4.3 Anglo-Maratha Wars and Collapse of the Maratha Confederacy

1. Context & Foundation

The fall of the Maratha Confederacy is one of the most tragic and instructive chapters in Indian history. Following the decline of the Mughal Empire after the death of Aurangzeb, the Marathas emerged as the most formidable political and military force on the subcontinent. By the mid-eighteenth century, they had established a vast empire stretching from Punjab to the gates of Bengal, acting as kingmakers in the imperial court of Delhi. However, their meteoric rise suffered a catastrophic setback at the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), where they were defeated by the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Although the Marathas staged a remarkable recovery under the capable leadership of Peshwa Madhav Rao I—a phase known as the Maratha Resurrection—the premature death of the young Peshwa from tuberculosis in 1772 plunged the empire into a spiral of internal intrigue and civil war. Madhav Rao’s uncle, the ambitious but unscrupulous Raghunath Rao (Raghoba), coveted the Peshwaship and orchestrated the assassination of the newly appointed Peshwa, Narayan Rao, in 1773. This act of treachery outraged the Maratha nobility, led by the brilliant statesman Nana Phadnavis, who formed the Barbhai Council (a regency of twelve ministers) to govern in the name of Narayan Rao's infant son, Sawai Madhav Rao.

Desperate for power, Raghunath Rao fled to the British camp in Bombay and signed the Treaty of Surat (1775), inviting foreign intervention in exchange for territorial concessions. This set in motion the first of three grueling Anglo-Maratha Wars. Over the next four decades, the British East India Company systematically exploited the deep personal rivalries, financial instability, and lack of political foresight among the Maratha chiefs—the Peshwa of Pune, the Scindia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, the Bhonsle of Nagpur, and the Gaekwad of Baroda.

By playing one chief against another and utilizing diplomatic traps like Lord Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance, the British gradually eroded Maratha independence. The final blow came in 1818 under Governor-General Lord Hastings, who dissolved the confederacy, pensioned off the last Peshwa, and established undisputed British paramountcy over the Indian subcontinent.

2. Detailed Study Notes

A. The Structure of the Maratha Confederacy

To manage their rapidly expanding territory, Peshwa Baji Rao I had institutionalized a loose confederacy of prominent Maratha chiefs. Each chief was assigned a specific sphere of influence to conquer and rule:

• Peshwa (Pune): The nominal administrative head of the confederacy.

• Scindia / Shinde (Gwalior): Prominent in North India and the Delhi court.

• Holkar (Indore): Dominant in the Malwa region of Central India.

• Bhonsle (Nagpur): Held sway over Central and Eastern India.

• Gaekwad (Baroda): Controlled the Gujarat region.

B. First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782)

• Period: 1775–1782.

• British Governor-General: Warren Hastings (Calcutta Presidency).

• Trigger: The succession dispute in Pune following the murder of Peshwa Narayan Rao (1773) by his uncle Raghunath Rao. The Barbhai Council under Nana Phadnavis installed the infant Sawai Madhav Rao as the rightful Peshwa. Raghunath Rao approached the Bombay Presidency for military aid.

• The Clash of Treaties:

  • Treaty of Surat (1775): Signed by Raghunath Rao and the Bombay Presidency. Raghunath Rao ceded Salsette and Bassein in exchange for 2,500 British troops.

  • Treaty of Purandar (1776): The Calcutta Presidency under Warren Hastings condemned the Treaty of Surat as unauthorized and signed a new treaty with Nana Phadnavis. It recognized Sawai Madhav Rao as Peshwa and secured a Maratha pledge to exclude the French.

  • Resumption of War: The Bombay government violated the Purandar treaty by sheltering Raghunath Rao, provoking Warren Hastings to resume hostilities.

• Battle of Wadgaon (1779): The combined Maratha forces, brilliantly commanded by Mahadji Scindia, lured the British into the narrow passes of the Western Ghats, cut off their supply lines, and forced them to surrender.

• Treaty of Wadgaon (1779): A humiliating convention where the Bombay government agreed to relinquish all territories acquired since 1775. Warren Hastings rejected this treaty and dispatched fresh reinforcements under Colonel Goddard.

