BHAU’S SUCCESS, NAIK’S ENVY

The Peshwa did not stray very far from Satara. He went to Waduth, about twenty kilometres away and camped there on the bank of the river Krishna. The temple of Shakuntaleshwar built by him a few years later was possibly a favourite camping site. From Waduth, Nanasaheb wrote to Pilaji Jadhavrao on 24 March 1747 to come and meet him from his base at Wagholi. Pilaji was a veteran, but not keeping well. Yet, one finds the Peshwa urging, “I am at Waduth. Come immediately. I am waiting for you. Even if you are unwell, you should come. I will not detain you for long. This is an important matter about a campaign.”

The matter involved Pilaji’s advice about events in Satara as well as the news that the Nizam was marching on Bhau’s army in the Carnatic. Again, he wrote, “You should definitely come. The Nizam is heading for Savnoor and Bednoor. Naturally, he will cross Bhau. Naik is also accompanying him. This complication must be resisted. This is Bhau’s first campaign. He should preserve his good name. The elder queen has begun to increase Maharaj’s anger driven by the expectation of marginal profit. The Nawab intends to keep his feet planted over both the boats. Bhau has captured the Kittur station. Now he is on his way to Sondhe. Emissaries have been dispatched to Bednoor. The Portuguese are under pressure. If Naik comes, we are thinking of blowing him away. I am waiting for you.” These letters of March 1747 were the culmination of a prolonged period during which Maharaj was displeased with the Peshwa.

The Nizam dispatched Naseer Jung in Carnatic behind Sadashivrao Bhau. Meanwhile, the Peshwa established contact with Murarrao Ghorpade and began foiling Naik’s plans.

On 30 March 1747, Bhau met Murarrao. Amicable discussions took place. But Murarrao did not join the campaign. He was in discussions with Kolhapur. On 3 May 1747, Bhau camped at Saundatti. Bhau roughed up and brought under his control the whole region from Patshahpur up to Harihar, Basavapattan. Here, Shahu also got angry with the Peshwa and had removed him from the office of the Pradhan for a short while. Sadashivrao’s campaign was a success, and after a four-month period, towards the end of May 1747, Bhau returned from the north Carnatic with enough tribute to take care of some of Shahu’s debts. The successful campaign brought Bhau centrestage and the Kolhapur Chhatrapati even offered Bhau the post of the Peshwa at his court. Nanasaheb soon foreclosed that option by designating Bhau as his own Dewan – a post that Chimaji Appa held in Bajirao’s time.

Sadashivrao Bhau met the Peshwa near Pandharpur. The Peshwa seems to have himself described the overall outcome of the campaign, “In the Carnatic campaign, one has to survive on grass. Less income and more spend.”

However, Sadashivrao Bhau got the first valuable experience to show his prowess, and his brilliance came afore. It was not a small thing that this campaign gave rise to a man with unmatched aggression.

Due to Peshwa’s actions, Babuji Naik became miserable. He thought about camping in the Carnatic. But because he did not have any money, he faced privations. Facing countless problems, he began grovelling in front of the Nizam. “We wrote, ‘If we go back to Satara, we would not live. Nawab should save us. If you agree to keep us in your service along with our contingent, we would happily serve you, but please do not send us back.’ But you (Nizam) replied, ‘Return back. Do not stay with me.’ Since that day, both have not had any food to eat, and are fasting. Nawab has sent some mangoes, jackfruit, and coconuts. He left and marched off to return. At the Kanmadi fort, Naik clashed with Murarrao. Naseer Jung encamped at Shire.”

Due to the competition between the Peshwa and Naik, Sadashivrao’s campaign could not achieve expected success. Since he returned a failure, Naik lost all his prestige with the Maharaj. Both the queens began following-up with him for repayment of loans. “Maharaj posted guards in front of his house. They behaved strictly. Both the brothers fasted until the evening. Aabaji Naik took a poison pouch in his hands. Babuji began searching for a dagger to hurt himself in his stomach. Aatmaram Joshi came there and took away the poison pouch. Both of them went to the extreme and sat in front of Shri Siddheshwar. Raghuji Bhosale came there and tried to reason with him saying, that he would help them to secure the revenue rights in the Carnatic. After that, Naik brothers marched off and went to Manoli via Nargund. They are thinking if Maharaj sends strong ministers and take them back by honouring them with protocol presents, then they would go.”

The Peshwa had a firm resolve to not allow Babuji Naik settle down in the Carnatic. Many others tried very hard to foil this objective. “To ensure that the Peshwa should not be able to set up his own principalities (in the Carnatic), the senior queen, Fatehsingh Baba, Raghuji Bhosale, Yashwantrao Potnis etc. people had been trying hard to convince Murarrao. Babuji Naik had also sent his emissaries there.”

But towards the end of 1747, and the year after that, Shahu lost his attention over the administration. His health and heart grew weak. Seeing that it was impossible for anyone else except the Peshwa to carry the burden of the kingdom successfully, he handed over the full responsibility of the Carnatic to the Peshwa by the end of that year. The Peshwa informed his emissary, “The Carnatic province has been awarded to us through God’s own wish.”

Babuji Naik was driven away from the region. He tried really hard in that relation. But since his chief master himself later died, Naik did not have a strong support any more. Ramraja assumed the throne after Shahu, but he did not wield that much power. In the arrangements decided at Sangola, the Carnatic province was given to the Peshwa with the Chhatrapati’s orders. Naik later also participated in the revolt that Tarabai and Damaji Gaikwad raised against the Peshwa. But he could not survive in front of the Peshwa.

