Historic Alleys

 And the treasure that vanished

In the previous post, we discussed the intriguing story of a Nair boy who was captured by Hyder, converted, and eventually became the Governor of Bednore (also called Bednur, Bidanoore — present-day Nagaram in the Konkan) and Mangalore. That was Ayaz Khan, or Hyat Sahib (as the British called him), the Nawab of Bednore, who was the Chirakkal chela (slave) favored by Hyder, which greatly angered and disgusted Tipu. But that was how it was, and Ayaz ruled over Bednore, a strategically located district that held significant treasures, a large 13th-century fort, an armory, and a mint.

After a series of raids and assaults on the South's chieftains, Hyder was now on his deathbed in 1782. To prevent Ayaz Khan from planning a revolt and taking control of Mysore, Tipu ordered his assassination. Ayaz, hearing this, feared for his life and his family’s safety, and eventually decided to defect to the British after learning that a British unit was approaching. The British were heading to Bednore mainly to distract Tipu, while his forces moved toward Madras.

Before we arrive at the location, let's explore a bit of Bednore’s history. In the 16th century, it was the last capital of the Nayakas of Keladi, vassals of the Vijayanagar Empire. After the Vijayanagar fall in 1565, the Keladi Nayaks gained independence and ruled large parts of Malnad, as well as other coastal towns like Bhatkal, and the plains along the Tungabhadra River. In 1763, Virammaji, the last queen, lost the kingdom to the upstart Mysore ruler Hyder Ali. After capturing Bednore fort, Hyder renamed the town Hydernagara. This became his arsenal, where arms and ammunition were produced, and a home to a treasure of roughly 12 million pounds sterling (or so they said). With many sandalwood trees and rice fields, Bednore was truly a wealthy district. It also housed the Ikkeri mint, which Hyder continued to use to produce the Bahaduri Huns or pagodas. Bednore was special to Hyder; he called it his own, even though other territories were originally taken from the Mysore Raja. He expanded it to hold 90,000 people, called it Hyder Nagar, and even thought about making it his capital. Hyder built a beautiful palace there, revived the mint, and ordered the construction of a naval base and dockyard at Honnavar, north of Murdeshwar.

He appointed Ayaz as the governor of Bednore (covering neighboring districts and about 84 forts) in 1782, just before his death, relocating the latter from Chitteldurg to Bednore. Nervous about potentially clashing with Tipu, who had been named Hyder’s successor, Ayaz pondered his future. The earliest accounts of Ayaz’s rule at Bednore come from the diaries of Gen. Campbell, who had been imprisoned there.

After surviving a shipwreck off Goa in May 1782, Donald Campbell trekked to Bednore and met Jemadar Ayaz Khan. After questioning Campbell about his hardships, Ayaz gave him a lecture on Hyder's admirable qualities and then sent him to a prison cell. A few days later, he learned from another officer about Ayaz’s past and discovered that ‘Hyat Sahib had, in zeal, fidelity, attachment, as well as in intellectual faculties and talents for governing, even surpassed the warmest hopes of his Master—Hyder Ali’. Learning that Campbell had commanded a regiment for the Nawab of Arcot, Ayaz offered him command of a regiment of 5,000, which Campbell declined. Campbell wrote to W Hastings: I had had several conferences with Hyat Sahib before Hyder’s death, and endeavored to suggest to him the advantage which would arise to him from a revolt in favor of the Company. My efforts in these conversations ended ultimately in the most rigorous distress to myself: I was put in irons, and remained so for four months, in a situation of mere existence, without any hopes of escaping.

The imprisonment lasted four months, during which Ayaz learned about Hyder’s illness and Tipu’s succession. He called Campbell and told him that the General was free to escape and meet up with the incoming British unit led by Gen. Mathews, which was heading in that direction. Campbell rode to meet Mathews but was ordered by Mathews to return and ask Ayaz to surrender Bednore to the British.

Mathews, incidentally, was instructed by the EIC in Bombay to try an attack on Bednore, mainly to distract Tipu, who was advancing on British troops at Madras and North Arcot. Since safeguarding Bednore, its treasury, and armory was more important, they expected Tipu to pause and then move eastward with his forces to Bednore. While many reports later described Gen. Mathews, a man from an ordinary middle-class British family (not part of the gentry), as a mediocre officer, the original assessment was different. In the Palk manuscripts, he is described as the most warlike genius in India, very enterprising, and as having achieved incredible feats with just one battalion.

