Anglo-Maratha Wars and British Supremacy

The Maratha Empire was the principal barrier to the expansion of the British East India Company (EIC) in eighteenth-century India. After the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), the Maratha power was structured as a loose confederacy under the nominal leadership of the Peshwa based at Pune. The five major centers of power were the Peshwa of Pune, Scindia (Shinde) of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore, Gaekwad of Baroda, and Bhonsle of Nagpur. Internal factionalism, succession disputes, and the ambition of the Bombay Council of the EIC triggered three major wars between 1775 and 1818, ultimately resulting in the establishment of complete British hegemony over the Indian subcontinent.

First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782)

The war originated from internal succession disputes within the Peshwa administration following the death of Peshwa Madhavrao I in 1772.

Causes and Outbreak

• Murder of Narayanrao: Narayanrao was killed in 1773. His uncle Raghunathrao (Raghoba) claimed the office of Peshwa.
• Barbhai Council: Senior administrators led by Nana Fadnavis and Mahadji Shinde formed a twelve-member regency council called the Barbhai Council. They declared Narayanrao’s posthumous son, Sawai Madhavrao (Madhavrao II), as the legitimate Peshwa.
• Treaty of Surat (1775): Raghunathrao fled to Mumbai and signed the Treaty of Surat with the EIC Bombay Council. In exchange for military aid to secure Pune, Raghunathrao ceded Salsette and Bassein to the British.

Major Events and Diplomacy

• Treaty of Purandar (1776): Governor-General Warren Hastings and the Supreme Council in Calcutta annulled the Treaty of Surat, signing the Treaty of Purandar with Nana Fadnavis to establish status quo.
• Battle of Wadgaon (1779): Hostilities resumed when the Bombay Council sheltered Raghunathrao. Maratha forces under Mahadji Shinde encircled British troops at Wadgaon, forcing them to sign the Convention of Wadgaon (1779) and yield captured lands.
• Treaty of Salbai (1782): Warren Hastings rejected the Wadgaon convention and dispatched forces under Colonel Goddard and Major Popham. The war ended with the Treaty of Salbai, mediated and guaranteed by Mahadji Shinde.

Key Outcomes of the Treaty of Salbai

• Sawai Madhavrao was recognized as the lawful Peshwa by the British.
• Raghunathrao was pensioned off and his claim to the Peshwaship was abandoned.
• The British retained Salsette, while all other captured territories were restored to the Marathas.
• The treaty ensured twenty years of mutual peace, allowing the EIC to concentrate on defeating Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805)

The death of Nana Fadnavis in 1800 removed the central diplomatic stabilizing force in Pune, leading to internal power struggles among the Maratha chiefs.

Causes and the Treaty of Bassein

• Battle of Poona (1802): Yashwantrao Holkar of Indore defeated the combined armies of Peshwa Baji Rao II and Daulat Rao Scindia at Poona.
• Treaty of Bassein (1802): Peshwa Baji Rao II fled to British protection and signed the Treaty of Bassein on December 31, 1802. He accepted Governor-General Lord Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance, agreeing to station British troops at Pune, cede territory for their maintenance, and surrender foreign policy decisions to the EIC.
• Maratha Rejection: Scindia, Bhonsle, and Holkar viewed the treaty as a surrender of Maratha sovereignty and prepared for war, though they failed to present a united front.

Military Campaigns and Treaties

• Defeat of Bhonsle and Scindia: Lord Wellesley and Arthur Wellesley defeated Raghuji Bhonsle II at the Battle of Assaye and Battle of Argaon (1803). General Gerard Lake routed Scindia’s European-trained forces at the Battle of Laswari and Battle of Delhi (1803).
• Treaty of Deogaon (1803): Raghuji Bhonsle II signed this treaty, ceding Cuttack and Balasore in Odisha to the British.
• Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon (1803): Daulat Rao Scindia ceded the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, Delhi-Agra region, parts of Bundelkhand, and Broach to the British.
• Campaign against Holkar: Yashwantrao Holkar continued fighting independently, inflicting a defeat on Colonel Monson at the Mukundwara Pass (1804). The war ended with the Treaty of Rajghat (1805) signed by Sir George Barlow, returning parts of Holkar’s territories.

Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818)

The final conflict destroyed the Maratha Empire and cemented British supreme authority in India.

Causes and Outbreak

• Pindari Campaigns: Governor-General Lord Hastings launched military operations against the Pindaris, irregular freebooters attached to Maratha armies. Maratha chiefs viewed British incursions into Central India as an attack on their sovereignty.
• Treaty of Poona (1817): British Resident Mountstuart Elphinstone forced Peshwa Baji Rao II to sign the Treaty of Poona, renouncing claims over the Maratha Confederacy and ceding territory.
• Peshwa’s Uprising: Baji Rao II burned down the British Residency at Pune in November 1817 and attacked British positions.

Final Subjugation and Disbandment

• Battle Engagements: British forces defeated Peshwa Baji Rao II at the Battles of Khadki (1817), Koregaon (1818), and Ashti (1818).
• Defeat of Confederate Allies: Mudhoji II Bhonsle (Appa Sahib) was defeated at the Battle of Sitabuldi (1817), and Malhar Rao Holkar II was routed at the Battle of Mahidpur (1817).
• Treaty of Mandsaur (1818): Holkar accepted a Subsidiary Alliance, lost control of Rajputana states, and surrendered administrative independence.

Summary of Treaties and Geopolitical Shifts

Administrative Reorganization after 1818

The Third Anglo-Maratha War resulted in the absolute abolition of the office of the Peshwa.

• Exile of Baji Rao II: The British abolished the title of Peshwa. Baji Rao II was granted an annual pension of Rs 8 lakh and exiled to Bithur near Kanpur.
• Creation of Satara State: A small kingdom of Satara was carved out of the Peshwa’s former domains and placed under Pratap Singh, a direct descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
• Formation of Bombay Presidency: The remaining territories of the Peshwa were annexed to form the core of the EIC Bombay Presidency under Mountstuart Elphinstone.
• Subjugation of Confederate Houses: Scindia, Holkar, Bhonsle, and Gaekwad were stripped of independent diplomatic powers and bound to the EIC through Subsidiary Alliances.

Essential Facts for Quick Reference

The British East India Company acquired control over the city of Delhi and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II following Lord Lake’s victory over Scindia’s army at the Battle of Delhi in 1803. Peshwa Baji Rao II’s adopted son, Dhondu Pant (popularly known as Nana Saheb), led anti-British forces in Kanpur during the 1857 Revolt after the EIC stopped paying him Baji Rao II’s pension under Lord Dalhousie’s policies. The Battle of Koregaon was fought on January 1, 1818, where a small unit of the Company’s Bombay Native Infantry, composed mainly of Mahar soldiers, successfully defended their position against the larger army of Peshwa Baji Rao II. Mountstuart Elphinstone served as the British Resident at Pune during the Third Anglo-Maratha War and subsequently became the Governor of the Bombay Presidency in 1819. The Pindaris were organized under leaders like Chitu Khan, Wasil Mohammad, and Karim Khan. They were systematically eliminated or dispersed by Lord Hastings during the Northern Campaign of 1817-1818.