''Dolphin'', ''Sharke'', ''Tyger'', ''Munsury'', ''Yacobkhany'', and ''Swift''. The seven at Surat were: ''Squirrel'', ''Kaither Bux'', ''Nasary'', ''Lively's Prize'', ''Kaither Madut'', ''Munsury'', ''Fly'', and ''Swallow''.<ref name=Gazette>''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'', Vol. 26, Part 3, p. 224. (Government Central Press, 1894).</ref>|group=Note}} Each had a crew consisting of two Europeans, some two to six Christian [[topasses]] ([[Luso-Asians]]), and 14 to 20 [[lascar]]s. They carried from five to seven guns of various sizes.<ref name=Gazette/>

===1766===
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Armament
|-
|''Fly''
|1 × 2-pounder + 4 × 1-pounder guns
|-
|''Wolf''
|8 × 3-pounder guns
|-
|''Beagle''
|8 × 3-pounder guns
|-
|''Passard''
|1 × 6-pounder + 4 × 4-pounder guns
|-
|''Swift''
|1 × 4-pounder + 4 × 1-pounder guns
|-
|}

In 1773 the [[Bombay Dockyard]] built ''Hawke'', a gallivat, for the Bengal Pilot service.{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=339}} By 1802 the Bombay Marine had no gallivats in service.

==Notes, citations and references==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist|group=Note}}
'''Citations'''
{{reflist|30em}}
'''References'''
* {{cite book |last1=Barendse |first1=Rene J. |year=2009 |title=Arabian Seas, 1700 - 1763 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9004176584}}
* {{cite book |last=Hackman |first=Rowan |date=2001 |title=Ships of the East India Company |location=Gravesend, Kent |publisher=World Ship Society |isbn=0-905617-96-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sutton |first1=Jean |year=2010 |title=The East India Company's Maritime Service, 1746-1834: Masters of the Eastern Seas''. |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1843835837}}
* {{ cite book | last1=Yule | first1=Henry | last2=Burnell | first2=A.C. | author2-link=Arthur Coke Burnell |year= 1886 | title=Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive | publisher=J. Murray | place=London}}

{{Sailing vessels and rigs}}

[[Category:Maratha Navy]]
[[Category:Sailboat types]]

Gallivat - Revision history

Bot at 08:59, 29 May 2022