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…

TO VASAI

One of the writers mentions, “Baji Bhivrao and my side was one and the same. What is destined, cannot be avoided! His son Bapu is wise, keep your affection over him. His brother Chimnaji Bhivrao too is enthusiastic, wise, strong and well-behaved. Bajirao was extremely capable. He laid down his life for the cause. Everything will be done to project his family well.”

Two days later the Peshwa wrote a memorable letter to Baji Bhivrao’s mother, telling her that “he was now her Bajirao.”

“Two days back, during the attack on Tarapur, Baji Bhivrao was shot on his face and died. God has done the inappropriate. You have suffered much grief. For me, I have lost a brother. You are older and wise, so you may adjust to your sorrow. To sum up, please consider me as your Bajirao. Keep your benevolent eye on me.”

Chimaji Appa wrote to Baji Bhivrao’s younger brother Chimnaji, “Bajirao has gone, with a good reputation. We are pained that one side of me has left us. Mother Venubai Kaki in her old age has to suffer this. his sons Bapuji and Gangoba are safe with me.”  

In Tarapur, many Firangi women were taken captive and returned to the Portuguese with the utmost respect. The Portuguese chief of the fort was killed, and an apocryphal story says his wife was captured and brought before Chimaji Appa. Reassuring her, Chimaji told her that he was her brother and gave her gifts before sending her back to her people. The lady requested Chimaji that her wish that her husband get a proper burial be granted. Once again, Chimaji allowed the Portuguese to bury their captain with all the rites associated with the funeral. These anecdotes reflect on the prevailing Maratha ethos in no small measure.

The capture of Tarapur was followed by the fall of inland fort of Asheri. Asheri was a difficult fort to capture as it was surrounded by thick forests. However, the flood of victories and overwhelming force made the task easier. Versova, on the island of Sashti was the next to fall on 9 February. Fearing its capture and use by the Marathas, the fortified port of Bandra was demolished on the advice of the British, probably because it faced the island of Bombay. The final fort to be taken back was Dharavi which had changed hands twice in the past twelve months. Its position to the south of Vasai at the mouth of the creek endangered all ships approaching the fort from the south. Manaji Angre sent some men to assist in the attack on Dharavi. On 10 March 1739, Manaji took the port of Uran, close to his base at Colaba.

This way, in the month of January 1739, locations like Mahim, Tarapur, Dahanu and Shirgaon were captured. With Mahim and Arnala already in Maratha possession, Vasai was encircled by land and sea. What remained was a final blow to Vasai, the nerve centre of Portuguese power in the north.

The chief centre of Portuguese power outside Goa was Vasai. The fort itself was considered one of the strongest of its age with walls nearly forty feet high, five feet thick and a perimeter of about three kilometres. Its projecting four-sided bastions made it difficult to take the fort by escalade or firing of the artillery shells available with the Marathas at that time. Mines were difficult to deploy due to the loose sandy soil close to the sea. While the western face of the fort looked at the sea, to its south was a wide creek and to its east there was marshy land. Opposite the creek stood the fort of Dharavi, which had recently been taken back from the Portuguese. The northern face of Vasai alone stood exposed to Maratha attacks. However, a clear open space in front of the fort made it difficult to launch an attack in the face of accurate fire from the fort’s three northern bastions.

For the Portuguese, the situation in Vasai was desperate. The entire northern kingdom, a possession of two hundred years, now appeared to be slipping from their hands. Of late, they had concentrated their forces in Vasai, abandoning outposts that could not be defended. The besieged Portuguese General pinned his hopes on help from the British, their neighbour and only other European power in the region. He, therefore, tried to interest the British, and linked the defence of Bombay with that of Vasai. His plaintive appeals for help were treated with a British instinct for self-preservation.

In April 1739, the Dutch and the British were busy engaging Sambhaji Angre outside his base in Vijaydurg, which they called Gheria, without any result. That was one reason Sambhaji could not render any help at Vasai. The British considered the Marathas and Angres as separate powers and did not consider an attack on Vijaydurg as an attack on the main Maratha power. However, any help rendered to the Portuguese would have turned the Marathas against them.

To be continued…

VASAI SURROUNDED

Shankaraji decided on giving spot awards for all the bravehearts who swim the water channel to go across. On 1 April 1737, he wrote to Chimaji, “The creek filled with the incoming tide. Then what could be done? I had kept some swimmers ready. I gave gold bracelets of one Sher each to all who would swim across. Some lost their swords. They found a boat. Then I gave Satwaji Salokhe and Ramji Tugkar gold bracelets and got more people sent across to Rajavale.”

