Third Anglo Maratha War

Third Anglo Maratha War

The third Anglo-Maratha War, which was fought between 1817 and 1819, was an intense struggle for power between the Maratha Empire and the British. Throughout India, the British company won this battle. This started with the annexation of the Maratha land. Despite the Marathas outnumbering, they still got annihilated by the British. There were many Anglo Martha wars in history, but the 3rd Anglo Maratha War holds great importance. 

One of the major reasons that resulted in a war was a dispute between the Pindaris and the British. Due to this reason, this war is often regarded as the “Pindari War.” The result of this war was a formal end of the ruling of the Peshwa. Here onwards, the British company took over. The British were able to do this because of a lack of leadership, internal issues related to the bureaucracy and politics, a lack of majority and trust, and an inferior military system of Marathas. 

Details of the Third Anglo Maratha War

This began when Lord Warren Hastings came to India and ruled as governor-general in 1813. 

• Pindaris 

The hordes of marauders that were from several classes and castes were Pindaris. The occupation of Pindaris was laundering and looting. They were a part of the Maratha army, called mercenaries in the army. After the second Anglo Maratha wars, the Maratha empire started decreasing. Due to this, the Pindaris were not getting any proper employment. This leads them to plunder and loot the British and other territories. This all happened after the first Anglo Maratha war.

• Actions of Lord Warren Hastings 

The British started to charge the Maratha empire for providing shelter to Pindaris. Lord Warren Hastings decided to defeat Marathas as well as take action against the Pindaris. This led to the 3rd Anglo Maratha wars. 

Sir Thomas Hislop commanded the Deccan army, and Warren hasting commanded the northern force to attack Pindaris. Around 1817, the British destroyed bands of Pindaris and Pindaris sent across the river named Chambal. Pindaris leaders Amir Khan and Karim khan surrounded themselves, and Chitu Khan escaped. The Marathas took this war against Pindaris as the transgression of their pride.

• Result of the War

The British won the war against Marathas. In June 1817, at Khirki, the British defeated Baji Rao II. The Poona treaty ended with him. With Sindhia in November 1817, the treaty of Gwalior happened. The Peshwas surrendered in June 1818 to the British. Then happened the retain of the Baji Rao at Bithur in Kanpur. Finally, the abolishment of the Peshwaship happened, and the Maratha confederacy came to an end. 

Factors behind the Defeat of Maratha 

During the first Anglo Maratha war, despite being superiors in their native empires, the Marathas lost to the British. The main reasons behind their defeat were

• Lack of Proper Leadership

Around the eighteenth century, after the death of the main leaders of Marathas. They lacked the proper leadership, and there was no strong leader left to oppose British leaders like Arthur Wellesley, John Malcolm, and many others. This was the main reason behind their defeat. 

• Flaws of Maratha

Marathas took no steps to unite the people or educate them. They avoided Communal improvements. The bond between the people of Marathas was not real. Thus, they had trust issues.

• Unstable Political Setup

Since the rule of Shivaji, there was a loose confederation in the Maratha empire. After Shivaji’s death, the Peshwas ruled his authority. Then the subordinates and chiefs like Bhonsle, Gaikwad, Holkar, Sindhia, etc., illegally took the authority from the Peshwa and created a semi-independent kingdom of their own and ruled there. Many of them fought against each other. And this poor coordination among them made them weak. 

Conclusion

While the war started, the majority of India was in control of the British East India Company. The war started as the British started to occupy the Maratha land forcefully. Due to this, the Maratha army shattered.

The last and final war between the British and Maratha empire was the 3rd Anglo Maratha war. At the end of this war, the British took over political supremacy, and they destroyed the Maratha confederacy.