alternatehistory.com

The last decades of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's reign saw increased conflict with European East India Companies.

In 1689-1690, the English capture of eighty Gujarati ships led to the destruction of the EIC's factory in Hughli and the Mughal admiral Siddi Yaqub very nearly capturing Bombay. In this so-called "Child's War," Aurangzeb also planned on conquering Madras. Unfortunately, the pressing needs of the Mughal war against the Maratha made this campaign impossible.

A decade later, the Englishman Henry Avery captured Gunj-i Sawai, the Mughals' greatest ship which happened to be carrying aristocratic pilgrims from Mecca, and looted its treasures and raped all the pilgrims. In Bombay the EIC was also making replicas of Mughal coins, but with the insignia of Willaim and Mary. Both events infuriated Aurangzeb, who ordered Siddi Yaqub to attack Bombay again. Yaqub failed (it's worth noting that he was never an imperially appointed admiral, but rather a centrally sanctioned strongman who commanded an army of African corsairs).

In 1702 continued European piracy made Aurangzeb ban all trade with Europeans. The Mughal governors attacked Madras, the main holding of the English in southern India, and threatened Pondicherry, the center of French power. Both the English and the French were able to pay enough bribes to escape the predicament.

What if the Mughals had destroyed Bombay and Madras during Child's War, and sacked Pondicherry in 1702?

Would the dynamics of 18th-century India have been fundamentally changed?
Top