Sir Thomas Grantham was an English tobacco trader and naval officer, commander of the naval fleet of the British East India Company

British East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

. In 1684 he was sent to Bombay (now Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

) by the King of England

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 to put down an insurrection led by the Company, who had set up a parallel government and assumed wide authority on the British people. After he landed in November 1684, he assumed control over the situation from Commander Keigwin and thus ending the standoff.

Grantham was also responsible for the strengthening of the walls of the Mahim Fort

Mahim Fort

The Mahim Fort is a fort in Mahim in Mumbai, Maharashtra state, India. Strategically located in the Mahim Bay, the fort overlooks Worli to the south, Bandra to the north, and Mahim to the east. The origins of the fort are unclear, but it occupies a strategic location that has been frequently...

 against attacks by the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 who occupied the northern island of Salsette.

In 1676 Sir Thomas embarked for Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

at the behest of then Governor Berkeley. He was made Admiral and knighted by King Charles II. Upon his arrival, he was sent up the James River to put an end to what has become known as "Bacon's Rebellion". By the time Sir Thomas encountered the rebels, their leader had died, and Sir Thomas quickly talked them into surrender on good terms. Unfortunately, promises of lenient treatment were not honored by Governor Berkeley who had most of the men hanged. Grantham died in London.

Works

• An Historical Account of Some Memorable Actions, Particularly in Virginia; Also Against the Admiral of Algier, and in the East Indies: Perform'd for the Service of his Prince and Country, By Sir Thomas Grantham, Kt, J Roberts, London MDCCXVI; Reprinted by Carlton McCarthy & Co., at the behest of the State of Virginia, with an introduction by R.A. Brock, Esquire, Secretary Virginia Historical Society, 1882