The Portuguese were well aware that Nanasaheb kept a close watch on their activities. On 7 October 1748, the Viceroy wrote in a letter, “Nana is on watch with open eyes to see if we march to the North. He not only made many adjustments to the forts taken from us but also fortified the islands of Arnala, Karanje and many other ports, indicating the use of everything in their defence.”

To be continued…

PORTUGUESE ANGLE

The news of the fall of Madras to the French reached Nanasaheb, who had to be in attendance to Shahu at Satara. He wrote to Pilaji Jadhavrao on 9 December 1746, that the French were likely to attack the British on the west coast at Mumbai and then, even the Maratha posts of Vasai or Versova, “In the Carnatic the Firangis (French) attacked and took the place of the British. Anwaruddin Khan sent an army, but this was also given a thrashing. They took a few more places. This means they might attack Mumbai or even Vasai and Vesave (Versova). Hence, I am sending you there. In Vasai, you can put wet wood with a little mud around the fort, do not send the horsemen to fight. You are aware of the powerful artillery of the Firangis. Versova is vulnerable to fire from ships, so strengthen it with brave soldiers. Our guns should fire at the ships, they may not be able to stand it. Once Sardars like you are there, the enemy will not be able to approach. I am sending (Sadashivrao) Bhau on a campaign to the Carnatic to distract the Firangis. I had written in the past that you should accompany Bhau. However, you are required at Vasai at this time… in the past the Firangi British had attacked Khanderi, but they were beaten back as the fort was manned by the brave.”

The moment Shahu dispatched Sadashivrao to the Carnatic, Naik got angry and began venting out his frustrations in front of Shahu. On 7 February 1747 a report read, “Babuji Naik is at Satara. He did not complete the ritual feast. The thinking is, present Rajashree with the feast, complete the ritual, and only then embark on the campaign. In Bhau’s campaign, there are twenty-thousand men. The moment Rajashree asked, where Naik would leave for after seeking farewell, Yamajipant informed, he would go towards the provinces of Shire, Chitradurga, Rajadurga, Harpanhalli. Upon hearing this, Rajashree said, ‘Let us see what happens.’”

We get information from Portuguese correspondence of the time about what was at stake. A letter from Goa to the Secretary of State in Portugal in February 1747, discusses a possible Maratha attack on their post at Daman. The Viceroy also asked for troops to attack Vasai but found that Nanasaheb had already sent additional troops to defend the place, “Nana has been detained in the court of Satara for more than a year now. It is learnt that Shahu was scared of him in his Pune court and wanted, therefore, to keep him away from the said court and near to that of Satara to watch him more closely, on account of the jealousy and caution that originated from his power. The junior and senior queens, wives of Shahu, had great animosity with Nana because of the dispute of some lands that the queens wished to gift to one of their persons. Nana was unyieldingly opposed to that gift. Nana began to corrupt the ministers of the Satara court by payment of money. He bribed all the maids of the queens with large sums of money and finally corrupted Shahu himself with very rich presents. He succeeded and planned everything according to his desire.”

Nanasaheb’s own letter of 22 February 1747 gives us his impressions of the matter. The Peshwa wrote to Ramchandrababa that he wished to restore the forts captured from Bhosales of Sawantwadi. However, at this time, it was not possible and the Firangis were not willing to do so. “The Firangi is untrustworthy, he must be taught a lesson, but it is not possible at the present time. We are, therefore, heading towards Bednoor.” This did not, however, prevent the Peshwa from providing the Bhosales with monetary support.

Nanasaheb was, for the Portuguese, the prime mover in the Maratha state. Many of their letters are written with an embedded animosity for the Peshwa. The letter further discusses the other ministers of the court, “Shripatrao (Pratinidhi), Minister of Shahu and enemy of Nana died. Naro Ram, another minister, has reached the decrepit age of eighty. The lone minister, young and intrepid, is Nana now. He has huge forces and a large amount of money. He can soon be master of the entire dominion of Shahu as well as that of Sambhaji II, which, put together will constitute a formidable potency.”

The Peshwa had been at Satara for over a year and a half. In Shahu’s court, Mahadoba Purandare was a partisan, however, Govindrao Chitnis, who had the king’s ear, was considered capable of an independent opinion. Govindrao played a vital role during this time to sound Maharaj about the real state of affairs.

To be continued…

SADASHIVRAO BHAU – DEBUT

In September 1746, Nanasaheb had begun plans to send an army headed by Chimaji Appa’s son Sadashivrao Bhau to the Carnatic. The debut of Sadashivrao Bhau, the Peshwa’s cousin, going into his first campaign occupied Nanasaheb’s attention. It was to be the sixteen-year-old Sadashivrao’s first outing on the battlefield. With the Carnatic becoming an area where Raghuji, Fatehsingh and Babuji were all interested, the Peshwa threw his hat in the ring by deputing Sadashivrao to lead an army there. However, before that, he had obtained the districts of Bednoor, Sondhe, Bankapur, and Saavnoor as his area of conquest from Shahu. To guide Sadashivrao Bhau, Nanasaheb wanted the veteran Pilaji Jadhavraoto accompany him.

On 1 December 1746, the Peshwa wrote to Pilaji Jadhavrao as follows, “Rajashree Sambhaji Maharaj II’s Tehsils Sondhe, Bednoor, Savnoor, Bankapur etc. principalities have been handed over by the Swami to us. Further, it has been agreed that Rajashree Babuji Naik should not enter those regions. The income from these Tehsils should be collected. It is not like you don’t understand whether those people would hand over the revenue collections without the pressure of the army. Therefore, it is necessary that we send sufficient force there. Secondly, the Portuguese have started a dispute against the Sawants. They have captured two or three outposts belonging to the Sawants. Sawants have been the servants of the government from the beginning. They have served well, which is why helping them is must. So, we have prepared to dispatch a strong army. We have thought that Chiranjeev Rajashree Sadoba should be given leave to proceed on a campaign in that province. In two or four days, Rajashree Swami will give his approval. Chiranjeev has never gone on a campaign. Therefore, you will also need to accompany him. Who else but you! If you are with him, we will be carefree. You and him, along with the force, should go to the religious place of Narasimha Saraswati. Resolve the revenue collections for those principalities and collect whatever possible. On the other side, where the Portuguese have mounted an attack over the Sawants, around two thousand strong army needs to be sent there. Dispatch it and help them. In summary, you have forces along with you, send them to Vasai. You remain ready along with all your contingents. The moment Rajashree Swami provides his permission, we will write to you, when you should immediately ride off and come here. Regards.”

