First Anglo-Maratha War

The First Anglo-Maratha War (17751782) was the Marathas casualties in the Battle of Adas (Gujarat) in-
rst of three Anglo-Maratha wars fought between the cluded 150 killed.[5]
British East India Company and Maratha Empire in In-
Warren Hastings estimated that direct actions against
dia. The war began with the Treaty of Surat and ended Pune would be detrimental. Therefore, the Supreme
with the Treaty of Salbai.
Council of Bengal condemned the Treaty of Surat, send-
ing Colonel Upton to Pune to annul it and make a new
treaty with the regency. An agreement between Upton
1 Background and the ministers of Pune called Treaty of Purandar was
signed on March 1, 1776.
After the death of Madhavrao Peshwa in 1772, his The Treaty of Purandhar (1 March 1776) annulled that of
brother Narayanrao became Peshwa of the Maratha Em- Surat, Raghunath Rao was pensioned and his cause aban-
pire. However, Raghunathrao, Narayanraos uncle be- doned, but the revenues of Salsette and Broach districts
coming Peshwa, were retained by the British.
Narayanraos widow, Gangabai, gave birth to a posthu-
mous son, who was legal heir to the throne. The newborn
infant was named 'Sawai' Madhavrao (Sawai means One
and a Quarter). Twelve Maratha chiefs, led by Nana 3 Wadgaon
Phadnavis directed an eort to name the infant as the new
Peshwa and rule under him as regents. Following a treaty between France and the Poona Gov-
Raghunathrao, unwilling to give up his position of power, ernment in 1776, the Bombay Government decided to in-
sought help from the British at Bombay and signed the vade and reinstate Raghoba. They sent a force under Col.
Treaty of Surat on 6 March 1775. According to the Egerton reached Khopoli and made its way through the
treaty, Raghunathrao ceded the territories of Salsette and Western Ghats at Bhor Ghat and onwards toward Karla,
Bassein to the British, along with part of the revenues which was reached on 4 Jan. 1779 while under Maratha
from Surat and Bharuch districts. In return, the British attacks. Finally the British were forced to retreat back to
promised to provide Raghunathrao with 2,500 soldiers. Wadgaon, but were soon surrounded. The British were
forced to sign the Treaty of Wadgaon on 16 Jan. 1779, a
The British Calcutta Council condemned the Treaty of
victory for the Marathas.[6]
Surat, sending Colonel Upton to Pune to annul it and
make a new treaty with the regency. The Treaty of Pu- Reinforcements from northern India, commanded by
randhar (1 March 1776) annulled that of Surat, Raghu- Colonel (later General) Thomas Wyndham Goddard, ar-
nathrao was pensioned and his cause abandoned, but the rived too late to save the Bombay force. The British
revenues of Salsette and Broach districts were retained by Governor-General in Bengal, Warren Hastings, rejected
the British. The Bombay government rejected this new the treaty on the grounds that the Bombay ocials had
treaty and gave refuge to Raghunathrao. In 1777, Nana no legal power to sign it, and ordered Goddard to secure
Phadnavis violated his treaty with the Calcutta Council British interests in the area.
by granting the French a port on West coast. The English Goddard with 6,000 troops stormed Bhadra Fort and cap-
retaliated by sending a force towards Pune tured Ahmedabad on February 15, 1779. There was a
garrison of 6,000 Arab and Sindhi infantry and 2,000
horses. Losses in the ght totalled 108, including two
2 Initial Stage and Treaty of Pu- British.[7][8][9] Goddard also captured Bassein on Decem-
ber 11, 1780. Another Bengal detachment led by Cap-
randar (1775 - 1776) tain Popham captured Gwalior and assisted by the Rana
of Gohad, captured Gwalior on August 4, 1780, before
British troops under the command of Colonel Keating Mahadji Scindia could make preparations. Skirmishes
left Surat on March 15, 1775 for Pune. But they were took place between Mahadji Scindia and General God-
checked by Haripant Phadke at Adas and were totally de- dard in Gujarat, but indecisively. Hastings sent yet an-
feated on May 18, 1775.[4] Casualties for Keatings force, other force to harass Mahadji Shinde, commanded by
accompanied by Raghunathrao, included 96 killed. The Major Camac.[10]