Anyway, Campbell rode back, met Ayaz, and conveyed the essence of a treaty in case Ayaz decided to defect and abandon Bednore to the British. After reflecting on the contents and his own future, Ayaz agreed to the EIC’s proposal after several days. He then handed over the entire treasure and control of his district to Mathews, also ordering the commanders of forts under his command, such as Mangalore, Deokull, Anantpore, and others, to step down and surrender to the British. Some complied, while others chose to fight the British.

As for Campbell’s situation - The General, it is true, promised that I should remain with him till he made some arrangements; and Hyat Sahib offered, on his part, to make me, through the General, a handsome present. The General, however, suddenly became dissatisfied with me, and I neither got Hyat Sahib’s present nor ever received even a rupee of the vast spoil found there.

Although a few forts surrendered, the three main ones did not, and Gen Mathews and his men then attacked Mangalore, committing acts of slaughter, maiming, and rape against the population. It turned out that Mathews had little control over his soldiers, who, incidentally, had gone without pay for the past 16-18 months and had been promised a share of the Bednore loot. 

Instead of preparing for a counterattack from Tipu, the soldiers celebrated and, in February, attacked the town of Anantpore (now Anandapuram), where the troops were said to have committed numerous atrocities. Campbell explains how Mathews' forces had lost focus—rendered incautious by success, our army became less vigilant, and Tippoo retook Hydernagur; and, in direct breach of the capitulation, made the garrison prisoners, treated them with a degree of inhumanity that is shocking to even think about, and forced General Mathews to take poison in prison!

The British records summarized the attack and the Mysore response succinctly - It is with pain we recount, that as slaughter, cruelty, rapine, and avarice had disgraced this expedition in its commencement at Onore, so the same detestable maxims and vices, continued to stain its whole progress, until they were, at its fatal conclusion, most cruelly required; when the innocent became indiscriminately with the guilt, victims to the rage of an exasperated and merciless enemy.' 

Tipu's retaliation was quick and fierce when he reached Bednore a few months later. Gen. Mathews and his troops were captured, chained, and sent to prisons throughout the Mysore Kingdom, along with other captured soldiers.

The reports about the British occupation of Bednore are uncertain. Many sources claim that Mathews captured the fort without incident (luckily, as Mathews noted, by divine will), and that Hyat Sahib surrendered peacefully. Others suggest it required effort, and the discussions ultimately focused on the treasure, which was of great importance to the occupying soldiers, who had not been paid for 18 months and had been promised a fair share of the loot by Mathews.

As it turned out, Mathews imprisoned Ayaz Khan, coerced him into signing an agreement, and made him hand over the vault keys. Reports continued to mention either that Ayaz considered some of it his personal property, added a reward for Campbell (which was never paid), and handed over the rest to Mathews, or that Mathews took it all, leaving a small amount for Ayaz and nothing for the soldiers, who then decided to revolt. Mathews then, in cooperation with his brother, transported 13 chests (or 23 chests) of treasure to Goa and Bombay, the locations of which remain unknown.

In any case, there was a frantic scramble for loot after the English occupation of Bednore, including reports of Mathews hollowing out the handles of his transport and filling them with valuable jewels and pagodas. Additionally, it is noted that brother Capt Mathews was, according to British sources, secretly introduced into the army by Gen Mathews.

What is especially notable is that the British administration threw Mathews under the bus even after he had sent the chests of treasure as detailed above. They could have chosen to blame Ayaz for seizing it all, but instead, they decided to pin all the blame on Mathews for a botched-up raid and even worse actions later, such as the massacre at Mangalore, the retaking of Bednore by Tipu, plus the loss of British lives and the capture of many prisoners.