This undoubtedly shows that Nanasaheb had secured Shahu’s permission to dispatch Sadashivrao Bhau to the Carnatic. Seeing that Naik would not be able to achieve success, Shahu himself made this arrangement. However, Pilaji was unwell and could not join.

Sadashivrao Bhau left for the Carnatic in December 1746 with the Peshwa keeping track of his movements. Sakharam Bapu, the later Maratha statesman, accompanied Bhau. Bhau first took the strong fort of Bahadur Benda near Koppal from the Nawab of Saavnoor and thirty-six other Parganas. He brought Savnoor under the ambit of Nanasaheb Peshwa’s rule. A secret clause to the treaty was the annual payment of seventy-five thousand rupees to the Peshwa.

Bhau threatened to come down into the plains and attack Goa. The Portuguese took note of his attempt to chastise the ruler of the state of Sondhe, who had helped the Portuguese in an attack on the Bhosales of Sawantwadi, who were under the protection of the Peshwa, “The army of Nana, composed of thirty thousand horses and an infinite infantry, began to march with rumours all over that the march was against Goa. It was rumoured that the army was dispatched to ask the king of Sondhe the reason he had helped us against the Bhosales without Nana’s permission, and to compel the king to surrender the forts of Suppen and Ussua… which he captured sword in hand. Sadoba, a cousin of Nana, a youth of eighteen years who appeared in the camp for the first time with a desire to earn a name… was the commandant of that force… As that army reached as near as three or four marches, I ordered occupation of all narrow passes of the Ghats. I also had the trees cut off and accumulated on the roads to put difficulties in the way of the march. The name of a Maratha creates such a terror in Asia that everyone trembles when it is mentioned.”

The Portuguese Viceroy then opened negotiations with Nanasaheb declaring that he had no intention of attacking Vasai. At Goa, the Viceroy boasted that though all the potentates in the region sent their ambassadors to prostrate at the feet of Sadoba, he sent none. He expressed his happiness when Bhau eventually marched away towards Canara.

To be continued…

ANGLO-FRENCH RIVALRY

Although the East India Company began operations at Surat on the west coast of India in the early seventeenth century, on the eastern side they began their trade at Machhlipatnam, sharing space with the more successful Dutch Company. Dutch and Portuguese rivalry, along with their inability to secure the local rulers’ support, soon forced the British to scout for a new place. Francis Day, one of their constituents, chose Madraspatnam further south. Madras was not a good harbour. However, the local Nayak rulers offered a good deal with favourable trade and customs’ duties, and permission to start a mint; all for a rent of two thousand Pagodas per annum. Francis Day had another reason to choose Madras. His mistress lived nearby at St Thome.

Soon, the British built Fort St George, which became the chief place of settlement for the Company in the south. The Dutch and the Portuguese were already there and the competition for trade sometimes became too intense. It was as late as in 1665 that the French formed their trading Company and the first French ships arrived in India.

In those years of European rivalry, Louis XIV of France ‘lured’ King Charles II of England to a treaty against the Dutch by sending him an ‘artful beauty’ named Louise Keroualle, and she succeeded in getting the English king to ‘sell’ himself to the French sovereign. Louise from all accounts was a formidable lady. She worked her way to become the English king’s chief mistress and also acted as a French spy, besides genuinely caring for Charles II. The Anglo-French alliance against the Dutch, a fellow Protestant state, was resented by the English people at the time.

In 1672, French ships reached Indian shores and they captured the town of St Thome near Madras from the Qutubshah of Golconda, where they began their trade. The Dutch were still at war with the French, and after two years, succeeded in evicting them from the place. Not long after, the French under François Martin outbid the Dutch and established their colony at Pondicherry in 1675. It was in 1677 that Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj came to the Carnatic, and the Marathas occupied the region for the next two decades, until the fort of Jinji was surrendered to Mughal forces in 1698.

François Martin built Pondicherry, and although it was lost to the Dutch for a brief period, it became the principal French settlement in India. In 1688, Chandernagore was established on the river Hooghly in Bengal by obtaining a Firman from Aurangzeb. From 1713 onwards, the French and the British lived in peace in India, both earning handsome sums from their business activities. The key was to obtain cotton cloth to export to Europe and sell European broadcloth and woollens to India. The demand for woollens in a place like Madras can be easily imagined. Dedicated weavers who would supply goods to the traders were the key to massive profits. If the traders abandoned the place due to war, the colony also suffered.

This disturbance of trade and profit was the key to the conflicts with Indian powers as well as among the Europeans, and to the trading companies progressively building their own local militia with a few imported guns. Soon the French Navy and the Royal Navy began to participate in Indian wars. The companies were not on their own; while the British Company was supported by Parliament for the profit they brought Britain, the French Company was under the control of the King and his ministers. In a way, therefore, the British Company had greater latitude and independence before they were ‘controlled’ by Parliament.

The distance and time for a message to be replied from home countries took several months, and in the meanwhile, the situation in India often changed. The local Governor, therefore, had to take decisions on the spot. It was this autonomy that made the European Governors such powerful decision makers. Even then, without the support of the nation’s Navy, they could not achieve much.

