Latest / The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History / The Portuguese Pirate Queen of Bengal: Sandwip's Forgotten Ruler
Transcript
- Lucas: We've talked a lot about the Mughals and the Nawabs, and the Europeans in Bengal — the British, the Dutch, even the French. But there's one European power we haven't really touched on, and they had a wild, violent, and largely forgotten presence here: the Portuguese. Luna: The Portuguese? I thought they were mostly in Goa and the west coast. Lucas: Right, that's the common story. But in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Portuguese had a major stronghold in the Bay of Bengal, especially around Chittagong and the island of Sandwip. And they weren't just traders — they were pirates, slavers, and mercenaries. They carved out their own little empire in the delta. Lucas: And at the center of that empire, for a brief time, was a woman: Juliana, the Portuguese pirate queen of Sandwip. She was the daughter of a Portuguese adventurer named Domingos Carvalho, who basically set himself up as the warlord of Sandwip in the 1660s. Luna: A pirate queen? How did that happen? Lucas: Well, to understand that, you have to understand the chaos of the Bengal delta in the mid-17th century. The Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb was trying to consolidate control over Bengal, but the eastern delta — what's now Bangladesh — was a mess of warring factions. You had the Arakanese kingdom from modern-day Myanmar, the Magh pirates from the same region, and the Portuguese freebooters, known locally as firangis. Lucas: These Portuguese weren't official representatives of Portugal — they were renegades, often mixed-race, who operated out of places like Sandwip and Chittagong. They raided coastal villages, captured slaves, and sold them to the Arakanese or to European plantations. Sandwip was their base. Luna: So it was like a pirate haven. Lucas: Exactly. And Domingos Carvalho was the king of that haven. He had a fleet of small, fast vessels called galley-like boats that could navigate the shallow delta waters. He built a fort on Sandwip, taxed local fishermen, and pretty much did whatever he wanted. But in 1665, the Mughal governor of Bengal, Shaista Khan, decided he'd had enough. Lucas: Shaista Khan was a formidable figure — we've mentioned him before in the context of the Mughal navy and the capture of Chittagong. He launched a massive campaign to clear the delta of pirates. And his first target was Sandwip. Luna: What happened to Domingos Carvalho? Lucas: He was killed in the fighting, or maybe captured and executed — the accounts are a bit murky. But his daughter Juliana survived. And remarkably, she took over. She rallied the remaining Portuguese and local fighters, and she held Sandwip for at least a few more years. Lucas: If today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really helps keep us going. And it's a nice way to say thanks for the deep dives. Lucas: So Juliana — she wasn't just a figurehead. She commanded ships, led raids, and negotiated with the Arakanese and the Mughals. For a few years, she was the de facto ruler of Sandwip. Luna: How did Shaista Khan finally deal with her? Lucas: In 1666, he assembled a huge fleet — hundreds of vessels, including large Mughal warships and smaller local boats. He also hired some Dutch and English mercenaries with artillery. They attacked Sandwip from multiple directions. Lucas: Juliana fought back, but she was outgunned and outnumbered. The Mughals breached the fort and captured the island. Juliana herself escaped, according to some accounts, and fled to Arakan. After that, she disappears from history. Luna: So she just vanished? Lucas: Pretty much. We don't know if she died in obscurity, or if she returned to Portugal, or what. But her story is a fascinating glimpse into this forgotten chapter — when the Bay of Bengal was a frontier of piracy, empire, and survival. Luna: It's amazing that one woman could hold out against the Mughal Empire like that. Lucas: Absolutely. And it shows you how fragmented power was in the delta. The Mughals didn't fully control the coast until they took Chittagong in 1666, right after Sandwip fell. That campaign was the beginning of the end for Portuguese piracy in Bengal. Lucas: The Portuguese left a complex legacy — they introduced new crops like tobacco and chili peppers, but they also devastated coastal communities through slaving. Their presence in Bengal is often overshadowed by the British and Dutch, but for a while, they were the dominant European force. Luna: I'd love to learn more about the Mughal navy itself — how did they build such a powerful fleet? Lucas: That could be a whole episode. They had a dedicated naval department, and they employed shipbuilders from Gujarat, Bengal, and even the Maldives. Their ships were called ghurabs and bacharis, and they were designed for the shallow delta waters. Lucas: But the key was that they learned from their enemies. After facing Portuguese and Arakanese pirates for decades, they adapted their tactics. Shaista Khan's victory at Sandwip was a turning point — it showed that the Mughals could project naval power when they needed to. Luna: So Juliana was really the last gasp of Portuguese power in Bengal. Lucas: Exactly. After Sandwip, the surviving Portuguese either integrated into Mughal society or moved elsewhere. Some became mercenaries for local rulers. But the era of the pirate queen was over. Lucas: Her story is one of those hidden corners of history that feels almost like fiction. A Portuguese woman ruling an island in the Bay of Bengal, commanding pirates, defying an empire. It's a reminder that history is full of unexpected characters. Luna: It really is. Thanks for bringing her story to light. Lucas: Glad to. And if you want to know more about the Mughal campaign in Chittagong, or the Arakanese kingdom, let me know — we can dive into those next.