The empire that could have stopped the British
The Marathas were the strongest Indian power of the age. They lost not because they were weak, but because they were five powers pretending to be one.
The Anglo-Maratha Wars were three wars fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the East India Company between 1775 and 1818. When they ended, the last great Indian power was gone and the Company was master of almost the whole subcontinent.
The Maratha power was a confederacy, meaning a group of chiefs loosely under one head. The Peshwa at Poona was the nominal leader. Under him were four great houses: the Scindia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, the Bhonsle of Nagpur, and the Gaekwad of Baroda. They were often rivals, and the British defeated them by dealing with each separately.
The three wars at a glance
| War | Years | Ended by | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 1775–82 | Treaty of Salbai, 1782 | A Maratha success. No side truly won, but the British halted and there was peace for about twenty years |
| Second | 1803–05 | Treaties of Deogaon and Surji-Arjungaon | British victory. The Maratha chiefs were forced into the Subsidiary Alliance one by one |
| Third | 1817–18 | Treaties of Poona, Gwalior and Mandasor | Total British victory. The Peshwaship was abolished and Maratha power ended |
First Anglo-Maratha War, 1775 to 1782
It began as a succession quarrel. Raghunathrao wanted to be Peshwa and asked the British for help against the infant Peshwa Madhavrao II, whose affairs were managed by the able minister Nana Fadnavis.
Raghunathrao promised Salsette and Bassein to the British in return for troops. This is the treaty that started the war.
The Calcutta authorities disapproved of the Bombay government's action and negotiated this treaty instead, but it did not hold.
Signed on 17 May 1782 between Warren Hastings and Mahadaji Scindia. Raghunathrao was pensioned off and Madhavrao II accepted as Peshwa. It gave the British about twenty years of peace with the Marathas.
It is the one Anglo-Maratha war the Marathas did not lose. The Treaty of Salbai restored the position as it had been before, and let the British turn their attention to Mysore instead. Remember it as the war that ended in a draw favouring the Marathas.
Second Anglo-Maratha War, 1803 to 1805
After Nana Fadnavis died in 1800, the confederacy lost its steadying hand and the chiefs turned on one another. When Holkar defeated the Peshwa, Baji Rao II fled to the British for protection — and paid for it with his independence.
Signed on 31 December 1802, this treaty made Peshwa Baji Rao II accept the Subsidiary Alliance. British troops would now be stationed at Poona, the Maratha capital itself. The other Maratha chiefs saw it as a surrender of Maratha sovereignty by the Peshwa — he had signed away what was not his alone to give. That anger caused the Second war. Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington, commanded the British and defeated Scindia and Bhonsle.
| Treaty | Signed with | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Treaty of Bassein, 1802 | Peshwa Baji Rao II | Accepted the Subsidiary Alliance — the cause of the war |
| Treaty of Deogaon, 1803 | Bhonsle of Nagpur | Ceded Cuttack and Orissa territory |
| Treaty of Surji-Arjungaon, 1803 | Scindia of Gwalior | Ceded territory between the Ganga and Yamuna, and Delhi |
Third Anglo-Maratha War, 1817 to 1818
The final war had two causes: the Pindaris, and one last attempt at Maratha unity.
The Pindaris were bands of irregular horsemen who lived by plunder and had long attached themselves to Maratha armies. When the British under Lord Hastings launched a campaign to destroy them, their operations moved through Maratha territory — and the Maratha chiefs saw it as an invasion.
Peshwa Baji Rao II attacked the British Residency at Poona and was defeated at Khirki. He was made to sign the Treaty of Poona in June 1817.
Appa Sahib Bhonsle of Nagpur attacked the Residency there and was defeated at Sitabuldi. The Treaty of Gwalior was signed with Scindia in November 1817.
Holkar was defeated at Mahidpur and signed the Treaty of Mandasor in January 1818.
In June 1818 Baji Rao II surrendered. The office of Peshwa was abolished altogether — the most important single result of the war. Baji Rao II was pensioned off and sent to Bithur near Kanpur, where his adopted son Nana Sahib would later lead the Revolt of 1857. A descendant of Shivaji, Pratap Singh, was made ruler of a small state at Satara to preserve the Maratha name without the power.