During this time, the Nawabs of the Carnatic also depended on the French Governor Benoit Dumas for the security of their families and treasures. The friendly relations that existed between Arcot’s Nevayat Nawabs and the French colony, however, did not last. On the departure of Dumas, Dupleix took over as the Governor of Pondicherry in 1742, and as we shall see, Nawab Anwaruddin began to move away from the French.

To be continued…

MUDAGAD & RAJKOT

Before the Manikgad affair of Manaji was resolved, Tulaji’s activities became unbearable. Towards the end of 1747, Tulaji Angre captured Mudagad and had wrought a huge havoc in the Konkan and plateau realms belonging to Vishalgad’s Pratinidhi, Bawda’s Pant Amatya Bhagwantrao, Wadi’s Sawant, and the Peshwa.

Going back to 1735, Bajirao Peshwa had promised Sambhaji Angre that he would not attack the fort of Mudagad, which lay strategically on one of the three Ghat paths from the kingdom of Kolhapur towards Vijaydurg. The fort commanded a large territory encompassing the fiefs of several Sardars of Kolhapur and Satara. However, to safeguard these areas, Bajirao broke his promise and demolished Mudagad. And this was not forgotten by Sambhaji or Tulaji Angre.

The Mudagad Fort is on the face of Sahyadri, at the mouth of Kajirda Ghat. In 1747, just after the death of Shripatrao Pratinidhi of Satara, Tulaji returned to the mountain and rebuilt fort Mudagad. From this perch in the Sahyadri mountains, Tulaji then began to attack territories of the potentates who were friendly to the Peshwa. Tulaji first moved towards Vishalgad fort and laid siege to it. The surrounding villages were taken over and taxes were levied, one of which was called the Habshipatti (a tax levied on account of the Habshi or Siddis).

The Peshwa wrote to Tulaji asking him not to charge the tax on the territory. He reminded Tulaji that even his father Kanhoji never collected taxes or troubled the people in this area. Brahmendra Swami also wrote to Bhagwantrao Amatya stating it is everybody’s desire to punish Tulaji, and taking the help of Sawants and the Pratinidhi, this should be done. It became clear that only an armed intervention would force Tulaji to leave the area.

One of the employees with the Pratinidhi was a Naro Rayaji Gode. Gode volunteered to go to the Sawants and raise men to join the army against Tulaji. Accordingly, Gode brought two thousand men from the Wadi’s Sawants and with the three thousand men from the Pratinidhi, formed an army. Tulaji’s brother Yesaji alias Appaji Angre joined the above rulers and fought against him. Gode personally led the attack on Mudagad. The battle was fierce, but Gode won a complete victory. He then proceeded to demolish the fort completely, ploughing it with an ass and marking the spot with “a torn sandal and a broken Kowrie” (Vahan-Kowrie means a torn sandal and a broken Kowrie tied together as a symbol of desertion of a place). Then, Appaji Angre, along with the Pratinidhi, Amatya and Sawant, devastated Tulaji’s territory from Rajapur to Sangameshwar. From the month of January 1748 up to March 1748, this campaign occurred including many big and small battles.

Here, Shahu himself was also unhappy about Manikgad affair, and in early 1748 wrote to Sadashivrao Bhau to return the fort to Manaji Angre. Shahu wrote, “The fort of Manikgad and the surrounding region belonging to Manaji Angre was taken by you and it should be returned immediately. You have the Deshmukhi of Chaul, however, you are not running it well. This should first be done. The revenue from Kalyan and Bhiwandi amounting to fifteen thousand per year should also reach us. The Wajaratmab (Manaji Angre) is an old and loyal servant of the king. You should help him in any way you can. The moment you receive this letter, without further delay, the fort must be returned. In this manner, you will not disturb the goodwill towards you from the king and the two Wadas (mansions / queens). You are prudent enough.”

On losing Manikgad, Manaji countered by seeking help from the Portuguese at Rajkot, his fort near Chaul (which had three forts, Rajkot was with Manaji, while Revdanda and Korlai were with the Peshwa). While Tulaji Angre was struggling to save Mudagad, the Peshwa was fighting with Manaji at Chaul’s Rajkot. Chaul harbour originally belonged to the Portuguese. When Vasai fell, they had given it to the British. But the Peshwa felt that he should capture it. When the Peshwa captured Manikgad and other stations belonging to Manaji Angre, he opposed the Peshwa and went to Chaul to the Portuguese seeking their succour. A letter from Ramaji Mahadev gives some details of Manaji Angre taking away some ships of the Peshwa’s navy and his own countermeasures. Manaji’s brother Appaji Angre was also with Ramaji at this time and intriguing with the men at Rajkot, “I have asked Shankarpant to come from Ghodbunder to Thal so that Manaji himself will come and oppose us. Once he does, we will defeat him all at once. Between Vasai and Thane, we have six Ghurabs and thirty Galbats and some smaller boats. Appaji Angre is working on the politics in Rajkot. Near Revdanda, Manaji himself with nine ships came face to face with Bajirao Belose. There was a battle. His own ship sprung many a leak, and he was defeated.”

Revdanda was a short distance to the south of Rajkot. Manaji began a massive cannonade from Rajkot on Revdanda. Ramaji wrote to the Peshwa that the fire was intolerable. He decided then to bring his armada into Revdanda harbour, and fire at Rajkot from the ships, while an attacking party attacks by land. Ramaji assured the Peshwa that the harbour at Revdanda was so good that the armada would be safe even if Tulaji or the Portuguese came to help Manaji. Rajkot was captured soon after. Manaji himself led the defence at Rajkot, however, he had to flee in the face of the strong Maratha attack. A minaret in a mosque at Rajkot had been used to fire guns at the Maratha navy. On 15 January 1748, Rajkot and the mosque were captured, and the Peshwa’s permission sought to demolish them.

