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The gallivat (or galivat, or gallevat, or gallowet, or gallouet) was a small, armed boat, with and , used on the Malabar Coast in the 18th and 19th centuries. The word may derive from Portuguese "galeota" or alternatively, from the Maratha Empire "gal hat" ship. Hobson-Jobson has an extensive discussion of the origins of the term and its usage.
The gallivat typically had one or two masts with a lateen sail, and some 20 benches for oarsmen, one on each side. They were generally under 70 tons (bm) in size, and had a prow much like that of a grab.
One of the ablest admirals of the 18th Century Maratha Navy, Kanhoji Angre (a.k.a. Angria), made great use of gallivats. Generally, each of his grabs would have an attendant gallivat, both to tow it in calms and to carry extra men.
On December 27, 1735 Angre attacked the East Indiaman off Suvarnadurg. He deployed nine galleys, five grabs, and fifteen gallivats. Derby eventually struck her colours after having seven men killed and five wounded. Angre kept the surviving crew prisoners for 11 months until the Governor of Bombay ransomed them.
In 1754, a listing of Sidhi vessels seized by the EIC and held at Surat in 1759 gives the names of seven gallivats. The largest, Manzul, had a length of 44 feet, a breadth of 17 feet, and a hold depth of 4 feet. The length and breadth measurements translate into a burthen (bm) of 52 ton. The smallest gallivat, Ram Chand, had a length of 29 feet, a breadth, of 13 feet, a hold depth of 4 feet, yielding a burthen of 19 tons.
A gallivat that the EIC captured in 1775 measured 84 feet in length, and 24 feet in breadth, which yields a burthen of 213 tons. She had a single, forward-raked mast, and 24 oars, and carried ten 6-pounder guns. United Service Magazine, Vol. 140, (1876), p.307. This would seem to be at the upper end of the size for a galivat, and represent a vessel more in the range of sizes for a grab.
| Shark | 38 | 48 | 1 × 3-pounder + 6 × 2-pounder guns |
| Dolphin | 37 | 48 | 1 × 3-pounder + 6 × 2-pounder guns |
| Swift | 15 | 27 | 1 × 1-pounder + 4 × ½-pounder guns |
| 2 new and 5 planned | 20 | 31 | 1 × 2-pounder + 4 × 1-pounder guns |
The largest gallivat, Shark(e), had a crew of six Europeans, six "Christian topasses", 20 , and 16 soldiers. The smallest gallivat, Swift, had a crew of two Europeans, 14 lascars, and 11 soldiers. Her smallest guns (½-pounders) were possibly . Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. 26, Part 3, p. 220. (Government Central Press, 1894). The soldiers were frequently from the Bombay Marine Battalion.
In 1759, the Bombay Marine had 13 gallivats, six at Bombay and seven at Surat. Each had a crew consisting of two Europeans, some two to six Christian topasses (Luso-Asians), and 14 to 20 . They carried from five to seven guns of various sizes.
In 1773 the Bombay Dockyard built Hawke, a gallivat, for the Bengal Pilot service. By 1802 the Bombay Marine had no gallivats in service.
1766
Fly 1 × 2-pounder + 4 × 1-pounder guns Wolf 8 × 3-pounder guns Beagle 8 × 3-pounder guns Passard 1 × 6-pounder + 4 × 4-pounder guns Swift 1 × 4-pounder + 4 × 1-pounder guns
Notes
Citations
(2026). 9789004176584, BRILL. ISBN 9789004176584
(2026). 9781843835837, Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 9781843835837
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