• Treaty of Salbai (May 1782): After successful British counter-offensives (capturing Gwalior and Bassein), Mahadji Scindia negotiated a general peace treaty:

  • The British recognized Sawai Madhav Rao as the sole rightful Peshwa.

  • The British retained Salsette but returned all other conquests (including Bassein) to the Marathas.

  • Raghunath Rao was abandoned by the British and granted a pension.

  • The Marathas promised to assist the British against Mysore.

  • Significance: Secured twenty years of peace between the Marathas and the British, allowing the Company to concentrate on crushing Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

C. Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805)

• Period: 1803–1805.

• British Governor-General: Lord Wellesley.

• Trigger: The death of Nana Phadnavis in 1800 removed the last stabilizing force in Maratha politics. The weak and insecure Peshwa Baji Rao II (son of Raghunath Rao) entered into conflict with Jaswantrao Holkar of Indore. Baji Rao II brutally murdered Holkar’s brother, Vithuji. Jaswantrao retaliated, marched on Pune, and decisively defeated the combined armies of the Peshwa and Scindia at the Battle of Poona (1802).

• Treaty of Bassein (December 31, 1802): The panic-stricken Peshwa Baji Rao II fled to the British station at Bassein and signed a humiliating Subsidiary Alliance:

  • The Peshwa accepted a permanent British subsidiary force of 6,000 infantry and paid 26 lakh rupees annually for its maintenance.

  • He ceded territories yielding equivalent revenue and surrendered Surat to the Company.

  • He agreed to clear all his foreign policy decisions with the British and ban all other Europeans from his service.

  • He surrendered all historical Chauth claims over the Nizam of Hyderabad's dominions.

• The War Course: The Maratha chiefs viewed the Treaty of Bassein as a complete surrender of their national sovereignty. Scindia and Bhonsle joined forces to challenge the British, while Holkar formed a separate front and Gaekwad remained neutral.

• The British Offensive: Lord Wellesley organized a highly coordinated two-pronged campaign:

  • Southern Command (Arthur Wellesley): Decisively defeated Bhonsle and Scindia at the Battle of Assaye and the Battle of Argaon in 1803.

  • Northern Command (Lord Lake): Defeated Scindia's forces at the Battle of Laswari, capturing Delhi and Agra in 1803. This placed the blind Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II, under direct British control.

• The Concluding Treaties:

  • Treaty of Deogaon (December 1803): Signed by Bhonsle, accepting the Subsidiary Alliance and ceding Cuttack to the British.

  • Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon (December 1803): Signed by Scindia, ceding Ganga-Yamuna Doab, Delhi, Agra, and parts of Gujarat, and accepting the Subsidiary Alliance.

  • Treaty of Rajpurghat (January 1806): Signed by Holkar under George Barlow (who succeeded Wellesley). Holkar surrendered his claims north of the Chambel River.

D. Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818)

• Period: 1817–1818.

• British Governor-General: Lord Hastings (Moira).

• Trigger: The British policy of Paramountcy and their aggressive operations against the Pindaris (bands of freebooters who operated as auxiliary troops in Maratha armies) violated the territorial sovereignty of the Maratha chiefs. The British forced the Peshwa to sign the restrictive Treaty of Poona (June 1817), requiring him to cede more territory and formally dissolve the Maratha Confederacy.

• The War Course: Peshwa Baji Rao II made a desperate last attempt to throw off the British yoke. He attacked and burnt the British Residency at Pune. He was joined by Appa Sahib of Nagpur (Bhonsle) and Malharrao Holkar II of Indore.

• Military Defeats: The decentralized and poorly coordinated Maratha forces were systematically crushed in decisive battles:

  • The Peshwa was defeated at the Battle of Khirki (1817) and the Battle of Koregaon (1818).

  • Bhonsle was defeated at the Battle of Sitabuldi (1817).

  • Holkar was defeated at the Battle of Mahidpur (1817).

• Concluding Settlement (1818):

  • The Peshwaship was permanently abolished.

  • The Maratha Confederacy was formally dissolved.

  • Peshwa Baji Rao II surrendered and was pensioned off to Bithur near Kanpur with an annual allowance of 8 lakh rupees. (His adopted son was Nana Sahib, a prominent leader of the 1857 Revolt).