Ramaji Mahadev fought with both the Portuguese and the British, “besieged Chaul’s Rajkot. On 15 January 1748, the high fortress and the Masjid within were captured through the prowess of Swami’s virtues. The fortress and the Masjid should be destroyed. Then Manaji Angre will not trouble much and come to meet face-to-face.”

To be continued…

MANIKGAD AFFAIR

Tulaji’s brother Manaji Angre was not always an ally of the Maratha power. The taking of Vasai, the founding of a separate navy, the Peshwa’s possession of nearby places such as Uran and Karanje, were perceived as a constant threat to him. Hoping to capitalise on the Portuguese ambition to take back Vasai, he sought an alliance with them against the Peshwa. A letter from the Portuguese Viceroy to Lisbon in February 1745 says, “The Angre of Colaba has sent an envoy to me. Although he has come here only on a goodwill visit, the reason behind his dispatch here is different. He has brought a secret message of his master that if I wish to take back Karanje (Uran) and Vasai from the Marathas, he is prepared to help me in that venture. His reason is that the proximity of the Peshwa is irksome to him. Had I another 2000 disciplined soldiers, I would have attacked Vasai myself.”

Shahu himself was not entirely happy with Tulaji and he wrote to the British in October 1745 that, “he would try Angre a little further before they entirely broke with him, but if he did not alter his behaviour, they could not afford him a much longer forebearance.”

Evidently, everything was not well. Shahu had reservations about Tulaji. The ill-feeling between the Peshwa and Tulaji did not abate. The efforts to undermine each other continued and this would lead to a storm that would affect the power balance on the west coast. All this, however, was still some distance away.

The British attempt to block the capture of Govalkot and Anjanvel and help the Siddis further aggravated Tulaji, and he struck at Tellicherry, the British port in the Malabar in late 1745, where he got away with two British ships. In early 1746, he took three more British ships off the coast of Gujarat.

Later, on 3 May 1747, Tulaji went to Satara and met the Maharaj. “The Pratinidhi went afore himself and brought Tulaji to the Maharaj. After they approached the tiger emblems, Rajashree also went afore. Tulaji approached and kept his head at the Maharaj’s feet. He presented Maharaj with the protocol platter of gold coins. He showered the Maharaj with flowers made of gold and silver. Rajashree also covered him with protocol shawl. After that he was brought into the mansion and made to sit in front of the room of the elder Queen. He informed, that he wanted to place his head at her feet face-to-face. The Queen was satisfied. Maharaj’s permission was brought. However, Maharaj was a little taken aback due to this. Tulaji went and placed his head at the Queen’s feet. After that, he also went and presented himself in front of the room of younger Queen. But there, he dispatched the protocol presents to her, and dropped meeting her in person.” This way, Tulaji was felicitated well externally, but the settlement of the Angre possessions amongst the brothers did not occur as per his liking.

The dispute over the fort of Manikgad tested how far the Peshwa could go in relation to the Angres. Manikgad was a fort controlled by Manaji, located on the Panvel crossroads, east of the creek of Rewas, not far from the present-day road from Khalapur to Panvel. Aiming to reduce Manaji’s power, Ramaji Mahadev first moved against Manikgad in a surprise attack at night. The attack party left Uran and employing ladders, climbed the fort and the unsuspecting garrison was overcome. The Havildar in charge, along with twenty others, was killed and the fort captured on 29 May 1747. When news about the capture of Manikgad reached Satara, it met with a strong disapproval.

Manaji got angry and himself rushed to Satara where Sagunabai took Manaji’s side and raised a huge outcry against the Peshwa. Shahu welcomed him warmly and awarded him with an elephant. The said elephant has left us an anecdote of Manaji’s great personal strength. The elephant got out of control, escaped from the stable causing destruction in its wake. It would not listen to anybody. Manaji went, caught it and brought it back to the stable. An elephant was a great honour in those times, and Manaji during his stay at Satara visited the place where the pachyderm was secured. To his surprise, he found the elephant improperly secured and out of control. Keeping his wits about him, Manaji managed to tie up the elephant’s hind legs and immobilise him (indeed, this was a traditional example to describing great personal strength; a similar description exists for Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh in the Bhausaheb Bakhar too). He then sent for the mahouts accusing them of negligence and not serving him despite their being servants of the Peshwa. Manaji was praised profusely, but the Peshwa’s Mahouts and him engaged in name-calling each other, and came to fisticuffs.

The Manikgad affair lingered for a few months, when Nanasaheb was at Delhi to meet Mohammedshah and resolve the Jaipur succession issue. Shahu’s queen Sagunabai was unhappy about the Manikgad affair and on 13 July 1747, Purandare wrote to the Peshwa and Bhau, “Sagunabai said, ‘Is it your desire to completely uproot Manaji Angre? The fort was taken by deceit. You had taken an oath at the feet of the king and me that such things will not happen. How will we believe you now? Now on, we can have anything in common only if the fort is returned.’”

To be continued…

SARKHEL TULAJI ANGRE

Manaji Angre did not want Chimaji Appa to have the fort of Chaul and Revdanda, located so close to Colaba, and represented to the Portuguese that he will even pay for their upkeep. However, his efforts were in vain and the Portuguese-Maratha treaty was finalised in October 1740. In the same month, Manaji tried to take over Chaul, but the Portuguese foiled his attempt to do so.

