Qualla: Battle of Swally https://qualla.com/battle-of-swally en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Battle of Swally https://qualla.com/battle-of-swally Battle of Swally: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-swally/ Captain Thomas Best had three years to make a profit or lose everything. King James I had extended the English East India Company's charter in 1609 with a blunt condition: if no profitable ventures materialized within three years, the charter would be revoked. When Best's small fleet of four galleons anchored off the Gujarat coast in September 1612, he carried not just cargo but the entire future of English trade with India. The naval battle that followed at Suvali, a village near Surat that the English would anglicize to "Swally," lasted only two days. Its consequences lasted centuries.

Read more: Battle of Swally on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/8/battle-of-swally-wp/teg8-battle-of-swally-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Swally: Four Ships Against an Empire https://qualla.com/battle-of-swally/ The English East India Company's tenth voyage was a gamble funded by subscription stock. Best's flagship Red Dragon, accompanied by the Hosiander, James, and Solomon, set out from Gravesend on 1 February 1612, sailing via Trinidad and then along the Indian coast past Daman before...

Read more: Battle of Swally on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/8/battle-of-swally-wp/teg8-battle-of-swally-four-ships-against-an-empire.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Swally: Hostages and Negotiations https://qualla.com/battle-of-swally/ The weeks before battle were a tangle of diplomacy and coercion. Best sent an emissary to the Mughal Emperor requesting permission to trade and establish a factory at Surat. Meanwhile, two of his men, the purser Canning and William Chambers, were arrested on shore. Best responded...

Read more: Battle of Swally on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/8/battle-of-swally-wp/teg8-battle-of-swally-hostages-and-negotiations.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Swally: Dawn Attack and Fire Ships https://qualla.com/battle-of-swally/ A skirmish on 29 November produced little damage on either side. The real engagement came at daylight on 30 November. Best sailed Red Dragon directly through the line of four Portuguese galleons commanded by Captain Major Nuno da Cunha, a maneuver bold enough to ground three of t...

Read more: Battle of Swally on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/8/battle-of-swally-wp/teg8-battle-of-swally-dawn-attack-and-fire-ships.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Swally: Seeds of Empire https://qualla.com/battle-of-swally/ On 6 January 1613, Best received the Emperor Jahangir's letter ratifying the trading treaty. The Mughal governor's report of the battle had reached the emperor, and the English defeat of Portuguese naval power impressed him enough to favor the newcomers over the established colon...

Read more: Battle of Swally on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/8/battle-of-swally-wp/teg8-battle-of-swally-seeds-of-empire.mp3 0:06 5 full