Since today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day (y)aarr, I wanted to blog about Kanhoji Angre, an African-Indian who became the most powerful “pirate” of his era in the world:
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Kanhoji … Angira[’s] …operations off the west coast of India developed into what was probably the most successful piracy endeavor of the 17th or 18th century. [Link]He was the first pirate who dared to extort money from Indian and British shipping. In 1712 he seized the armed yacht of the East India Company’s governor and held it for a sizeable ransom. Several years later he repelled the British … using specially built gunships. His success drew pirates from India and Europe and by the 1720’s his captains commanded hundreds of well-armed vessels. By 1722 his repeated humiliations of the Company led to their cessation of attempts to destroy Kanhoji. [Link]
While Kanhoji is considered a pirate by the western world, he’s a national hero in India. The Indian Navy named a major naval base after him, and a memorial was due to be erected in his honor in Alibag. In the Indian narrative, he is “the great Admiral of Marathas,” Shivaji’s naval commander:
British historians have described Kanhoji Angre as a pirate, ignoring that he was appointed by the Maratha king. [Link]
How much Angre was working for himself versus for the Marathas is a matter of some debate. It seems that he was allied with the King, but not consistently, and operated as a power center in his own right. One writer argues that he started as an independent, was appointed a naval admiral, then broke off, then came back in, but he continued to benefit personally from his actions rather than acting purely for the state. At the least, this made him a privateer, like Sir Francis Drake:
Whether someone was a pirate or not is a matter of interpretation. Sir Francis Drake was a prime example of this. To the English, he was a privateer and a hero. To the Spanish, anyone who attacked their ships was a pirate, and they treated him accordingly. The same was true of Kanhoji Angria… Both were national heroes. Both were also pirates.Drake served in the Royal Navy, was a Member of Parliament, and a successful merchant. He circumnavigated the globe, received a knighthood, and fought against the Spanish Armada. He was also one of Queen Elizabeth I’s Sea Dogs, privateers who sometimes blurred the lines between legal privateering and illegal piracy. [Link]
It’s funny that accusations of piracy come from the British East Indian company, itself one of history’s greatest drugs cartels. History is written by the victors.
Related posts: Desi Accented Pirate Talk
