Grounding of the Jupiter

The grounding of the Jupiter and subsequent death of its Danish crew in Mughal imprisonment took place in 1625 off the coast of Bengal in present-day Odisha.

After a successful voyage to Bantam and Makassar, the Danish yacht, the Jupiter, initiated a return voyage to the Coromandel Coast. However, Jupiter ran aground off Bengal, with some of its crew drowning, while the rest were imprisoned by the local Mughal Nawab Babar Khan and subsequently died. The 8 Danes surviving were released by the Mughals after the Danes paid a ransom to Babar Khan.

In 1616, the Danish East India Company was founded,^[1] and after a successful expedition to India in 1620,^[2][3][4] it established the colony of Tranquebar.^[5] Afterwards, the governor of Tranquebar, Roland Crappé, established multiple factories all over the East Indies.^[6]

In 1623, Governor Crappé initiated his return to Danish India after having been in Denmark,^{[7][8][9][10]} bringing with him the vessels Perlen and Jupiter,^{[11][8][9][12]} the latter of which was an yacht.^[7] The ships arrived at Tranquebar in 1624,^[13] during a siege of the city, which was shortly after concluded.^[14][7][15]

In the following year,^[16] the Jupiter became involved in the intra-Asian trade^[17][16][18] and was sent on a trade mission to Makassar on Celebes^[19] and the other Sunda Islands.^[16] After a successful voyage to ports of Bantam and Makassar,^[19] where it got a valuable^{[14][20][21][19]} Makassarese cargo,^[20][22] consisting of 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) of cloves and other goods,^[18] Jupiter initiated a return voyage from the latter port^[20][23][19] to the Coromandel coast.^[23]

However, during its voyage,^[19][23][7]Jupiter ran aground^[23] off the coast off Bengal^[16][24][19] in present-day Odisha,^[25][18] with some specifying the location to be at Balasore.^{[14][20][a][b]}

In the account of those claiming it ran aground in Balasore, the incident occurred after Jupiter had anchored off the Danish factory in Balasore for a day.^[14] During the day, the local Mughal Nawab Babar Khan imprisoned parts of the crew,^[14][22] including the captain,^[28][20][22] who was tied up^[28][20] after trying to prevent Babar Khan from taking a Danish slave who had been carrying many valuables up from the beach to the Danish factory.^[20] As the captain was absent, Jupiter lacked proficient leadership,^[28] and when a storm occurred in the subsequent night,^[14] the ship consequently grounded.^[29][20] Additionally, the Mughal government refused to help it^[28][20] despite it being in visible danger^[20] and the whole cargo of the ship was thereafter confiscated^[14][20] and plundered^[24] by Babar Khan.^[20][c]

Historians generally agree that a total of 45 men died;^[31][d] however, they disagree on how they died: While some claim all died by drowning,^[32][19] most say this only caused some casualties,^[20][24][33] which was estimated to be 25 men by Danish colonial historian Kay Larsen.^[20] The remaining 20 died in prison,^[14] with some claiming that they were killed^[14][20][24] by Babar Khan.^[20] However, it is more plausible that they may just have died from food poisoning or something similar.^[14]

Only 8 men survived,^[19][18] who continued to be imprisoned.^[34][20][24] After long negotiations and threats between the Danish factory in Balasore and Babar Khan,^[20] the surviving Danes,^[34][20][24] including the captain,^[20] were released by the Mughals^[34][20][24] after the Danes had given gifts^[20] and paid a ransom^[34][24] to Babar Khan.^[20] Followingly, the Danes requested compensation for their losses, but these were unfulfilled.^[25]

Roland Crappé^[14] estimated the loss of the ship itself at 20,000 Danish rigsdaler,^[20][24] yet Danish author Asta Bredsdorff estimated that it had probably only cost about 2,300 Danish rigsdaler.^[14] Nonetheless, the cargo on the ship was estimated by Crappé^[34] at 150,000 Danish rigsdaler^[34][20][24] or 50,000 Spanish reales,^[32] if it could be traded in Masulipatnam.^[20] To the total amount may also be added the expenses of the ransom the Danes had to pay to release the few survivors from their imprisonment.^[34]

The grounding of the Jupiter was a big loss for the D.E.I.C.,^[30][24][19] which already suffered from a lack of men and capital.^[19] The incident, together with the grounding of the Nattergalen, left the Danish factory in Pipli without money.^[36] Crappé^[37] subsequently abandoned trade in Bengal, and the Danish factories in Pipli and Balasore were left in the charge of Indian caretakers.^[37][20]

The company's later economic difficulties partially resulted from the grounding of Jupiter,^[38] and consequently, it was seen by the Danes as reasonable to demand the unpaid compensation.^[28] Already after its grounding, many of the high-ranking Danes^[37] in Tranquebar planned to get compensation through military means;^[37][20] however, Crappé would not risk a confrontation with the Mughal emperor without the company management's approval.^[20] Later in 1644, during the Dano-Mughal War, the governor of Tranquebar, Willem Leyel, launched a privateering campaign against the Mughal Empire with the compensation of grounded ships as the primary goal for the campaign.^[28] As such, the grounding of Jupiter became the first incident mentioned in his manifesto justifying the war.^[22]

• Capture of the ship The Bengali Prize – 1642 Danish capture of a Bengali shipPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Grounding of the Nattergalen – 1626 grounding of a Danish ship
• Loss of the St. Jacob – 1640 Grounding of a Danish ship