ABSTRACT
In the seventeenth century common parlance ascribed the name of Negrais to two islands. Inside the mouth of the Bassein River lies what Alexander Hamilton called “the great island of Negrais,” better known in Burma by its Burmese name of Haing-Gyi. But there is also another island directly to the south of the entrance to the Bassein River, usually called then, as now, from its rhomboid shape, Diamond Island. Hamilton called this “the other island of Negrais.” There may have been advantages in using Negrais as a place of shelter for ships during the worst months of the wet monsoon. The captain of the Phœnix assured White that the Company’s sole object in occupying Negrais was that of “annoying Tenassery.” The Company, seriously embarrassed by its struggle with Aurungzeb, had to employ all its sea power in maintaining its position in India, and could not afford to waste any energy upon developing a naval station at Negrais.
