Yesterdate: This day from Kolkata’s past, September 10, 1782

On this day, five British merchant ships, four East Indiamen of the British East India Company and a country-ship, got into a fight with a French frigate off Pisang Island, Strait of Malacca. The battle led to a few casualties and proved inconclusive.

The British ships had sailed from Bombay and were bound for China. The French frigate opened fire on the British ships in the afternoon. In the next few hours, two British men and four French men were killed and several injured. The French ship withdrew. The British ships, who proceeded towards China, regretted the lost opportunity to capture it.