Third Anglo-Maratha War: Difference between revisions

[[Peshwa]] [[Baji Rao II]]'s forces, supported by those of [[Mudhoji II Bhonsle]] of [[Nagpur]] and [[House of Holkar|Malharrao Holkar III]] of [[Indore]], rose against the East India Company. Pressure and diplomacy convinced the fourth major Maratha leader, [[Daulat Scindia|Daulatrao Shinde]] of [[Gwalior]], to remain neutral even though he lost control of [[Rajasthan]].

While the Marathas were fighting the Mughals in the early 18th century, the British held small trading posts in [[MumbaiBombay]], [[Madras]] and [[Calcutta]]. The British fortified the naval post of Mumbai after they saw the Marathas defeat the [[Portuguese India|Portuguese]] at neighbouring [[Vasai]] in May 1739. In an effort to keep the Marathas out of Mumbai, the British sent envoys to negotiate a treaty. The envoys were successful, and a treaty was signed on 12 July 1739 that gave the [[British East India Company]] rights to free trade in Maratha territory.{{sfn|Sen|1994|p=1}} In the south, the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]] had enlisted the support of the French for his war against the Marathas.{{refn|Meaning "Administrator of the Realm", the title of Nizam was specific to the native sovereigns of [[Hyderabad State]], India, since 1719.{{sfn|Sen|1994|p=2}}|group=note}} In reaction to this, the Peshwa requested support from the British, but was refused. Unable to see the rising power of the British, the Peshwa set a precedent by seeking their help to solve internal Maratha conflicts.{{sfn|Sen|1994|p=2}} Despite the lack of support, the Marathas managed to defeat the Nizam over a period of five years.{{sfn|Sen|1994|p=2}}{{failed verification|date=March 2021|reason=the source provided does not prove ethe statement made}}

During the period 1750–1761, British defeated the French East India Company in India, and by 1793 they were firmly established in [[Bengal]] in the east and [[Madras]] in the south. They were unable to expand to the west as the Marathas were dominant there, but they entered [[Surat]] on the west coast via the sea.{{sfn|Sen|1994|p=3}}

The treaty set off discussions amongst the British in India as well as in Europe because of the serious implications of a confrontation with the powerful Marathas. Another cause for concern was that the Bombay Council had exceeded its constitutional authority by signing such a treaty.{{sfn|Sen|1994|p=11}} The treaty was the cause of the start of the [[First Anglo-Maratha War]].{{refn|This treaty, as Grant Duff says, occasioned infinite discussions amongst the British in India and in Europe, and started the First Maratha War.{{sfn|Sen|1994|p=11}}|group=note}} This war was a Maratha victory and almost a stalemate, with no side strong being able to completely defeat the other.{{sfn|Schmidt|1995|p=64}} The war concluded with the treaty of Salabai in May 1782, mediated by [[Mahadji Shinde]]. The foresight of [[Warren Hastings]] was the main reason for the success of the British in the war. He had destroyed the anti-British coalition and created a division between the Shinde, the Bhonsle, and the Peshwa.{{refn|With justifiable pride Hastings wrote to one of his friends on 7 February 1783: "Indeed, my dear Sir, there have been three or four very critical periods in our affairs in which the existence of the Company and of the British dominion in India lay at my mercy and would have been lost had I coldly attended to the beaten path of duty and avoided personal responsibility. In the redress afforded to the Nizam I drew him to our interests from the most inveterate enmity. In my negotiations with Modajee Boosla ''(sic)'' I preserved these provinces from ravage and obtained evidence of his connections even beyond his own intentions; and I effected a peace and alliance with Madajee Sindhia ''(sic)'' which was in effect a peace with the Maratha State."{{sfn|Sen|1994|pp=12–13}}|group=note}}

In response to the treaty, the Bhonsle and Shinde attacked the British, refusing to accept the betrayal of their sovereignty to the British by the Peshwa. This was the start of the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]] in 1803. Both were allegedly defeated by the British, and all Maratha leaders lost large parts of their territory to the British. However, the reliability of this claim is largely source from imperial-influenced documentation, therefore it is not an objective and reliable source.{{sfn|Schmidt|1995|p=64}}

[[File:Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92) - Francis Rawdon-Hastings (1754-1826), Second Earl of Moira and First Marquess of Hastings - RCIN 407508 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|[[Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings|The Marquess of Hastings]]. ''[[Portrait of Lord Moira]]'' by [[Joshua Reynolds]], 1790]]

* {{Citation|title=A History of the Mahrattas|first=James Grant|last=Duff|volume=2|publisher=H. Milford, Oxford University Press|location=London|oclc=61585379|year=1921|editor=[[Stephen Meredyth Edwardes]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_Pc4ZQMoy0C&q=A+history+of+the+Mahrattas,+Volume+2&pg=PA1}}

*https://sites.google.com/vvdatalink.com/vv-datalink/knowledge/history/indian-history/mordern-history/anglo-maratha-wars {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125033212/https://sites.google.com/vvdatalink.com/vv-datalink/knowledge/history/indian-history/mordern-history/anglo-maratha-wars |date=2022-01-25 }}