1
2 8 NOTES
4 Central India and the Deccan
A Vijay Stambh (Victory Pillar) erected to commemorate
Maratha victory over British. The pillar is located at
Vadgaon/Wadgaon Maval, close to the city of Pune, India
An information plaque describing the Maratha victory over
British. The plaque is located at Vadgaon/Wadgaon Maval, close
to the city of Pune, India
After capturing Bassein, Goddard marched towards
Pune. But he was routed at Borghat Parshurambha in
April 1781 by Haripant Phadke and Tukoji Holkar.
In central India, Mahadji stationed himself at Malwa to
challenge Camac. Initially, Mahadji had an upper hand
and British forces under Camac, being harassed and re-
duced, had to retreat to Hadur.[11]
In February 1781 the British beat Shinde to the town
of Sipri,[12] but every move they made after that was
shadowed by his much larger army, and their supplies
were cut o, until they made a desperate night raid in
late March, capturing not only supplies, but even guns
and elephants.[13] Thereafter, the military threat from
Shindes forces to the British was much reduced.
The contest was equally balanced now. Where Mahadji
scored a signicant victory over Camac at Sironj,[14] the
latter avenged the loss through the Battle of Durdah [15]
on March 24, 1781.
Colonel Murre arrived with fresh forces in April, 1781
to assist Popham and Camac. After his defeat at Sipri,
Mahadji Scindia got alarmed. Finally, he decisively
crushed the forces of Murre on July 1, 1781. Mahadji
seemed to be too powerful to be defeated now.
5 Treaty of Salbai
This treaty, known as the Treaty of Salbai, was signed on
17 May 1782, and was ratied by Hastings in June 1782
and by Nana Phadnavis in February 1783. The treaty
ended the First Anglo-Maratha War.[16]
(Salbai is located 32 km south-east to Gwalior city in
Gwalior district, MP)
6 In Popular Culture
The 2013 Hollywood lm titled The Lovers is based on
the backdrop of this war[17]
7 See also
Maratha Empire
Second Anglo-Maratha War
Third Anglo-Maratha War
List of Maratha dynasties and states
James Hartley (Indian ocer)
8 Notes
[1] Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania: M to
Z, Barbara A. West, 509
[2] The First Anglo-Maratha War, 1774-1783: A Military
Study of Major Battles, M. R. Kantak
[3] Thorpe, Edgar; Thorpe, Showick. Concise General
Knowledge Manual. Pearson Education India. p. 49.
ISBN 978-81-317-5512-9. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
[4] The Great Maratha by N.G.Rahod p.11
[5] Naravane, M.S. (2014). Battles of the Honorourable East
India Company. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. pp. 53
56. ISBN 9788131300343.
[6] Naravane, M.S. (2014). Battles of the Honorourable East
India Company. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. pp. 56
58. ISBN 9788131300343.
[7] Bhadra Fort to turn into heritage hangout!". The Times
of India. Ahmedabad. TNN. June 12, 2009. Retrieved
January 17, 2013.
 3

[8] Du, James Grant (1826) [Oxford University]. A History

of the Mahrattas. 2. London: Longman, Rees, Orme,
Brown, and Green.

[9] Beveridge, Henry (1862) [New York Public Library]. A

comprehensive history of India, civil, military and social.
Blackie. pp. 456466.

[10] Camac (not to be confused with Carnac!) received his

promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel while on this mission

[11] The Great Maratha by N.G.Rathod p.20

[12] Du, James Grant A History of the Mahrattas London,

Longman (1826), via Google Books, accessed 2008-01-
27

[13] Mill, James option=com_staticxt&staticle=show.php%3Ftitle=843&chapter=79955&layout=html&Itemid=27

The History of British India, vol. 4, chapter 6, Lon-
don, Baldwin (1826), via oll.libertyfund.org, accessed
2008-01-27

[14] Battles of the Honourable East India Company: Making

of the Raj by M.S.Naravane p.62

[15] Dictionary of Battles and Sieges by Tony Jaques p.320

[16] Naravane, M.S. (2014). Battles of the Honorourable East

India Company. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. p. 63.
ISBN 9788131300343.

