During this period, however, the position of Bombay was sufficiently precarious. The Malabar pirates, though the city itself was too strong for them, were a constant menace to its trade; and it required all the genius of Aungier to maintain the settlement, isolated as it was between the rival powers of the Mahrattas and the Mogul empire. After his death, on the 30th of June 1677, its situation became even more precarious. Even under Aungier the Siddi admirals of the Moguls had asserted their right to use Bombay harbour as winter quarters for their fleet, though they had failed to secure it as a base against the Mahrattas. Under his weak successor (Rolt, 1677-1682), the English waters, the value of which had now been proved, became the battle-ground between the rival navies, and for some years Bombay lay at the mercy of both. The Company's rule, moreover, was exposed to another danger. The niggardly policy of the board of directors, more intent on peaceful dividends than on warlike rule, could not but be galling to soldiers of fortune. A mutiny at Bombay in 1674 had only been suppressed by the execution of the ringleader; and in 1683 a more formidable movement took place under Richard Keigwin, a naval officer who had been appointed governor of St Helena in reward for the part played by him in the capture of the island from the Dutch in 1673. Keigwin, elected governor of Bombay by popular vote, issued a proclamation in the king's name, citing the "intolerable extortions, oppressions and exactions" of the Company, and declaring his government under the immediate authority of the crown. He ruled with moderation, reformed the system of taxation, obtained notable concessions from the Mahrattas, and increased the trade of the port by the admission of "interlopers." But he failed to extend the rebellion beyond Bombay; and when a letter arrived, under the royal sign manual, ordering him to surrender the fort to Sir John Child, appointed admiral and captain-general of the Company's forces, he obeyed.[2]