By the latter half of the seventeenth century, conflicts between nations in Europe had their counterparts in far corners of the world. At this period, such actions were generally of minor importance to the main course of any war. In peacetime, the English, Dutch, French and Danes mostly got along well in India. They kept largely to their own bases, but visited and did business with each other. The company shore personnel were not militarised, except that the forts and larger settlements housed troops of armed guards as a combination of garrison and police.

When war was declared, despatches would arrive from each company headquarters (London, Amsertdam, etc) giving orders to stop enemy vessels doing business or obtaining services in ports under the control of that company. The ships were armed and could chase or be chased as prizes, which incentivised a certain amount of sea combat. However, the number of dedicated warships in action in the Indian Ocean theatre was always small.

For the first two years of the Franco-Dutch war (1672 - 78), England was allied to France as the price of Charles Stuart's dependence on Louis XIV for money. Thus the overseas possessions of both countries were targets for the Dutch if they could bring force to bear against them. The Dutch governor-general of their East Indies possessions, headquartered in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), did have a small fleet of serviceable warships, most or all constructed in India not Europe. He first attacked the English in Bombay (Mumbai) then switched to the east coast of India and attacked the French on the Coromandel coast.

Here are a few notes from Henry Love's description of the contest over the fort of St Thomé during this war.

War is declared, 1672

When war was declared between England and the States General, and the Dutch in India united with Golconda against the French, the situation became complicated. The Dutch fleet under Admiral Rijklof van Goens attacked and worsted the [English] Company’s squadron off Pettapolee in August, 1673 Love 1.340

The States General was the top decision-making body of the Dutch Republic.

Golconda was the strongest state in the south of India, ruled by the Qutb Shah dynasty. They were not subject to Mughal rule yet, but were finally worn down by Aurangzeb and conquered in 1687. The famous diamond mines were located in their territory, source of many large jewels including the Koh-i-noor, the Hope diamond and the Pitt diamond.

After the sea-fight off Pettapolee, the Dutch landed a force to co-operate with the Moslems against San Thomé. 1.376

The attack on San Thomé

San Thomé was a French possession at this time, and fortified. It had been founded by the Portuguese, who accepted it as the burial place of St. Thomas the apostle, and built a cathedral there in 1523.

The Dutch, its said, sett forward yesterday morning from Policata with circa 1000 men to meet the Moores and joyne with them against St. Thoma, and expect their fleete back againe every day. ... Meanewhile they are likely to be so neare us that we must ever be on our Guards. William Langhorn, EIC Agent at Madras, quoted in Love.

The French marched out at the last 590 Europeans, whereof at first, besides 8 good shipps of the Navy Royall, they had 1,300 land men, 100 Portuguez and 800 Blacks (whom good pay and exercise rendred more useful! then their own men), and sometimes Masters both of field and Sea. The Dutch … shewed at last 4,000 good land men, Christians and Bundarees, and 10 sayle great Shipps in the Road: the Moores twelve thousand Horse and foot. . . . ! Langhorn, quoted in Love

We have disbanded as many of the Natives and Mestizos as we can yett spare, reduceing the Garrison to about 250, the Gunners Crew to 15, and the Pattamars and Peons to 180, bringing down that expence as low as possible. Langhorn, quoted in Love 1.377

In 1674-5 after the capture of St. Thomé, Langhorn writes to Venkatapati, a brahmin acting as the British political agent at the Golconda court. L advises the king to destroy the fort, since he assumed that the French and Dutch were likely to make peace, and if the fort still existed it would probably be given back to the French by treaty.

The French when they surrendered, were allowed to take everything with them except their artillery.

Langhorn advised that the best way to destroy the fort was to ask the Dutch engineers to blow it up, they having a store of rather old gunpowder that they could use for this purpose. After this, he says, country workers should be hired to complete the demolition, for a bit of pay and the promise of as much useful stone as they want to cart away.

The work of destruction was so thoroughly accomplished that at this day not one stone remains on another, and the very position of the original walls is unknown. Love 1.341

Source

Henry Davison Love, Vestiges of Old Madras 1640 - 1800 (1913), 2 vols