  • The Peshwa's territories were annexed to form the Bombay Presidency (1818).

  • To appease Maratha sentiment, a minor descendant of Shivaji, Pratap Singh, was installed as the titular ruler of a small, truncated principality at Satara.

  • Holkar accepted the Subsidiary Alliance via the Treaty of Mandasor (1818), surrendering all claims north of the Satpura range.

E. Strategic Comparison of the Three Wars

F. Local Deccan, Hyderabad State, and Telangana Connections

• Battle of Kharda (March 1795): This was the last major battle where all the Maratha chiefs (Peshwa, Scindia, Holkar, Bhonsle) fought together as a unified confederacy. They decisively defeated Nizam Ali Khan of Hyderabad, who had refused to pay their revenue demands. This severe defeat exposed the Nizam's military vulnerability, directly prompting him to sign Lord Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance in 1798 to secure British military protection against the Marathas.

• The Chauth Exemption: The Treaty of Bassein (1802) brought direct relief to the Hyderabad State. By accepting the treaty, Peshwa Baji Rao II was forced to formally renounce all historical Maratha claims of Chauth and Sardeshmukhi over the Nizam’s territories, permanently liberating the Deccan from Maratha fiscal extortion.

• Mokasa Grants: The Maratha system of land grants, known as Mokasa (similar to the Mughal jagir system), was extensively levied on border districts in the Deccan. The final British victory in 1818 ended these overlapping territorial and tax disputes between Pune and Hyderabad.

• Establishment of the Bombay Presidency: The annexation of the Peshwa's territories in 1818 created the modern borders of the Bombay Presidency, which shared a highly militarized eastern boundary with the Nizam's Hyderabad State along the Marathwada region.

3. Quick Revision Cheat Sheet

• Chronology of Key Treaties:

  • Treaty of Surat (1775): Raghunath Rao signs with Bombay Presidency (Cedes Salsette/Bassein).

  • Treaty of Purandar (1776): Warren Hastings cancels Surat treaty; recognizes Sawai Madhav Rao.

  • Treaty of Wadgaon (1779): Humiliating British surrender after defeat at Talegaon.

  • Treaty of Salbai (1782): Concluded 1st War; Warren Hastings gains Salsette; secures 20 years of peace.

  • Treaty of Bassein (December 31, 1802): Peshwa Baji Rao II accepts the Subsidiary Alliance, surrendering Maratha sovereignty.

  • Treaty of Deogaon (1803): Bhonsle accepts Subsidiary Alliance; cedes Cuttack.

  • Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon (1803): Scindia accepts Subsidiary Alliance; cedes Ganga-Yamuna Doab, Delhi, and Agra.

  • Treaty of Rajpurghat (1805): Holkar signs peace treaty with George Barlow.

  • Treaty of Poona (June 1817): British force Peshwa to dissolve the Maratha Confederacy.

  • Treaty of Mandasor (January 1818): Holkar accepts Subsidiary Alliance after defeat at Mahidpur.

• Key Combat Commanders:

  • Maratha: Mahadji Scindia (1st War victor), Nana Phadnavis (diplomatic mastermind), Jaswantrao Holkar (defeated Peshwa in 1802).

  • British: Warren Hastings (1st War GG), Lord Wellesley (2nd War GG), Arthur Wellesley (won Battle of Assaye), Lord Lake (won Battle of Laswari), Lord Hastings (3rd War GG).

• Peshwaship End: Abolished in June 1818. Baji Rao II exiled to Bithur near Kanpur. Truncated principality of Satara created for Shivaji's descendant, Pratap Singh.

4. Exam Strategy & PYQ Focus

High-Yield Focus Areas

• The Treaty of Bassein (1802) Clauses: Examiners frequently target the specific terms of Bassein. Remember that the Peshwa surrendered Surat, accepted 6,000 British infantry, and formally relinquished all Chauth claims over the Nizam of Hyderabad.

