HISTORY'S LOST PAGES - HOLY "MOTHER OF GOD"

During 1590s Portugal was the undisputed king of the seas. Be it ship building or naval warfare or highly trained sailors, she was way ahead of her European neighbours.

But it was not that, which bothered Sir Francis McDermott.

A few months ago, his spies had come up with a shocking piece of information. Portuguese had built the largest ship that they had ever seen. It was at least five times larger than the largest British war-ship. It could carry a thousand souls and sail for more than a year without landing. However, it was not a war-ship. It was built for trade.?They called it “Mother of God.”

Trading what? Where? To Orient (China) for silks? To Arabia for gems??Or to far-away Ruska (Russia) – for elk….…furs?

As he drove them for more information, one of his spies, a blonde haired youth who frequented the taverns of Portugal came to him. He said “Suh, they’s buyin’ and sellin’ from tha Peppa Queen.”

More frustrating months went by. Little by little, after intercepting numerous small ships, pouring out barrels of ale and bags of gold, information trickled in. It seemed ridiculous and downright absurd.

To the west of China, there was a country called Konkan (Indie). At its South Western port was where the Portuguese ships landed. They sold horses and in return, bought black gold. They called it pepper. The queen who traded with them was the richest they had ever known. Even richer than the Queen of England and the King of Portugal. In the forests of her kingdom, precious white and black pepper grew abundantly.

The queen was way ahead of her time. She was beautiful, smart, fierce and just. She understood the importance of trade and knew it as the basis of development. Some of the best business families who had roots in the Indus Valley Civilization – Shenoy, Pai, and Kamath flourished as advisors in her court. Since taking over the throne at a tender age of 14, she had matured into a formidable force in the Konkan region. More so, she was the first queen to formally train women in warfare. Her toughest battalion was of women warriors. Her name was Chenna Bhaira Devi.

Sir Francis went to Queen Elizabeth. He asked her to grant him a ship to sail to this new country. He was scoffed at. Not the one to give up, he gathered a few of his trusted friends. They formed an informal group called “The Company.” Their first mission was to capture Mother of God which was coming back after trading with Pepper Queen. If the ship could be captured, they could sell the cargo and fund their strategy. They could also prove that pepper was abundant in Indie and trading was a lucrative business. It was time England looked towards the East.

Stakes were high. Reputation was paramount. Hence the trap was laid carefully. With seven warships, two hundred mercenaries and a battle fought with stealth – “Mother of God” was captured. In it, lay a cargo beyond imagination. British officials said the pepper alone was worth more than the British treasury. They joked to Sir Francis “Your Pepper Queen could buy England with this, Sir.”

This incident singularly jolted England out of its reverie and changed its destiny forever. The monumental ship, the tremendous opportunities of sea-trade and wealth to be gained by trading with the richest queen of the world, fuelled ambitions and propelled dreams straight out of the shores of Britain.

In 1606, the first of its ships set sail. The rest is history. ?

From the books “The Forgotten Queens of Coastal India” by Kamala Hampana, “The Silver Creeper” by K N Ganeshiah, “The Untold Story of Rani Chenna Bhaira Devi” by Dr. Gajanana Sharma and other sources.