The Portuguese gave the forts to the Marathas in exchange for two villages in Bardesh near Goa and the fort of Daman. At this time, the Portuguese envoy asked for some more territory around Daman, which was refused. Chimaji told the envoy, “Like Bajirao, it is my desire to drive the Portuguese out of India. However, I did not do so in order to favour the British.”

The muted antagonism between the British and Maratha powers had disappeared after Vasai, and the Maratha court looked at the British favourably. There was ample evidence that Chhatrapati Shahu, represented by the Peshwa, and the Maratha navy headed by Sambhaji Angre did not see eye to eye. Keeping in mind the hostility with Sambhaji Angre and the now-on now-off friendship with Manaji, the Portuguese-Maratha treaty of 1740, with prophetic prescience, had this clause, “when we fight with the Angre, the Portuguese will support us in all respects including their warships.”

Although, Shahu did not give up his efforts to bring the Sarkhel fully under his authority, he could achieve only partial success. The capture of Sashti and Vasai in 1739 and Chaul and Korlai from the Portuguese in 1740, had afforded the Peshwa new places to set his own Navy to sea. The island of Arnala near Vasai was used for building new warships. This fleet was outside the command of the Angres and the British feared that the greater resources of the Peshwa would soon allow it to grow rapidly.

The Portuguese, however, had not yet come to terms with the loss of Vasai. On 12 November 1741, Sambhaji Angre wrote to the Viceroy at Goa, “If you wish to recapture Vasai, please let me know and I will secretly make the necessary arrangements.”

The Portuguese too responded on 2 December 1741, agreeing to such a treaty and recommending a unity in operations at sea between the two powers. However, before a treaty could be taken any further, Sambhaji Angre died on 11 January 1742. His death once again opened the issue of succession between Manaji and Tulaji Angre, both sons of Kanhoji by the same mother. Before this, dividing the Angre possessions in two parts, the elder brother Sambhaji had been appointed as Sarkhel and installed at Vijaydurg, while the younger brother Manaji had been appointed as Wajaratmab and installed at Colaba. It was not appropriate to divide the possessions like this. But the Peshwa had felt at the time that this plan was beneficial to him in that it had helped keep the two Angres under his check. After Sambhaji’s death, Manaji went to meet Shahu Maharaj at Satara, trying to secure the office of the Sarkhel for himself since he was next in line for the inheritance. Maharaj announced, whoever frees two most important locations, Anjanvel and Govalkot, from the Siddis the office of the Sarkhel would be conferred upon them. It was a matter of deep shame that the efforts to capture these two locations had been going on for so many years till then. Yamaji Shivdeo was mediating on behalf of Manaji. Later, Tulaji Angre took up the adventure of freeing those two locations, and Yamaji Shivdeo stood guarantee, upon which the office of the Sarkhel was given to Tulaji by Shahu. In 1743, Tulaji seems to have been referred to with an epithet of Sarkhel. While at Satara, Manaji submitted written complaints against the Peshwa and Ramaji Mahadev to the Chhatrapati. In it, the main complaint was that the Peshwa had captured his stations like Paalgad, Mirgad, Uran etc. belonging to him. But Shahu could not resolve these complaints.

From the time Tulaji took over as Sarkhel in 1742, his attacks on the British shipping hurt the Company to the extent of five lakh rupees a year. In 1743, he attacked their ketch (usually a two-mast sailboat approximately 40 feet long) called Salamander, which took shelter in the fort of Colaba. In November 1743, a twelve-hour gun-battle with a British convoy and several of Tulaji’s ships was followed by another on the first day of December 1743, when Tulaji’s Ghurabs had to flee from the scene. When Tulaji attacked forts of Govalkot and Anjanvel in 1744, the British sent two ships named ‘Restoration’ and ‘Bombay’ to thwart his bid.

To be continued…

ANGLO-MARATHA ALLIANCE

The defeat of the Portuguese at Vasai in May 1739 at the hands of the Marathas, led to their territories shrinking to Goa and a few outposts. The forts of Korlai and Chaul held by them were south of Colaba and had a garrison of eight hundred men. However, given their weak position, the Portuguese decided not to retain possession of these and wrote to the British whether they would be willing to take over Chaul and Korlai. The British discussed this offer of the Portuguese Viceroy and wrote back that rather than allow Manaji to get the possession of these strongholds, and the Siddis being too weak to be able to hold them, they should be offered to Shahu. The British refused to take over the forts saying, “Our situation is now so dangerous, as lays upon us a necessity to keep measures with these new neighbours, who would immediately be alarmed with jealousies on our application to the Shahuraja’s court.”

They concluded, “So that there remains no choice but the Marathas, whose effects are already so powerful that the reduction of the whole coast to their obedience seems infallible and sooner or later they cannot fail to get possession of these forts.”

The Marathas at Sashti, only across a narrow strip of water from Bombay, were thus considered such a threat that they did not wish to excite the suspicions of Bajirao and Chimaji by taking over these forts. The Portuguese signed a treaty with the Marathas thereafter, by which the forts of Chaul and Korlai would be handed over to them.

Eventually, it was Sambhaji’s battle with Manaji that did the greatest harm to the power of the Angres as well as the Maratha Navy. In early 1740, when Bajirao and Chimaji Appa were near Aurangabad fighting Naseer Jung, Sambhaji once again made a bid to capture Colaba. To save Manaji, Nanasaheb and Chimaji came to the Konkan, as did Captain Inchbird from Bombay. Sambhaji’s fleet was caught between the Maratha land forces and the British fleet, however, Nanasaheb did not accept the British offer to close the issue and allowed Sambhaji to withdraw.

