Capture of the Grand Mughal Fleet

The capture of the Great Mughal Fleet was an armed naval encounter in the history of piracy that targeted the Mughal Empire. On 7 September 1695, the English pirate Henry Every captured the 25-ship convoy of Imperial Mughal vessels making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, including the treasure-laden Mogul ship known as the Ganj-i-Sawai and its escort, Fateh Muhammed. Joining forces with several pirate vessels, Every found himself in command of a small squadron, and they were able to capture up to £600,000 in precious metals and jewels, equivalent to around £115 million in 2023.

Every's actions caused considerable damage to England's fragile relations with the Mughals, and a combined bounty of £1,000—an immense sum at the time—was offered by the Privy Council and the East India Company for his capture, leading to the first global manhunt in recorded history. Every was never caught, nor was his treasure recovered, and their fate remains unknown.

In August 1695, Every, captaining the 46-gun frigate Fancy, reached the Mandab Strait, where he teamed up with five other pirate ships, including Thomas Tew's 8-gun, 46-man sloop-of-war Amity, Richard Want in a Brigantine named Dolphin, Joseph Faro in Portsmouth Adventure, Thomas Wake in Susannah, and William Maze in Pearl. Although a Mughal convoy of 25 ships bound for India had eluded the pirate fleet during the night, the following day they encountered Ganj-i-Sawai and her escort Fateh Muhammed, which carried 94 guns herself and was even larger in size than the Ganj-i-Sawai but didn’t have as many crewmen, with both stragglers passing the straits en route to Surat.