In this manner the Maratha army reached Manikpura, north of the fort of Vasai. They stayed in the temple there. Chimnaji Bhivrao also came there. Shankaraji said, “the walled village of Bahadurpur was taken.”

This must have been very close to the fort, however no trace of it is found now. The fort of Vasai was too strong to be stormed. The sandy soil was not appropriate to lay the mines. The Marathas then turned towards the island of Arnala just north of Vasai. Obtaining boats from a local village carpenter, they managed to embark four hundred men who reached the island. The people staying there had already been informed and were in favour of the Marathas. Arnala was taken without any loss of life on 28 March 1737, and soon fresh fortifications were erected around it. A plaque was put up on the fort which said, “Bajirao, the Prime Minister, ordered Shankara (Shankaraji Fadke) to kill the westerners & build in the bowels of the sea, the island fort of Arnala.”

Meanwhile, he decided to capture other stations around Vasai. Since Vasai itself was difficult to take with a small contingent of just over two thousand men, other smaller forts were captured, like on 1 April Jivdhan was captured, Takmak on 8 April, Mandavi on 1 May, Tandulwadi on 2 May, Manor on 19 May and Parsik, Belapur etc. All these stations quickly fell into the Maratha hands. Manaji Angre took the fort of Revdanda south of Mumbai from the Portuguese in April 1737. This phase of the Maratha attack met with success and save a few pockets of resistance in Sashti, the island was captured. North of Vasai, many of the smaller forts were also quickly taken.

Botello, disheartened at Karanje, had sent a letter to the Viceroy at Goa informing him of the debacle at Sashti. The Viceroy wrote back on 12 April 1737, “I received your letter of 8 April and received the unexpected news. It is natural you will be disturbed at the tragedy. It is not a time to lament but to put all our energies together. I am equipping two warships here. The winds are blowing in the opposite direction, so we are equipping the ships accordingly. You have said Goa, Bardesh and Sashti (different Sashti outside Goa) may be attacked. Similar fears are expressed at Chaul. I am sending them gunpowder from here, which is not due to my negligence. We may need to ask for it from the British. We need help of other nations. We have to look to the skies for assistance. It is in the interest of the British to help us, so they should. There are rumours that Versova and Bandra have fallen. Looking at the map it seems we must protect Dongri.”

For the Portuguese, the Dharavi fort was important and launching a determined attack, they took it back in the middle of May. Dharavi was a small island right opposite Vasai at the mouth of the creek and therefore of immense strategic value. Any ships coming to Vasai could be attacked if a battery was placed at Dharavi. Once the Marathas occupied it, they could threaten Firangi vessels headed towards Vasai from Goa.

The Marathas then launched their first attack on Vasai itself. This attack of 30 May, by escalade, failed. The Portuguese “captured thirty-two ladders while thirty men were captured and many Marathas killed.”

A month later, the Marathas under Shankarajipant and Gangaji Naik, launched a second attack on Vasai in pouring rain. Baji Bhivrao and Ramchandra Hari came down from Pune. Four thousand men participated. However, the attack failed. The Portuguese found 33 dead bodies, the rest having been taken away by the retreating Marathas.

When the monsoon arrived, keeping Shankarajipant, Moroji Shinde, Gangaji Naik on Vasai; Khandoji Mankar, Ramjipant at Thane; Narayan Joshi at Belapur; and Vitthalpant at Manor; for security, Chimaji Appa returned to Pune on 1 July 1737, to meet Bajirao who was then returning from his attack on Delhi. With almost all of Sashti captured and Vasai isolated from the land side, the monsoon months were not a season to wage a war on the western coast. However, the Maratha attacks continued in between the wet spells.

On 4 September 1737, a third attempt was made to take the fort of Vasai. Bajirao’s trusted lieutenant Baji Bhivrao was sent to lead the attack with a force of nearly six thousand foot and four hundred horse. However, the Portuguese at Vasai were alert and incessant heavy fire from the fort claimed two thousand Maratha lives. Baji Bhivrao sustained injuries to his right shoulder. The Marathas once again had to withdraw with heavy losses.

To be continued…

THANE CAPTURED

On 25 March the British in Mumbai reported to their Board that they had received a letter from Botello that “he has advice of the Marathas’ designs to invade his territories, but does not seem under any concern thereat, as he says he had prepared for their reception so far as in reason he ought or could do.”

