Battle of Swally The naval Battle of Swally took place on 29 – 30 November 1612 off the coast of Suvali ( anglicised to " Swally " ) , a village near the city of Surat , Gujarat , India , and was a victory for four English East India Company galleon s over four Portuguese nau s and 26 barks ( rowing vessels with no armament ) . Importance . This relatively small naval battle is historically important as it marked the beginning of the end of Portugal ' s commercial monopoly over India , and the beginning of the ascent of the English East India Company ' s presence in India . This battle also convinced the English East India Company to establish a small navy to safeguard their commercial interests from other European powers and also from pirates . This small beginning is regarded as the root of the modern Indian Navy . The background to this battle also points to the main reason for the Dutch " Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie " being organised in 1602 . Background . This battle was the result of the Portuguese monopoly over trade with India in the late - 15th and 16th centuries . Two English ventures , The Company of Merchant Adventurers ( established 1551 ) which became the Muscovy Company in 1555 , and the English East India Company also known as " John Company " , ( established 1600 ) were desperately attempting to find routes to the " East Indies " and the spice trade . The following three individuals played a key part in the events leading up to this battle : Ralph Fitch . The Portuguese guarded their new - found routes to Asia very well . During July , 1583 an English merchant , Ralph Fitch was arrested for spying at Ormuz ( near the modern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas ) . He was on a voyage from Syria to the Indian Ocean in his ship , " Tiger " , via what is now Iraq using the Euphrates river . Ralph was presented before the Portuguese Viceroy in Goa where he was placed under arrest . He was released on the surety provided by Jesuit priests , but escaped from Goa and wandered around India for the next decade . He returned to England in 1591 , and became a valuable consultant for the Company . Jan Huyghens van Linschoten . Jan Huyghens van Linschoten ( 1563 – 1611 ) was a Dutch Protestant traveller and historian who also served as the Portuguese Viceroy ' s secretary in Goa between 1583 and 1588 . He returned to Holland in 1592 . He published a book , " Itinerario " in 1596 ( later published as an English edition as " Discours of Voyages into Y East & West Indies " ) which graphically displayed for the first time in Europe , detailed maps of voyages to the East Indies , particularly India . During his stay in Goa , abusing the trust put in him by the Viceroy , Jan Huyghens meticulously copied the top - secret charts page - by - page . Even more crucially , Jan Huyghens provided nautical data like currents , deeps , islands and sandbanks , which was absolutely vital for safe navigation , along with coastal depictions to guide the way . His publications were also responsible for the establishment of the Dutch East India Company ( " Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie " ) in 1602 to unify Dutch efforts at trade with Asia . Captain William Hawkins , First envoy . Captain William Hawkins led the first voyage of the English East India Company to India and sailed into the Gujarat port of Surat on 24 August 1608 . He had with him 25 , 000 pieces of gold and a personal letter to the Mughal Emperor Jehangir ( sometimes also rendered as " Cehangir " or " Ichan Guire " ) from King James I seeking trade concessions . He persisted for over two years , however Portuguese pirates stole his gold , and tried several times to murder him while on shore . He returned to England empty - handed . The next envoy , Paul Canning , lasted only a few months . Tenth voyage . The initial voyages of the English East India Company were not necessarily to India . Each voyage was almost a venture in itself , separately funded by issuance of subscription stock . An eighth voyage was led in 1611 by Captain John Saris to Japan . The ninth voyage ( February 1612 – August 1615 ) was to India and Sumatra . The tenth voyage ( 1612 – 1614 ) on behalf of the English East India Company was led by Captain Thomas Best . It set out from Gravesend on 1 February 1612 passing via the present day Trinidad , then Daman on 3 September 1612 eventually reaching Surat on 5 September 1612 . Surat was the principal port for the Mughals , and was then situated at the mouth of the river Tapti . Battle . Coincidentally , on 13 September 1612 a squadron of 16 Portuguese barks sailed into Surat . On 22 September 1612 Captain Best decided to send an emissary to the Emperor asking for permission to trade and settle a factory at Surat . If refused he planned to quit the country . This may have been partly because King James I had extended the Company ' s charter in 1609 on the basis that it would be cancelled if no profitable ventures were concluded within three years . On 30 September 1612 Captain Best got news that two of his men , Mr Canning ( the purser ) and William Chambers were arrested while on shore . Fearing the worst , Captain Best detained a ship belonging to the Governor of Gujarat and offered to release it in exchange for his men . On 10 October Captain Best and his ships sailed to Suvali , a small town about North of Surat . This may have been because the Governor ( Sardar Khan ? ) was battling a Rajput rebellion at a fort situated in the town . Between 17 – 21 October , amidst negotiations he managed to obtain a treaty with the Governor allowing trading privileges , subject to ratification by the Emperor . On 27 November , Captain Best was advised by his men on shore that a squadron of four Portuguese ships was sailing up to attack him . The Portuguese ships ( four great galleons and some twenty - six oared barks ) arrived on the 28th , and anchored outside the roadstead placing the English vessels between themselves and the town . A skirmish took place between the two navies on the 29th without much damage to either side . At daylight on 30 November , Captain Best in " Red Dragon " sailed through the four larger Portuguese ships running three of them aground , and was joined by " Hosiander " on the other side . The Portuguese managed to get the three galleons refloated . At 9pm that night in an attempt to set the English ships alight , a bark was sent towards them as a fire ship . But the English watch was alert , and the bark was sunk by cannon fire with the loss of eight lives . A standoff remained until 5 December , when Captain Best sailed for the port of Diu . Tenth voyage continues . On 6 January 1613 , Captain Best received a letter from the Emperor ratifying the treaty , which was presented by the Governor . Captain Best then ordered one of his men , Anthony Starkey , on 16 January to leave for England , via land , carrying letters of their success . Mr Starkey was later poisoned by two Jesuit friars . Captain Best then continued on to Ceylon on 18 January , and then onwards to Sumatra , before returning to England around April 1614 without returning to India . Impact on Mughals . This event sufficiently impressed the " Sardar " ( Governor ) of Gujarat , who reported it to the Emperor . Thereafter the Emperor was more favourable towards the English than the Portuguese . Another factor that may have influenced him was that the Portuguese were very anti - Islam , and often harassed Mecca - bound pilgrim ships along the West coast of India . Ships involved . Portugal . 4 galleons < br > 26 oared barks Swally . The exact present day location of the port of Swally is unknown . The Times of India in an article dated 8 April 2003 reported that the Department of Archaeology of the University of Cambridge along with the Gujarat Ecological Society are planning a project to identify the port . It is estimated that the port is close to the modern day village of Suvali , away from Surat . The port was constructed by the English as they found it protected both from sudden squalls and military attacks . Besides , the English found it convenient to use the place for their early trade with Surat as Swally was navigable in low tides . There were several complications in using the ports at Surat as the French and the Portuguese also operated from there . Mr . R Sengupta , the Chief Project Co - ordinator ( coastal and marine ecology ) of GES advised that , " The port was also better than those located in the mouth of river Tapti . The English did not allow anyone to use the port at Swally and used to charge duty for permission to do so . "