Pirates, Plunder & England's First Century in India

In 1695, the 'King of Pirates' Henry Avery led a vicious attack on a Mughal treasure ship. The Ganji Saway was returning from the Hajj, laden with gold and silver and carrying some 800 pilgrims. After boarding the ship and brutalising those aboard, Avery and his men made off with their loot. The notorious pirate and his treasure were never found. This is the story of that catastrophic attack, and what it meant for the English, who had been working to establish a presence in Mughal India for almost a century. Professor Lubaaba Al-Azami is a cultural historian specialising in England's premodern relationship with Asia and the Islamic worlds, and author of Travellers in the Golden Realm. She tells us all about the first century of contact between the English and the mighty Mughals. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore. Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/ We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com. You can take part in our listener survey here.