The Pirates of Malabar, and an Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago eBook

thoroughly unscrupulous man.  To enrich himself in his private pepper trade ‘he stuck at nothing.’  He took part in the local intrigues of Attinga, from which his predecessors had held aloof, played into the hands of Poola Venjamutta, quarrelled with the other local officials, and behaved with great violence whenever there was the slightest hitch in his trade.  Kyffin’s want of loyalty to the Company was still more clearly shown by his friendly dealings with their rivals, a proceeding that was strictly forbidden.

In June, 1717, Kyffin made known to the Council at Bombay his wish to retire, and William Gyfford was appointed to succeed him as soon as the monsoon would permit.  So, in due course of time, Gyfford and his wife went to Anjengo; but, in spite of his resignation, Kyffin stuck to his office, and evidently viewed Gyfford with unfriendly eyes.  In the following April, intelligence reached the Council at Bombay that Kyffin had had dealings with the Ostenders, and had been ‘very assisting’ to them; so, a peremptory order went down from Bombay, dismissing him from the Company’s service, if the report of his assisting the Ostenders was true.  If the report was not true, no change was to be made.  A commission to Gyfford to assume the chiefship was sent at the same time.  Interlopers and Ostenders, he was told, were not to receive even provisions or water.  So Kyffin departed, and Gyfford reigned at Anjengo in his stead.

But the follies of Kyffin had roused a feeling against the English that was not likely to be allayed by Gyfford, who exceeded Kyffin in dishonesty and imprudence.  He threw himself into the pepper trade, using the Company’s money for his own purposes, and joined hands with the Portuguese interpreter, Ignatio Malheiros, who appears to have been a consummate rogue.  Before long, religious feeling was aroused by the interpreter obtaining possession of some pagoda land in a money-lending transaction.  Gyfford also aroused resentment, by trying to cheat the native traders over the price of pepper, by showing fictitious entries in the factory books, and by the use of false weights.  The only thing wanting for an explosion was the alienation of the Mahommedan section, which, before long, was produced by chance and by Gyfford’s folly.  It happened that some Mahommedan traders came to the fort to transact business with Cowse, who had resumed business as a private merchant; but he was not at leisure, so they went to the interpreter’s house, to sit down and wait.  While there, the interpreter’s ‘strumpet’ threw some hooli powder on one of the merchants.  Stung by the insult, the man drew his sword, wounded the woman, and would have killed her, if he and his companions had not been disarmed.  Gyfford, when they were brought before him, allowed himself to be influenced by the interpreter, and ordered them to be turned out of the fort, after their swords had been insultingly broken over their heads.  The people of Attinga flew to arms, and