Why did the Treaty of Bassein anger the other Maratha chiefs?
Because the Peshwa accepted a Subsidiary Alliance that stationed British troops at Poona, the Maratha capital. The other chiefs believed he had surrendered the independence of the whole confederacy, which was not his alone to give away.
Ending treaties in order: Salbai, Surji-Arjungaon, Mandasor — S-S-M for wars one, two and three. And the three defeats of the last war: Khirki, Sitabuldi, Mahidpur — Peshwa, Bhonsle, Holkar.
Everything on one look
The wars, the treaties, the battles and the end.
- First war 1775 to 1782, ended by the Treaty of Salbai
- Treaty of Salbai signed on 17 May 1782 by Warren Hastings
- Second war 1803 to 1805, caused by the Treaty of Bassein
- Treaty of Bassein signed in December 1802 by Baji Rao II
- Arthur Wellesley commanded the British in the Second war
- Third war 1817 to 1818, triggered by the Pindari campaign
- The Peshwa at Poona was the nominal head
- Scindia of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore were major houses
- Bhonsle of Nagpur and Gaekwad of Baroda completed the five
- Peshwa defeated at Khirki, Bhonsle at Sitabuldi, Holkar at Mahidpur
- The office of Peshwa was abolished in 1818
- Pratap Singh was placed at Satara as a token ruler
- The First Anglo-Maratha War ended in Maratha favour, by the Treaty of Salbai
- The Treaty of Salbai was signed in 1782, between Warren Hastings and Mahadaji Scindia
- The Treaty of Bassein of 1802 caused the Second war, it did not end it
- The Treaty of Surat in 1775 began the First war, and Purandar followed in 1776
- The Treaty of Mandasor of 1818 was signed with Holkar, ending the Third war
- Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, led in the Second war
- The Pindari campaign under Lord Hastings triggered the Third war
- The Peshwaship was abolished in 1818, the key result of the Third war
- Baji Rao II was pensioned to Bithur, where Nana Sahib was his adopted son
- The Marathas were a confederacy of five houses, not a single unified state
- The Anglo-Maratha Wars were three wars fought between 1775 and 1818
- The Maratha Confederacy was headed nominally by the Peshwa at Poona
- The five Maratha houses were the Peshwa, Scindia, Holkar, Bhonsle and Gaekwad
- Scindia ruled at Gwalior and Holkar at Indore
- Bhonsle ruled at Nagpur and the Gaekwad at Baroda
- The First Anglo-Maratha War was fought from 1775 to 1782
- The Treaty of Surat in 1775 started the First war
- The Treaty of Purandar was signed in 1776
- The Treaty of Salbai was signed on 17 May 1782, ending the First war
- Warren Hastings and Mahadaji Scindia concluded the Treaty of Salbai
- The First war left the Marathas undefeated and brought about twenty years of peace
- Nana Fadnavis died in 1800, weakening the confederacy
- The Treaty of Bassein was signed on 31 December 1802 by Peshwa Baji Rao II
- The Treaty of Bassein placed the Peshwa under the Subsidiary Alliance
- The Second Anglo-Maratha War was fought from 1803 to 1805
- Arthur Wellesley commanded the British in the Second Anglo-Maratha War
- The Treaty of Deogaon of 1803 was signed with the Bhonsle of Nagpur
- The Treaty of Surji-Arjungaon of 1803 was signed with Scindia
- The Third Anglo-Maratha War was fought from 1817 to 1818
- The Pindaris were irregular horsemen whose suppression triggered the Third war
- Peshwa Baji Rao II was defeated at Khirki in 1817
- Appa Sahib Bhonsle was defeated at Sitabuldi in 1817
- Holkar was defeated at Mahidpur and signed the Treaty of Mandasor in 1818
- The office of the Peshwa was abolished in June 1818
- Baji Rao II was pensioned off and sent to Bithur near Kanpur
- Pratap Singh, a descendant of Shivaji, was placed at Satara