Abraham Shipman ( - Angediva, April 6, 1664) and was appointed governor general of Bombay at the time of transfer of that city by Portugal as the wedding dowry of English princess Catherine of Braganza with King Charles II of England, under the Treaty of 23 July 1661. Appointed in 1662, he did not take possession of the town due to the refusal of the Portuguese viceroy in India to accept the credentials presented. He retired to the island of Angediva, off the coast of Goa, where he died in 1664, and was buried there.
Biography edit
In 1640 Abraham Shipman was a captain in the infantry regiment of Sir Nicholas Byron, where his brother John was an Ensign. He had been elevated to Knight, with the right to the title of Sir, by Charles I of England. During the Restoration, Charles II asked the gunsmith place in the Tower of London, claiming the services provided. The January 26, 1661 received mercy as rights over a lighthouse at Dungeness, Kent. He did testament to March 24, 1661, claiming leave for a trip to the East Indies, naming as beneficiary his son William Shipman, with the obligation to pay 500 pounds to his daughter Elisabeth Shipman.
The appointment of Sir Abraham Shipman as Bombay governor took effect March 19, 1662, in the port of Lisbon after ratification of the Treaty, which which provided for the delivery of that square to the British with all their rights, income, territories and any belongings, ensuring the Portuguese the aid of those before the strong presence of Dutch overseas territories and the Hispanic monarchy in Portuguese territory, a great need to frame the Portuguese crown at the threat of those two great European powers.
A fleet of five ships left for India the following day, March 20, commanded by James Ley, 3rd Earl of Marlborough, that it followed as admiral. She was carrying, in addition to the governor, a force of 500 men, organized into four companies, which should land in Mumbai and form the first British garrison of that square. It also followed António de Melo e Castro, appointed new Viceroy of Portuguese India, with the mandate to make the delivery of the square.
During the long trip were major disagreements between the Portuguese viceroy and the British, which called into question the success of the mission. Still, the trip was fast by the standards of the time, and the first ships arrived in Mumbai on 18 September and the other in October that year 1662.
Upon arrival Marlborough presented its letters patent, requesting the delivery of Mumbai and the entire island of Salsete, which the governor refused, claiming that the Treaty does not provide for the delivery of Bombay. Still, alleging irregularities in the submitted patent also refused to surrender the city.
Marlborough and Shipman then appealed to the Viceroy Antonio de Melo eand Castro, but this declined to intervene, which amounted to a rejection of Bombay delivery. However, the arrival of monsoon forced British ships carrying troops to seek shelter on the island of Angediva where Sir Abraham Shipman arrived and installed his headquarters while awaiting orders from London, where Marlborough and most ships returned . As the orders was delayed in coming, and the impasse remained, the general and many officers and soldiers eventually die due to harsh climate and poor housing conditions. Shipman died on the island April 6, 1664 and is buried there.
The delay in handing over Bombay was due to António Melo e Castro, who since his arrival in Bombay had raised several obstacles in order to retain the island in the Portuguese possession. In addition to formal claim of inaccuracies in the letters patent and attorney, Abraham Shipman, the actions of Melo e Castro were based on the perception he carried during his trip from Lisbon to India that made him believe in a lack of good faith on the side British. He perceived that they would not provide the promised aid to the Portuguese, which would be reflected in the weak military presence by way of the armed forces sent.
Another concern was with their perception of the strategic importance of Salsete Island to Portuguese interests, with a port that was almost better off than Lisbon and an important location in the event of attack on Goa. Besides, the unconditional surrender would raise a threat to the Portuguese presence in the region.
The British only left the Angediva Island in 1665, when the Portuguese viceroy finally accepted the royal order to hand-over the city. At that time, of the initial force only 191 men survived on the island along with 391 British graves. Only in February 1665 the transfer of Bombay was signed between the successor of the late British governor, Humphrey Cooke, and the Portuguese viceroy, Antonio de Melo e Castro.
Although Sir Abraham Shipman is often identified as having been the first governor of the British Raj, in reality his government was restricted to the small island of Angediva.
References edit
[[Category:Mumbai]] [[Category:Goa]] [[Category:1664 deaths]] [[Category:British Army officers]] [[Category:British India]]