Even after the British were rounded up and interned at Srirangapatnam, and many, including Mathews, were executed, all the blame was placed on Mathews. This was entirely due to formal complaints lodged by a few British officers, including Macleod, who abandoned Mathews and went to Bombay after receiving no share of the promised loot. Both Campbell and Hyat defended Mathews, emphasizing that although General Mathews had faults, greed was not one of them. According to them, Mathews received Rs 2 lakhs and a pearl necklace as a gift from Ayaz, which was not much. Hyat, toeing the British line, later accused Mathews of plundering Bednore’s and his personal riches and demanded that the British restore them.

Two documents, aside from the official British account by Wilkes and Beveridge, offer conflicting evidence: the Tarikh-i’Tipu Sultan and Lt. John Charles Sheen's letter. Both describe actions following Tipu's retaking of Bednore and the capture of British POWs.

Lt. Sheen mentions that Ayaz ensured the safety of his own private property, but Gen. Mathews took possession of 30 lakhs of pagodas (equivalent to 120 lakhs rupees plus a large quantity of diamonds and other precious stones, some of which Lt. Sheen actually saw). The English general later hid this treasure and sent it through his brother, a captain, to Bombay. He adds that Tipu saw an empty treasury at Bednore and also found out that all soldiers (about 2000) were encouraged to draw their full salaries from the stores.

After Tipu defeated the British forces and took the captives, Tipu stated that the agreement was for the British to hand over all the "cash" and other "treasures," as well as all other "stores" of the Sarkar that they might have with them. This suggests that although a lot was sent to Bombay, the soldiers had secretly hidden their own loot. After Mathews surrendered, he was asked by Tipu’s officers, "You have carried away money on the Sarkar's oxen, and at the time of leaving the fort, you distributed among your men the contents of the Sarkar's storehouse." Mathews and his companions lied, claiming they knew nothing about it. Once the prisoners were gathered, they were searched, and it was found that they had concealed items on their persons in many ways.

British records state -Their greed, it appears, overshadowed their judgment, so that they could not perhaps think calmly of the possible consequences of the action, for which the whole army suffered. Alan Machado provides the following summary (Slaves and Sultans) in his book: The true value of Nagar’s treasury or what happened to it was never investigated. Various estimates made by reliable witnesses, including Mathews and Hyat Sahib, however, survive: Rs 32,400,000; heaps of jewels, gold, and silver, and cash of Rs 19,200,000 (Mathews’s secretary); Rs 12,000,000 (Mathews); Rs 9,600,000 plus jewels of considerable value (Hyat Sahib).

While all this was happening, what became of Ayaz Khan? He first went to Onore, Goa, then fled to Tellicherry. The written agreement between Campbell, Mathews, and Ayaz stated that upon surrender, Ayaz would receive 120,000 pagodas (480,000 Rs) annually for maintenance and would be provided with British security for himself and his family. 

Mathews stayed silent as Bednore was being taken, failing to report progress to Bombay. The details were relayed by Col. Macleod, Col. Humberston, and Major Shaw, who, witnessing Gen. Mathews's conduct, left in disgust and reached Bombay with a formal complaint. Norman MacLeod had been in command of the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd Highlanders (Black Watch) and was actively fighting the French and Tipu Sultan's forces along the Malabar coast, especially around Ponnani, and had hurried to support Mathews. Humberston was reassigned from Calicut.

MacLeod, upon arriving at Bednore, discovered that Hyat was actually a prisoner negotiating his release and that Mathews had seized all the treasure. Although Campbell and Mathews had promised to maintain the governorship at Bednore, Hyat had been forced to surrender ‘private property’ worth 14 lakhs, along with a stash of diamonds and jewels, to Mathews. To keep the army obedient, Hyat was compelled to pay the soldiers 50,000 pagodas (Rs 200,000).

It was all highly inappropriate, and after reviewing the complaint, the EIC promoted MacLeod to Brigadier-General and appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the army, superseding General Mathews.

Meanwhile, in Bednore, escorted by Captain William Mathews, the general’s brother, Hyat Sahib set sail for Goa from Kundapur on April 8. Captain Mathews delivered 11 of 13 chests of treasure at Honnavar Fort and loaded the remaining two onto General Mathews’s vessel. Thompson estimated the treasure, excluding jewels and precious stones, at no less than Rs 11,000,000, with Rs 3,300,000 of it transported to Goa. Whiteway, a prisoner at Srirangapatnam and a close associate of Scurry and Drake, claims that 24 chests filled with treasure were secretly sent to Bombay, not just 11 or 13. Needless to say, the figures are inconsistent, and no proper accounting has ever been done.

