The EIC's Forgotten Shipwreck: The Trial of the Ganj-i-Sawai Pirates

In 1695, the English pirate Henry Avery captured the Mughal treasure ship Ganj-i-Sawai, setting off an international crisis that nearly destroyed the East India Company. Emperor Aurangzeb shut down English trade in Surat and demanded justice. The Company's response was a show trial in Bombay — but the wrong men were hanged. This episode traces the robbery, the diplomatic fallout, and the cynical legal drama that followed. We look at the pirate crew's dispersal, the bounties placed on their heads, and the strange fate of Avery himself. Why did the Company execute innocent sailors while the real pirates escaped? And how did this scandal reshape the EIC's relationship with the Mughal Empire? A story of corruption, cover-up, and the birth of global manhunts. #HenryAvery #Ganj-i-Sawai #MughalEmpire #Aurangzeb #BombayMarine #Piracy #IndianOcean #Surat #EastIndiaCompany #PirateTrial #1695 #CaptainKidd #Madras #CompanyBahadur #Privateering #Justice #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo