SURAT - the lost Dutch connection

The first English factory on the Indian subcontinent was established in 1618 at Surat of whose conditions are in utter negligent ruins as last reported in 2013. Two years later in 1620, a Dutch factory was established and for the next 2 centuries, the Dutch-English relationship at Surat developed the town as the first major European stronghold on the western coast before Bombay (or Mumbai) took over. The English history generally is well-narrated among the population, the Dutch connection is not. This post, shall brief about that connection. 

To control Delhi was to control the northern belt, known in the Islamic world as 'Hindustan'. To control Surat was to control the Arabian Sea trade of which the Arabs and the Portuguese were the champions. Battles have been fought against the Portuguese by various alliances - Arabs, Gujaratis, the Ottomans, Venetians, etc. - all to control the sea via ports such as Surat, Mocha (in Yemen) and Gamron (in Iran; now Bandar Abbas). The first Dutch merchants visited Surat as early as 1602 and the first lodge was built in the city in 1620 by a junior merchant Pieter van den Broecke. For the Dutch, Surat became the branch office for all the trading posts in Gujarat and Agra. But the fate of Surat changed post death of Aurangzeb when there was a political unrest in the country, of which the English took advantage of. The English trade diminished that of the Dutch and with the establishment of Bombay as the new trade hub, Surat's importance dwindled rapidly. 

The Dutch supremacy in Surat (or Souratta, as how they pronounced) changed post 1750 and between 1780 to 1784 it went to English hands temporarily. The control was also seen between 1795 to 1818 and by 1825, Surat was completely under the English domination, thus kicking out the Dutch once for all. But even today, at the Dutch cemetery and the Dutch Garden (originally known as Zorgvij Tuin, which literally translates to 'carefree gardens'), some of the names of Dutchmen who have been buried are as follows: 

• Hendrik Adriaan Baron van Reede of Drakensteijn - Commissioner / Director of the Dutch East India Company, Governor of Dutch Malabar (1669-1676)
• Paulus de Roo - Governor Emeritus of Dutch Ceylon (1695)
• Lady Magdalene Haijers - wife of the Honourable Director Paulus Croocq (1642)
• Theodora le Boucq - wife of the Lord John Schreuder, Director and Superintendent of the Dutch East India Company, 1743. 
• Jan Clasje Pontz - victualler (alcohol seller) or a ship's captain. 

In total, there are 52 graves in the Dutch cemetery, of which 29 have remained reasonably intact. Today, although the Dutch heritage of Surat is long lost, it still resides in history books and in these graveyards. Interestingly, the Dutch connection to the entire India is wiped out even though they had their mark for over 200 years, from Surat to Bengal and from Agra to Carnatic. Below here are the maps of Surat both colonial and present-day. The today's map has the Dutch linkage marked along with the possible location of the first English factory ever established in the subcontinent.