[17] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
entertainment/marathi/movies/news/
Atul-Kulkarni-Milind-Gunaji-Roland-Joffe-Singularity-The-Lovers-Bipasha-Basu-Abhay-Deol-Ajay-Zankar-Aishwarya-Rai-Vivek-Oberoi
articleshow/34926960.cms?

9 Sources
Athale, Anil. Anil Athale on Joes Invaders. Re-
trieved July 21, 2011.
Beck, Sanderson. Marathas and the English Com-
pany 1701-1818. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2004.
Hameed, Shahul. The First Anglo-Maratha War
(17751782). Retrieved Oct. 1, 2004.
Indian History British Period. Retrieved Oct. 1,
2004.
Paranjpe, Amit et al. History of Maharashtra. Re-
trieved Oct. 1, 2004.

The Great Maratha - Mahadji Scindia by

N.G.Rathod . Retrieved July 23, 2013.
4 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1 Text
First Anglo-Maratha War Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Anglo-Maratha_War?oldid=779494902 Contributors: Charles
Matthews, Dimadick, Tom Radulovich, Bobblewik, Utcursch, Nograpes, Acad Ronin, Rich Farmbrough, Pavel Vozenilek, Bender235,
Alren, Foxbat, Dhoom, Bobo192, Skud, Bastin, Tabletop, Rjwilmsi, SpikedZebra, Bhadani, Jaraalbe, Bgwhite, Grubb, Kirill Lok-
shin, Bachrach44, Tony1, Zoshisan, Davidsteinberg, SmackBot, Bluebot, Jprg1966, ImpuMozhi, Ramas Arrow, Nishkid64, Yogesh
Khandke, Dicklyon, CmdrObot, AshLin, Hemlock Martinis, Cydebot, Jed keenan, Thijs!bot, Kathovo, Brett Dunbar, Ravichan-
dar84, Hugo999, VolkovBot, Someguy1221, Andreas Kaganov, Kingbird1, RegentsPark, Apuldram, Vontrotta, XPTO, Niceguyedc,
David Trochos, Unsigned1, Belasd, Amit20081980, Nizil Shah, Yobot, Magicpiano, AnomieBOT, Materialscientist, MauritsBot, Grou-
choBot, Msntito, RedBot, Slb nsk, Vrenator, EmausBot, Slightsmile, Italia2006, ZroBot, Zuggernaut, ClueBot NG, Frietjes, Colomen,
HotWinters, KLBot2, DBigXray, BG19bot, PhnomPencil, Marcocapelle, Joseon Empire, ABHYUDAYA KELKAR, Bhonsale, Faizan,
Capitals00, Howicus, Alexander585, Pi3.124, Tipu Sultan Rules!!, Ceosad, Rupertgrint1, Parmpreet, Xtremedood, Blue Papa Boy,
Amit20081980~commonswiki, Sohailtaj123, MarshalIsInCity, Van Kleiss, MARX, Julius, Subhashdmm, Abhiran and Anonymous: 47

10.2 Images
File:Flag_of_the_British_East_India_Company_(1707).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Flag_
of_the_British_East_India_Company_%281707%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: No machine-readable source provided.
Own work assumed (based on copyright claims). Original artist: No machine-readable author provided. Yaddah assumed (based on copy-
right claims).
File:Flag_of_the_Maratha_Empire.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Flag_of_the_Maratha_
Empire.svg License: Public domain Contributors: DarkEvil. Original artist: DarkEvil
File:Scindia_Memorial_Vadgaon.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Scindia_Memorial_Vadgaon.
JPG License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Amit20081980~commonswiki
File:Vijay_Stambh_Vadgaon.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Vijay_Stambh_Vadgaon.JPG Li-
cense: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Amit20081980~commonswiki

10.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0