Just two days later the British received another letter from Botello saying “he was then under arms, and that the enemy were come over the river of Thane, which he supposed would be sufficient to induce him (the President) immediately to send him what succours he could spare, consistent with the friendship and alliance between the two Nations,” whereto the President at Mumbai wriggled out of the situation by replying that he was very sorry for the unhappy situation of their affairs, and the more so since it was not in his power to give them assistance, for besides the application coming too late (the enemy having passed the river) “all our spare force is absent from the island on board our fleet and at Tellicherry.”

Louis Botello, later accused of not doing enough, on hearing the two cannon shots, sent a Sergeant Major with ten men to the water bastion, but the Marathas caught and imprisoned them all. Overjoyed at the easy capture of the fort, the victors began playing loud music and going around the fort ‘like ghosts’. A neighbouring convent was burnt to the ground. Hearing the commotion and expecting an attack at any moment, Botello panicked and ordered a general retreat from the town, later sailing away to the island of Karanje, south of Mumbai.

Travelling at night, Chimaji with his entire force entered Sashti on 27 March and sent detachments to take over the two ports of Bandra and Versova. Sashti’s defences had been breached in just two days. Many armaments and guns left behind were captured. The Marathas completed the construction of the Thane fort and got the island’s defence properly organised to prevent the Portuguese from returning.

This way, the most important station in Sashti fell into the Maratha hands, and their main opposition too ran away. Now the only task that remained was capturing whatever little Portuguese outposts or any of the fortresses that were spread over the island. Appa’s army captured the stations like Marol, Malad, Turambe etc. one after another in quick succession and engulfed the whole island. Only two fortresses, Bandra and Versova did not surrender and began fighting. The Maratha attacks on Bandra and Versova, however, did not yield results. Honaji Balkavde with his men attempted to take Versova by escalade. However, the fire from the Portuguese guns was too severe and nearly fifty men were killed and many injured. Honaji was despondent, as a letter to Chimaji at the time says, “Please send a letter consoling Honaji who is disheartened and sad at the loss of men in the attack.” The Portuguese continued to reinforce the forts by sea and withstood Maratha attempts to take them for a long time.

To ensure that the enemy approach to the Thane harbour from Karanje is blocked, it was important that the Parsik station 3 miles east of Thane was also captured. This responsibility was entrusted to Narayan Joshi. He captured Parsik on 3 April, and moving further south, attacked Belapur. The Belapur station fell on 28 April. Similarly, in the month of May the station of Dharavi and in the month of June, the station of Santacruz near Vasai fell into Maratha hands.

The attack on Thane was proving to be an unimagined success. Similar tactic was to be deployed against Vasai. People gathered under the command of Shankarajipant in Mahuli’s forest. Along with Gangaji Naik and others, the force headed towards Vasai. During the night of 26 March, this detachment arrived on the slopes of Rajavale. They approached from the northern side of the fort and began to move towards its walls. They assured the people living there that they would not be hurt. The Portuguese were alert, however, and with an open ground north of the fort walls it was difficult to approach it unobserved. A bridge over the creek was heavily guarded. Shankarajipant dispatched a detachment of one-hundred-and-fifty men, led by Bajirao Belose down the slopes, crossing the Sopara creek in a boat, and was ordered to finish off the security outposts at Gokhivare. These men carried out their responsibility successfully. But since a commotion arose in the ensuing fight, the people within the fort heard them. The castellan increased the security patrols on all sides. By the time more men began to cross the narrow creek from the east, the tide came in and the water began to fill up. So, it became almost impossible for the Marathas to secure an entry into the fort. Shankarajipant arrived in front of the Vasai fortress from Papdi-Manikpura. But since he had not come prepared to attack this strong fortress, he did not have the necessary equipment. He informed his story to Appa and demanded a supply of the siege equipment. Shankaraji decided on giving spot awards for all the bravehearts who swim the water channel to go across. On 1 April 1737, he wrote to Chimaji, “The creek filled with the incoming tide. Then what could be done? I had kept some swimmers ready. I gave gold bracelets of one Sher each to all who would swim across. Some lost their swords. They found a boat. Then I gave Satwaji Salokhe and Ramji Tugkar gold bracelets and got more people sent across to Rajavale.”

