There are endless accounts of how the British exploited Indians during their colonial regime in the subcontinent. But an aspect of their chapter where it was their own British subjects who revolted against their own British masters is not really talked about. This doesn't necessarily mean they were any more sympathetic towards Indian causes, but these rebellions were mostly among the British soldiers in the East India Company, and later in the British Indian Army. One such rebellion caused the suspension of Company rule on the islands of today's Mumbai, back in the 17th century.
The year was 1683, three years after the Maratha Empire's founder Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj passed away, handing over the responsibility to his son and successor, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, who had come at a crossroads between the rising tension between the English and the Portuguese. While the former colonists were not entirely hostile, the latter did want to express their dominance rather forcefully. They didn't really want to be friendly with the Marathas and refused a proposition by Sambhaji for joint cooperation, leading to a Maratha offensive. This led to the capture of Karanja Island (today's Uran in Raigad district), which was a Portuguese territory, along with an attack on Bassein (Vasai), Chaul, and Goa. This tension between the Marathas and Portuguese had caused massive anxiety to the English as the Marathas had almost touched the islands of Bombay. The authorities of Bombay contacted Surat immediately (this was the time when Surat Presidency was the head of the EIC on the western coast of India, and its status was just about to shift to Bombay shortly), who flatly refused to spend any more expanses on Bombay. Rather, the East India Company directors stationed at Surat— especially Josiah Child, its Governor (between 1681 and 1699)— decided to cut the pay of Company soldiers by 30% in order to pay the ongoing debts the Company had towards the Mughal Empire. For them, an alliance towards the Mughals was far more profitable than resolving the immediate danger looming over Bombay islands.
This debt was a penalty that Aurangzeb had levied on them to regain their trading rights in Bengal and Konkan, and also for the various fortifications they had planned on the western coast. Hence, the Company decided to levy this cut from the salaries of its own soldiers, that slashed from silver 'sikka' 6 Rupees per month to 4 per month. By number it may look negligible, but back in the 17th century, this would mean losing a third of their income, barely covering basic rations, camp clothing, utensils and even going hungry at times. And this cut didn't settle well with Company soldiers.
Hence, Richard Keigwin, Commandant of the Company's forces and third member of the Bombay Council, rebelled against this order and was supported by other officers such as Henry Fletcher, Thomas Wilkins, Stephen Adderton and John Torburne, at Bombay Castle or English Fort of Bombay. Keigwin revolted against the constant negligence of Surat towards Bombay, declared himself as the Governor of Bombay, and held it in the name of King of England for over a year. This means, for one whole year, there was no official East India Company rule on the island of Bombay.
Keigwin went ahead and proposed a friendship treaty with Sambhaji, thus marking a turn from the way the English treated the Marathas earlier. He sent Capt. Henry Garry, Thomas Wilkins, and Ram Shenavi as envoys, whose first step was to outcast the established Siddis (enemies of the Marathas), strengthen their relation with the Marathas, thus saving Bombay from their wrath. This was a very crucial step as the English were also commercial rivals to the Portuguese, although ironically, the Bombay islands were part of a dowry of a marriage alliance between the English and Portuguese, just 20 years ago.
Keigwin's authority ended in 1684, but the EIC changed their relationship with the Marathas forever because of his act of rebellion. They went from a strict neutrality to a fluid and cautious politics between both the Mughals and the Marathas, treading both with careful alliances so that their trade and commerce worked out smoothly. As for Keigwin, he was granted a full pardon after his surrender in November 1684 since his act actually was in favour of the Crown of England, and against only the East India Company.
But this wasn't the only time colonial soldiers marched against their own masters in India. A similar rebellion took place in Monghyr (Munger, in Bihar) in 1766 when British officers opted for mass resignation against Robert Clive's decision of cutting their field allowances. Another one took place in Madras (now Chennai) in 1808-09, when Governor Sir George Barlow abolished officers' tent allowances, leading to roughly 150-200 European officers across Madras' Ceded Districts (roughly the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh), rebelling against their officers. This was followed by court-martials and suspensions, after which there was a rare sight of Europeans rebelling against their own skin.
Below here is a recreated map of Bombay island of the 1670s, originally known as 'Fryer's Map of Bombay, 1672'. John Fryer was an English physician and Fellow of the Royal Society, who toured various parts of Mughal India between 1672 to 1682. Note that certain names are interesting to spot here, such as Mendham's Point, which is in Colaba neighbourhood - a former EIC's burial ground. Salsette is spelled as Salset, Bandra as Bandura, Kole-Kalyan as Coly, Thane as Tannaw City etc. Interestingly, Mumbai has always been mapped as a cluster of 7 major islands (and more than 20 if we consider Mumbai Suburban District as well). But because of lacking proper geographical tools, John Fryer (and several early European cartographers) wrongly clubbed the whole islands into large chunks, which in the following century gets rectified. Poloremo could be either a tiny hamlet of Pali near Vasai (itself written as Bassein) or a Jesuit mission settled there by the Portuguese. while Ecclesia de Podre could be a local church at Pali village.
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