Nanasaheb did, however, imprison Sambhaji’s brother Tulaji Angre, and carried him off to Pune in chains. Sambhaji Angre, a devotee of Brahmendra Swami, requested him to obtain Tulaji’s release. The Swami assured him that he will get it done and wrote to Chimaji and Nanasaheb. The Swami’s request was complied by Chimaji Appa, who wrote, “You have ordered that I should remove the shackles of Tulaji Angre. So, I have written and it is done.”

Nanasaheb too wrote to the Swami, “There is nothing more to me than your order. I have already brought Tulaji to Pune and broken his shackles.”

Manaji was saved from Sambhaji in April 1740, but the loss of Karanje and Elephanta island to the Peshwa’s army stung him. He felt that the growing power of the Peshwa would soon overwhelm him. He, therefore, patched up with Sambhaji.

With distant campaigns to the south, the north, and the east, the Marathas spread across the Indian land mass in the next two years. Sambhaji’s activities in the south Konkan from his stronghold at Vijaydurg contined, while Manaji stayed at Colaba. Captain Inchbird – the most experienced British diplomat who was well-versed with native customs and language – supported a treaty with the Peshwa against Sambhaji. On 16 May 1740, he submitted his report to the Board at the fort of Bombay, “The Marathas are so jealous of Sambhaji’s power and so many hostilities have already passed between them, that they are bent upon reducing him and will in all probability attack him as soon as a proper season will allow of the entering upon action. Chimaji having at present retreated with his forces up country to secure his family interest and succession on Bajirao’s death. They have been likewise very pressing to gain a declaration of our intentions in case of their attacking Sambhaji Angre whether we will assist them with our fleet or not.

“The Board are unanimously of the opinion that in our present situation and state of war with Sambhaji Angre and the little prospect there is of bringing him to any reasonable terms of peace, we cannot do better than embrace the Maratha party, and assist them in any expedition against him.”

At this time, the British were close friends of the Maratha power. They were also united in their opposition to Sambhaji. In separate letters Shahu wrote to the Peshwa and Chimaji that he trusts them and that “they behave with loyalty”. The talk of a combined Anglo-Maratha force attacking Vijaydurg thus began as early as 1740. It was Bajirao and Chimaji’s death in that year that delayed this measure by over a decade.

To be continued…

CAPTURE OF DERBY

The Derby was attacked on 26 December 1735. An entire day, from six in the morning to five in the evening, had been spent in capturing it, taking down one mast, then another, firing shots into the main body of the ship, until she lay immobile in the water. Then, the British crew surrendered and Angre’s men boarded the captured vessel. A further letter from Captain Abraham Anselone, the ship’s captain said to Bombay, “Seven of our men were killed, five more their legs shot off and many other wounded. There is 115 of us now prisoners with Angres. He seems to insist on peace of no (release?) for us…”

The ship was later taken to Vijaydurg, and the crew sent to prison. British authorities at Bombay began negotiations, however, Sambhaji did not budge.

In April 1736, a royal envoy named Raghuji Rajwada went to meet Sambhaji Angre to convince him to cooperate with Shahu, who was keen to win the Govalkot and Anjanvel forts. He wrote to Chimaji Appa about what transpired in the meeting. “The Sarkhel answered that, ‘the Swami has done good for us! He engaged us for a year saying he will give Colaba, but there is no fruit. Meanwhile, Siddi Saat said to me that in my interest we should help each other. We should defeat the siege at Govalkot fort. He has promised to win Colaba for me. I will act accordingly.’”

Sambhaji not only justified his alliance with the Siddis, but questioned Shahu’s claim on the Konkan. Raghuji Rajwada reported his conversation, “’What has Rajashree (Shahu) got to do in the Konkan? Half is the Shamal’s (Siddi), half is ours, why are you quarrelling here?’ Raghuji asked him, ‘Who gave you the Konkan?’ To this, Sambhaji answered, ‘It was given to me by God.’ (Raghuji asked) ‘But are you not a servant?’ Sambhaji replied, ‘We are rebels, what are you going to do about it?’”

Seeing Sambhaji aligning with Siddi Saat, Raghuji made his recommendation: “If Siddi Saat is sunk, half of Sambhaji Angre’s intoxicated arrogance will disappear.”

Siddi Saat made good his promise to Sambhaji and advanced north to attack Manaji near Colaba. He attacked Maratha forts, and put to the sword the entire Maratha garrison at the fort of Rewas. Hearing this, Chimaji Appa rapidly descended into the Konkan and in a seminal battle at Kamarle, near Sagargad, Siddi Saat was killed and the power of the Siddis was broken.

The death of Siddi Saat was a major triumph for Chimaji. There was a lull in the quest to capture Colaba. Three years would pass before Sambhaji would come back to attack Manaji.

After nearly a year, in November 1736, Captain James Inchbird visited Vijaydurg and met Sambhaji. A strong armada comprising six British warships came to Vijaydurg harbour. However, no agreement could be reached. When Sambhaji’s chief minister, Visajipant, came aboard the British vessel to negotiate, Inchbird refused to let him go until all the British prisoners were released. Inchbird finally agreed to come ashore and meet Sambhaji (after he had taken some hostages as security) and made a visit to Vijaydurg, where he was well-received and even taken around the fort. Eventually, a treaty was signed, and the crew returned to Bombay.

Significantly, Sambhaji’s proposed treaty contained some interesting clauses, two of which assert that he considered Shahu as a Master, but the Siddi and the Portuguese as his friends:

1. To the end that Colaba may be delivered up to me, I insist upon your going down with your fleet, to put me into perfect possession of the same.
2. As I am obliged to obey the Shahuraja, my Master, in order to please him, I must feign an attack against the Siddis with my own fleet.
3. That I look upon the Portuguese and Siddis as my friends, but if any difference should happen to arise, the British shall stand neutral.

