The Anglo-Maratha Wars, 1775-1819

Three wars and forty-four years all led to the same place: a pensioned exile at Bithoor. What began in 1775 as a dispute over who should be Peshwa ended in 1818 with the Peshwa’s own office gone for good.

1.Why did a disputed Peshwa succession start the First War?

1.1Who was fighting for the Peshwa’s throne?

The Peshwa was the Maratha Confederacy’s leading ruler, governing from Pune. By 1775, two rivals wanted that seat. Raghunathrao wanted the throne for himself and sought Company support to get it. The Bombay government backed him, signing the Treaty of Surat in 1775.

Meanwhile, a council led by Nana Phadnavis governed on behalf of the young Madhavrao II, and it rejected Raghunathrao’s claim outright. That standoff pitted Company-backed Raghunathrao against this Maratha council and its own forces, and the First War began.

1.2Why did the fighting drag on for seven years?

The Treaty of Purandar in 1776 tried to settle the dispute. But the Bombay government soon renewed its backing for Raghunathrao, and fighting spread across western India. In 1779, Maratha forces surrounded a Company army at Wadgaon and forced it to accept harsh terms. Company and Maratha leaders kept negotiating even as campaigns continued elsewhere. Neither side could force a quick, complete settlement.

The Treaty of Salbai finally ended the war in 1782. The Company recognised Madhavrao II and dropped Raghunathrao’s claim for good. It kept Salsette, near Bombay, but returned most other gains. The peace was a compromise, not the end of Maratha power.

• Treaty of Surat, 1775: the Company backed Raghunathrao’s claim to the Peshwa’s seat.
• Maratha forces trapped a Company army at Wadgaon in 1779 and won harsh terms.
• Treaty of Salbai, 1782: the Company recognised Madhavrao II and dropped Raghunathrao’s claim.

2.How did the Treaty of Bassein trigger the Second War?

2.1Why did Baji Rao II turn to the Company?

Two decades later, in 1802, Holkar defeated Peshwa Baji Rao II’s forces near Pune, and Baji Rao fled. With nowhere else to turn, he signed the Treaty of Bassein on 31 December 1802. Under this subsidiary alliance, the Company promised troops to restore him. In return, he ceded land to pay for them and accepted real limits on his own diplomacy. He kept his office, but from then on he relied on Company soldiers to hold it.

Company forces duly restored Baji Rao at Pune. But Scindia and Bhonsle saw this new Company role as a direct threat to Maratha independence, and they became its main opponents in 1803. Holkar, who had fought Baji Rao himself only months earlier, stayed apart at first and joined the fighting only later.

2.2How did the Company defeat three separate chiefs?

The chiefs fought on separate fronts, never as one army. In 1803, Arthur Wellesley defeated forces linked to Scindia and Bhonsle at Assaye, then won again at Argaon. Company armies fought Scindia’s forces in northern India too, gaining greater control around Delhi in the process.

Bhonsle signed the Treaty of Deogaon in December 1803, ceding Cuttack and other land. Scindia signed the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon later that same month, ceding large areas including Delhi and Agra. Holkar fought on through 1804 and 1805. He hurt a Company column during its retreat under Monson, while Company attacks on Bharatpur failed outright. He made peace only in 1805, on terms that later changed. The Second War thus expanded Company power, but it ended through several separate settlements, not one.

• Treaty of Bassein, 1802: Baji Rao II accepted Company troops and limits on his own diplomacy.
• Wellesley defeated Scindia’s and Bhonsle’s forces at Assaye and Argaon in 1803.
• Bhonsle, Scindia, and Holkar each made separate peace, not one joint treaty.

3.How did the Third War end the Peshwa’s office?

3.1Why did fighting return in 1817?

Company campaigns against the Pindaris, armed raiding groups active across central India, brought large Company armies into the region. Tension grew between the Company and the Maratha rulers at the same time, and Baji Rao II feared he would lose still more authority. The Company soon faced his forces near Pune, and it also fought Bhonsle’s and Holkar’s forces on other fronts, since the chiefs again did not act as one army.

3.2How did the war end for Baji Rao?

Baji Rao’s forces attacked Company troops near Pune in November 1817, but lost at Khadki. Battles at Sitabuldi and Mahidpur weakened Bhonsle’s and Holkar’s forces in turn. Baji Rao kept moving with his own army for months, but he finally surrendered in June 1818.

The Company then abolished his office outright and pensioned him at Bithoor. It set up a smaller Satara state under a Chhatrapati instead, while other Maratha rulers kept reduced states under Company influence. Most histories date the core war to 1817-18. Some studies also count final fort operations into 1819, including at Asirgarh. That is why this lesson uses the wider 1817-1819 range.

• Baji Rao’s forces lost at Khadki, near Pune, in November 1817.
• He surrendered in June 1818; the Company abolished the Peshwa’s office for good.
• A smaller Satara state, not the Peshwa’s office, survived under a Chhatrapati.

4.Why was the Maratha Confederacy hard to defeat?

Maratha power stretched across many regions, but its chiefs never shared one command. The Peshwa ruled from Pune. Scindia held influence in the north. Holkar, Bhonsle, and Gaekwad each led their own major house, and their interests often pulled in different directions.

By the time these wars began, the Company already held a strong base in Bengal, built after its wins at Plassey in 1757 and Buxar in 1764. It still faced powerful, independent states elsewhere, though. It used armies, treaties, and rival claims together to extend its reach gradually. The First War showed real Maratha strength at Wadgaon. The Second War showed how divided campaigns produced separate treaties rather than one shared peace. The Third War ended the Peshwa’s own authority, but several other Maratha-ruled states survived it. A Maratha defeat, in other words, never meant that every Maratha dynasty simply disappeared.

• The Confederacy’s chiefs — Peshwa, Scindia, Holkar, Bhonsle, Gaekwad — rarely acted as one force.
• The Company already held a strong Bengal base after Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764).
• The Third War ended the Peshwa’s office, but other Maratha states survived under Company influence.

5.Exam Angle: How does UPSC/CDS test the Anglo-Maratha Wars?

For quick recall, keep each war’s ending separate. First war, Salbai 1782: a compromise peace, Maratha power intact. Second war, 1803-05: several separate treaties, Company power expanded but not complete. Third war, 1818: no compromise at all — the Peshwa’s office abolished outright, and Baji Rao pensioned off at Bithoor.

Related: Lord Wellesley: The Subsidiary Alliance · All Modern History Articles