A more detailed study reveals that on April 8th, Captain Mathews traveled with Commodore Emptage aboard a ship from Kundapore to Onore and Goa, while Hyat Sahib took his family on a couple of shybars (local boats) to the same destinations. At Goa, Hyat Sahib was denied entry and asked to leave. Hyat, who only had his bedding, refused to go to Bombay. The report states that Captain Mathews carried thirteen chests of the Company's (Bednore) treasure, eleven of which he landed at Onore and delivered to Captain Toriano, while the remaining two were placed on a snow belonging to General Mathews at Goa. It’s unclear what property was on board this snow and the two shybars, but the presence of Mathews’ yacht was noted as unusual by the government. From Goa, Hyat Sahib continued to Tellicherry. Thomas Pennant adds that it was commonly believed General Mathews had sent three hundred thousand pounds and a large quantity of diamonds to Bombay through his brother, and that even before leaving, he had had his palanquin’s bamboo poles pierced and filled with pagodas.

So we see that it was not 13 chests and may have been as many as 24 chests of treasure that were conveyed to the British. The 11 or 22 chests that were delivered to Toriano were never heard of again. Were they misappropriated by the high command?

Hyat Sahib spent the entire monsoon under British protection at Tellicherry and had reached Bombay with Mr. Sibbald by December 8, 1783. Looking back, one would notice that although his pension was quite small, it was enough for him to support himself in Bombay from October 1783 to May 1788. This suggests he carried some of the treasure with him, possibly what he claimed as his.

It is quite surprising that Gen Mathews had docked his personal yacht at Kundapur and apparently had his wife, Mary Duckett, living on it, a fact that was even known to Tipu, who was considering using her as leverage. Surprisingly, Gen Mathews, within four days of accepting the surrender of Mangalore fort between March 16-18, also visited Tellicherry, just as Tipu was closing in with all his forces. Was it to negotiate with the British high command or discuss the treasure and his wife’s future?

Captain Mathews, who was later shipwrecked, was captured by Tipu in the aftermath and murdered. Colonel Macloed and Humberston also died in subsequent battles. General Richard Mathews was assassinated at Seringapatanam after being imprisoned, possibly by poison, starvation, or having his neck broken by Tipu’s wrestlers. Shaik Ali, a subedar, mentions he died of grief.

After Richard Mathews’s death, Mary married Richard Church, who was previously a high-ranking official in Tellicherry and later served on the Supreme Council in Bombay. Over time, their daughter, Mary Cotsford, sometimes described as the heiress to the Bednore/Mathews treasure, married Bourdon Rowland.

I was traveling and quite near Bednore last month. It’s a quiet place these days, and nobody seems to have any idea of its turbulent past. I saw youngsters strolling around taking reels while couples necked at the many forts dotting the region. Bhatkal has many excellent eateries serving Muslim coastal cuisine. Mangalore is home to a busy port, while Udupi and Mookambika are filled with pilgrims from Kerala and Maharashtra. Slightly north of Udupi is Murdeshwar, which features a massive Shiva statue by the sea. Kundapura, close to Udupi, was the port used by all these nefarious characters and still grows Kunda-Jasmine flowers. Onore, once a popular Portuguese port near Goa, better known as Honnavar during the Mysore era, became a naval base, a story we will get to shortly. Nobody in these places has any idea of treasures or the marches of the Sultans, Portuguese, or the British, these days.

EH Nolan, a British historian, possibly defending the qualities of British officers, questions: Was there really a treasure at Bednore, or was it all just hype? He even claims that it would have been impossible to gather such a large amount of treasure and suggests that the British were misled by their own unrealistic expectations. Maybe he does not remember the looting of Malabar from Ikkeri down to Cochin by Hyder and his allies. Much of the loot could have been moved to safety in Mysore and Bednore.

References
Slaves and Sultans – Alan Machado (Prabhu)
Remarks on the most important military operations – (John Moodie?)
Siege of Bednore – Surath Charan Sen Gupta – IHC vol 2, 3
The captivity, sufferings, and escape of James Scurry