The Derby seaman who wrote of the ship’s capture had this editorial comment about Sambhaji’s strategy, “Sambhaji now thought he was assured he had got his ends, and tells Inchbird, ‘I have now,’ says he, ‘made peace with the British of Bombay,’ and so made solemn protestation against those that broke it first; that he did not care for the Shahuraja, nor the Bajirao…”

The Derby affair of 1735 and the long-drawn negotiations for the release of its crew is an example of Sambhaji’s practice and his policy. The Vijaydurg Sardar’s relations with the Peshwa remained rocky with outward civility coupled with inner hostility. As for Shahu, he chose to appear loyal, without actually helping him.

The release of the crew did not end the war between Sambhaji and the British and there were skirmishes at sea until 1739. Manaji had similar encounters with the British near Colaba. The British too brought warhips from Mocha to blockade Angre’s ports. Periodically, there were letters seeking a reconciliation. However, both sides knew their offers of peace were a kind of subterfuge. The British and Angre, therefore, remained on their guard at all times. Sambhaji was careful in the selection of the ships to attack and usually steered clear of any armed fleet. Indeed, the British navy was unable to ply with any assurance of safety owing to sudden attacks by Angre.

To be continued…

ANGRE BROTHERS’ DISPUTE

Robert Orme gives a similar description for the Galbats: The gallivats are large row-boats built like the grab, but of smaller dimensions, the largest rarely exceeding 70 tonnes. They have two masts, of which the mizzen is very slight; the mainmast bears only one sail, which is triangular and very large… In general, the gallivats are covered with a spar deck, made for lightness of bamboos, split; and those only carry petteraroes fixed on swivels in the gunnel of the vessel; but those of the largest size have a fixed deck, on which they mount six or eight pieces of cannon from two to four pounders. They have forty or fifty stout oars and may be rowed four miles an hour.

The Ghurabs were between a hundred and fifty to three hundred tonnes, and broad, narrowing from the middle forwards. They had somewhat larger guns of nine to twelve pounders in the front of the ship as well as on the sides.

Over time, Kanhoji grew in strength and stature and became one of the important Sardars in the administration of Chhatrapati Rajaram, and after his death in 1700, in the reign of his wife Tarabai. Kanhoji later signed a treaty with Balaji Vishwanath Peshwa, promising allegiance to Shahu and obtaining support from the Maratha army when he was threatened by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British – each of who maintained a sizeable presence on the Konkan coast.

In 1721, ships of the Royal Navy under Commander Matthews came to India. Charles Boone, the Governor of Bombay, once again tried to put down Kanhoji along with Portuguese help. This would not be the first, nor the last time that the Royal Navy joined forces of the East India Company, which at times appears to have the support of the British Government in attacking territories in India and during crucial battles. The major battles that the Company later on won, were with the aid of the British Army and Royal Navy. At this time, Bajirao Peshwa, with an army of six thousand men foiled the attempt. Even as Matthews landed near Colaba to observe the Maratha force, a horseman rode up from behind and injured him with a lance. The defending Portuguese were scattered to the winds by Bajirao and Pilaji Jadhav, while the British were still trying to clamber up the walls of Colaba. A treaty was first signed with the Portuguese at that time. However, the British kept having skirmishes at sea with the Angres.

Kanhoji sent a proposal for peace to the British at Bombay but was rebuffed and called a ‘pirate’. Kanhoji replied, “It little behoves merchants to say that his government was supported by violence, insults, and piracies; for the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj founded his kingdom by making war against four kings; and that he himself (Kanhoji) was but his humble disciple; and that he was very willing to favour the merchants trading according to the laws of his country.”

A treaty was eventually signed with the British in 1725, with an exchange of prisoners. The death of Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre in 1729, left his six sons a stirring legacy to live up to. The six children from Kanhoji’s three wives were Sekhoji & Sambhaji, Manaji & Tulaji, Dhondji & Yesaji or Appaji. Sekhoji was the eldest and succeeded his father as the Sarkhel. Sambhaji and Tulaji were then at Vijaydurg while Manaji and the two other brothers stayed at Colaba, which was Kanhoji’s chief base, south of Bombay. The Angres and the Maratha power on the Deccan plateau were in a way complementary to each other, and until the sons of Kanhoji were united, they could guide the destiny of the kingdom. The rivalry amongst the sons of Kanhoji Angre had festered since 1729, when the patriarch died. As long as Sekhoji was in charge, he managed to keep a lid on it.

Sekhoji and Bajirao cooperated in the 1733 campaign against the Siddi of Janjira and captured most of the Siddi’s territory by August that year. In June 1733, Sekhoji had to withdraw from the campaign against the Siddi. Almost apologetically, he wrote to Bajirao, “When you are in the midst of a campaign, to come away is not fair. However, what does one do about disputes in the house?”

Their combined effort by land and sea against Janjira could have succeeded, had Sekhoji not succumbed to a short illness in August 1733. On Sekhoji’s death, Sambhaji was appointed the Sarkhel. However, his brother Manaji at Colaba contested the appointment and Sambhaji insisted on getting possession of the fort of Colaba, which was Kanhoji’s capital. The seeds of future dissension between them were sown at this time.

The eighteenth century, true to its feudal character, saw internecine family feuds over succession. The Angre family rivalry for the next two decades on the west coast, eventually damaged the strength of a unified Maratha naval wing. Without Sekhoji’s moderating influence, the dispute was now out in the open. Sambhaji had his base at the southern coastal fort of Vijaydurg, popularly called Gheria by the Europeans, and he had not joined Shahu and Bajirao’s battle against the Siddis in 1733. As the Siddi obtained help from the British, Janjira could not be captured. After Sekhoji’s death, Bajirao had to come to terms with the survival of the Siddis and return to Pune.

To be continued…