DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12673#0030
THE VOYAGE.
13
tion. It is an unbroken succession of gentle rises
and slopes, and cannot evade the charge of dulness
and uniformity. Every now and then some fort
or rock juts out into the water breaking the line,
but the distance we stand out from land prevents
our distinguishing the features of its different
able to distant vision, and the alternate land and sea breezes
that oblige vessels to hug the shore. Moreover, the ports,
besides being shallow, are defended against large ships by bars ;
a defect from which even Goa is not exempt, although Taver-
nier calls it " one of the finest harbours in the world, rivalling
those of Toulon and Constantinople." The pirates were pro-
tected by the strength of the inland country, and, like the
Greeks, had only to lie secure in port until they discovered
their prey. During the Monsoon they cultivated the ground,
or lived peaceably at home: when the fine weather set in,
they launched their boats, and set out in quest of adventure.
Pliny notices the depredations they committed on the Roman
East India trade, and our early travellers are full of horrible
tales about them.
It is curious to observe that the whole line of coast between
the mouth of the Euphrates and Cape Comorin, has been in-
famous for the piratical propensities of the many and various
tribes that inhabit it. The Persian Gulf still requires the
presence of our armed cruisers; the ancient annals of Scinde
enlarge upon its celebrity for robbery; the Coolies of Kutch
and Guzerat were known as pirates from Marco Polo's time
till a. d. 1800; the Angria territory was a nest of thieves
till we destroyed their fleet; and Tavernier testifies that the
natives of Malabar were not inferior in enterprise to their
northern brethren.
13
tion. It is an unbroken succession of gentle rises
and slopes, and cannot evade the charge of dulness
and uniformity. Every now and then some fort
or rock juts out into the water breaking the line,
but the distance we stand out from land prevents
our distinguishing the features of its different
able to distant vision, and the alternate land and sea breezes
that oblige vessels to hug the shore. Moreover, the ports,
besides being shallow, are defended against large ships by bars ;
a defect from which even Goa is not exempt, although Taver-
nier calls it " one of the finest harbours in the world, rivalling
those of Toulon and Constantinople." The pirates were pro-
tected by the strength of the inland country, and, like the
Greeks, had only to lie secure in port until they discovered
their prey. During the Monsoon they cultivated the ground,
or lived peaceably at home: when the fine weather set in,
they launched their boats, and set out in quest of adventure.
Pliny notices the depredations they committed on the Roman
East India trade, and our early travellers are full of horrible
tales about them.
It is curious to observe that the whole line of coast between
the mouth of the Euphrates and Cape Comorin, has been in-
famous for the piratical propensities of the many and various
tribes that inhabit it. The Persian Gulf still requires the
presence of our armed cruisers; the ancient annals of Scinde
enlarge upon its celebrity for robbery; the Coolies of Kutch
and Guzerat were known as pirates from Marco Polo's time
till a. d. 1800; the Angria territory was a nest of thieves
till we destroyed their fleet; and Tavernier testifies that the
natives of Malabar were not inferior in enterprise to their
northern brethren.