• Chronological Order of Treaties: Be prepared to arrange the treaties of the First and Second Wars in exact sequence: Surat (1775) $\rightarrow$ Purandar (1776) $\rightarrow$ Wadgaon (1779) $\rightarrow$ Salbai (1782) $\rightarrow$ Bassein (1802) $\rightarrow$ Deogaon (1803) $\rightarrow$ Surji-Anjangaon (1803) $\rightarrow$ Rajpurghat (1806).

• Governor-General Matching:

  • First Anglo-Maratha War $\rightarrow$ Warren Hastings.

  • Second Anglo-Maratha War $\rightarrow$ Lord Wellesley.

  • Third Anglo-Maratha War $\rightarrow$ Lord Hastings (Moira).

• Battle of Kharda (1795): Focus on this as the last unified Maratha victory over the Nizam, which indirectly accelerated the Nizam's entry into the British protection trap in 1798.

• The Post-1818 Satara Settlement: Understand that Satara (1848) was later the first state to be annexed by Lord Dalhousie under the Doctrine of Lapse, making the 1818 installation of Pratap Singh at Satara a crucial precursor to mid-nineteenth-century annexations.

What to Skip / Low-Yield

• Avoid memorizing minor tactical maneuvers, horse troop movements, or names of minor Maratha generals during the Pindari campaign.

• Skip the family trees of minor branches of the Holkar and Scindia families that did not hold direct political power during the wars.

How to Study This Topic

1. Draft a Treaty-to-Chief Matrix: Keep a clear mental map of the Second War treaties: Scindia $\rightarrow$ Surji-Anjangaon; Bhonsle $\rightarrow$ Deogaon; Holkar $\rightarrow$ Rajpurghat.

2. Analyze the Economic Collapse: Connect the structural weakness of the Maratha fiscal system (excessive reliance on Chauth plunder) to their inability to sustain long-term military resistance against the British, who possessed the stable, high-yield land revenue of Bengal.

5. Chronology & Broader Context (Past – Present – Future)

Third Battle of Panipat (1761) & Death of Madhav Rao I (1772)
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Narayan Rao Assassinated by Raghoba (1773) ──> Treaty of Surat signed by Raghoba (1775)
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FIRST ANGLO-MARATHA WAR (1775–1782) ──> Battle of Wadgaon (1779)
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Treaty of Salbai guarantees 20-year peace (1782) ──> Battle of Kharda against Nizam (1795)
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Death of Nana Phadnavis (1800) ──> Battle of Poona (1802) ──> Treaty of Bassein (Dec 1802)
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SECOND ANGLO-MARATHA WAR (1803–1805) ──> Battle of Assaye & Laswari (1803)
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Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon & Deogaon (Dec 1803) ──> Lord Hastings Campaign against Pindaris (1816)
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THIRD ANGLO-MARATHA WAR (1817–1818) ──> Battle of Khirki & Sitabuldi (1817)
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Peshwaship Abolished (1818) ──> Satara Annexed under Doctrine of Lapse (1848)

• Pre-Context:

  • 1761: The defeat at Panipat shattered Maratha unity, accelerating the growth of autonomous regional centers (Scindia, Holkar, Bhonsle) that the Peshwa could no longer centrally control.

  • 1772: Madhav Rao’s death triggered a violent internal power struggle in Pune, providing the British with their first opportunity to intervene.

• Concurrent Events:

  • First War Phase (1775–1782): Coincided with the American War of Independence (1775–1783) and the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–1784), forcing Warren Hastings to settle the Treaty of Salbai in 1782 to avoid a combined Maratha-Mysore-French coalition.

  • Second War Phase (1803–1805): Occurred during the height of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, which fueled Lord Wellesley's aggressive drive to enforce the Subsidiary Alliance and completely expel French mercenaries from Maratha armies.

• Post-Context:

  • 1818 Onward: The elimination of Maratha power left the British as the uncontested paramount power in India. It allowed them to redirect their military expansion toward the northwest (annexing Sindh in 1843 and Punjab in 1849).

  • 1848 & 1853: The princely states of Satara (1848) and Jhansi (1853), which were created or preserved as Maratha principalities after the 1818 settlement, were annexed by Lord Dalhousie under the Doctrine of Lapse, directly triggering the Maratha participation in the Great Revolt of 1857.