Pirates in The Arabian Sea
In April 1808, despite the brief deployment of the ship of the line HMS Albion and frigates HMS Phaeton and HMS Dedaigneuse to the Persian Gulf, pirate dhows appeared off Gujerat, raiding shipping at Surat before they were driven off by ships of the Bombay Marine. Later in the year, a huge fleet of 50 pirate raiders appeared off Sind in the Arabian Sea and caused severe disruption to the regional trade. The fleet attacked merchant shipping along the Indian coast and even seized a large country ship named Minerva, massacring her crew and converting her into their flagship. At its height in early 1809, it was estimated that the pirate forces in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea included 60 large bhagalas, over 800 dhows and employed 19,000 men, against just two HEIC ships, Mornington and Teignmouth.
Read more about this topic: Persian Gulf Campaign Of 1809, Background
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