To be continued…

GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY

One cannot understand the details about the movements of both the parties and their significance, unless we clarify the area of its operation at the regional level. One should keep in front of them, the map depicting the western coast of the Thane district to study this campaign.

(Map Source: This file is from the Mechanical Curator collection, a set of over 1 million images scanned from out-of-copyright books and released to Flickr Commons by the British Library. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43871601).

Besides, one more thing should be kept in mind. The erstwhile sea-lines-of-communication and land-lines-of-communication have been completely transformed nowadays due to trains, bridges etc. The basic nature of land itself has been transformed nowadays because of the landfill used between erstwhile islands and creeks. Therefore, the region from Chaul to Daman where this war was fought in those times, if one does not have in front of them that time’s islands, creeks, forts, attack positions, and main roads, then one cannot perform a study of this campaign in the right context. The strongly fortified fort of Vasai stands at the centre of the region from Daman to Colaba. When we leave Alibaug’s Colaba fort, and the two islands Khanderi and Underi in front of it, and begin moving northwards, we see many big and small islands near Mumbai. The first big island is Mumbai itself. Right towards its east was Karanje. To Karanje’s north, a smaller Gharapuri (Elephanta). Moving on from there, we encounter the recent Trombay or Turambe. Kind of attached to Mumbai’s north is the Sashti island, whose southernmost point is Bandra, and northwest separation from the Indian mainland being near Thane at the village of Kalwa. The estuary which meets the sea near Bandra, comes from the northeast from up to Thane, and later merges with the creek that has passed Vasai. Mumbai harbour lies at the mouth of this estuary that comes down to Bandra from the northeast. Thane creek and the creek which comes down from Vasai encircle the Sashti island. Since this island had Sasasht (Sahasasht, or sixty-six in English) villages on it, it was named Sashti. This island is narrower in the south and broader in the north and bounded by the Vasai creek there. The Vasai creek branches off one more estuary near Thane towards Kalyan, which is called Kalyan creek. Sashti had fortified ports on the sea coast at Bandra and Versova besides an isle fort at Dharavi at its northern end.

Thane was the central location of Sashti that time, at the mouth of the creek. Kalyan creek goes up to Bhiwandi. There is a place called Kambe beyond it. To the east of Turambe at the mouth of the Panvel creek, there was a check-post named Belapur, housing a fort. Near Thane beyond the creek, Anjur, Kalwa etc. villages became famous in the battle afterwards. The creek was shallow near Thane, and it used to be possible to walk right across it to the Sashti island. Ahead from Bandra, to Parle’s east, the Marol station used to be a strong one at the time. From Andheri up to Vasai, on the western coast there were many big and small islands. To Goregaon’s west, there was a fort at Vesave, and Malad ahead of it. Malad’s Inamdar Sardesai brothers Antaji Raghunath and Ramchandra Raghunath strove really hard with Bajirao and Chimaji Appa to check the Portuguese. To Borivali’s west and at the mouth of Vasai creek, there was a long and narrow island, which had a fortified station named Dharavi. At the northernmost point of the creek there was the fort of Vasai. There is a narrow access from the north. Beyond the creek there existed Vasai Tehsil and beyond it there were recent Tehsils of Mahim, Dahanu and Umbargaon. To the north of Vasai on the coast there is a village named Agashi. Beside it, there is a water-fortress named Arnala. Following the coast further to the north, two stations of Mahim and Kelwe, to their east, Tandulwadi, and to the northeast Manor and Asherigad forts were also strong in those times. Following the shoreline further north, we find Shirgaon, Tarapur, and Chinchni harbours. Beyond them, Dahanu and Umbargaon harbours lie. To the north of the Umbargaon creek, it is important to keep in mind two villages named Nargol and Khatalwad from the perspective of the Vasai campaign. The Daman harbour further north remained in Portuguese hands till the end. To Vasai’s east, Kamandurg and the villages nearby Rajaval, Gokharve, Achole, Chinchoti, Takmak, Mandavi etc. are mentioned at various places. Near Vasai on the south banks of the creek there is a place named Ghodbandar. While reading the stories of the campaign, the above locations are named as per the narrative, and at most of these places, the Marathas and the Portuguese clashed against each other passionately for twenty-five-and-a-half months. The forts like Asheri, Tarapur, Mahim, and warehouses and places of worship like Manor, Versova and Bandra formed a defensive ring around the Firangan. Once the Thane fort was complete, it would have become even more difficult to enter Sashti.

To be continued…