Kanhoji Angre

Long before the British East India Company ruled any part of India, it faced Kanhoji Angre. He kept its warships off an entire stretch of coast. He fought the British, Portuguese, and Dutch navies at once, and largely won. He even minted his own currency.

Ruler of the Konkan Waves

ModHist0189

1685

Seizes Suvarnadurg

At just 18, when its commander tries to defect

1707

Becomes Sarkhel

Head of the entire Maratha Navy

1710–24

Repels Three Navies

British, Portuguese, and Dutch, all in one era

4 JUL 1729

Dies Undefeated

His sons hold on until 1756

Before “colonial rule” was even the story: Angre’s era is a reminder that European trading companies spent decades as just one competing naval power among several, not yet the dominant one.

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📑 Contents

1Timeline
2Must Know
3Good to Know
4Current Affairs
5Test Yourself
6Great to Know

Timeline

August 1669: Born at Suvarnadurg Fort, Ratnagiri, to Tukoji and Ambabai.
1685: At age 18, seizes control of Suvarnadurg when its commander attempts to defect.
1698: Establishes Vijaydurg (“Victory Fort”) as a key naval stronghold.
1707: Becomes head of the Maratha Navy, with the titles Sarkhel and Vizarat Mal.
1710-1724: Wins repeated naval engagements against British, Portuguese, and Dutch forces along the Konkan coast.
4 July 1729: Dies at Kolaba. His sons continue his naval legacy.
February 1756: The family’s naval dominance ends, when son Tulaji is captured at Gheriah by combined British-Maratha forces.

Must Know

Kanhoji Angre became head of the Maratha Navy in 1707, holding the title Sarkhel (Admiral).
He fought and repelled British, Portuguese, and Dutch naval forces, all in the same period, along the Konkan coast.
His key strongholds included Vijaydurg (“Victory Fort,” established 1698), Kolaba, and Suvarnadurg.
In 1712, he captured the Bombay governor’s own yacht, Algerine, releasing it in 1713 for a 30,000 rupee ransom.
He died on 4 July 1729, at Kolaba. His family’s naval dominance ended only in 1756, when son Tulaji was captured at Gheriah.

Good to Know

At just 18 years old, in 1685, its commander tried to defect to a rival power. Angre seized control of Suvarnadurg Fort instead.
In 1707, he defeated Peshwa Bahiroji Pingale in a confrontation. A negotiated settlement followed, granting him ten forts and sixteen fortified posts, in exchange for his allegiance to Chhatrapati Shahu.
He developed his own dockyard facilities. He built ships called grabs (up to 400 tons) and gallivats (up to 120 tons), mounting guns on each.
At Alibaug, he issued his own currency, called the Alibagi rupaiya.
His son Sekhoji continued his naval campaigns until 1733. Command then split between brothers Sambhaji and Manaji, before the family’s power finally ended in 1756.

Current Affairs

9 July 2026: A biographical film titled Angre was announced. National Award-winning filmmaker Rajesh Mapuskar directs it, produced by Abundantia Entertainment with Mapuskar’s own Magij Pictures. The project is currently in the screenplay stage. (Source: SocialNews.xyz)

Test Yourself

Great to Know

Kanhoji Angre’s naval power grew directly out of the Maratha state Shivaji built decades earlier. See MedHist0019 — Shivaji and the Rise of the Marathas.
Unlike most figures on this site, Angre’s resistance predates British colonial rule in India entirely. He fought as one great naval power among several, not yet as a coloniser’s subject.
His story is a useful counterpoint to later 1857-era resistance. Indian naval and military power was still competitive with European forces in the early 1700s, decades before the balance shifted decisively.

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