The Anglo-Maratha Wars were:
Three major wars fought between the English East India Company and the Maratha Confederacy between 1775 and 1818.
They were:
The wars ultimately resulted in:
The destruction of Maratha political supremacy and the establishment of British paramountcy in India.
The Marathas emerged as:
The strongest political power in India after the decline of Mughal authority.
Under the Peshwas, the Maratha Confederacy expanded across:
The Maratha political system consisted of several important houses:
The Peshwa was:
The nominal head of the Maratha Confederacy.
However, the major chiefs increasingly:
Exercised substantial independent power.
The Maratha Confederacy suffered from:
These divisions later enabled:
British diplomatic intervention.
The British wanted to:
The First Anglo-Maratha War was fought during:
1775–1782.
The immediate cause was:
A succession dispute over the position of Peshwa.
After the death of:
Peshwa Madhavrao I in 1772,
his brother:
Narayan Rao
became Peshwa.
Narayan Rao was later:
Assassinated in 1773.
After Narayan Rao's death:
Raghunath Rao
claimed the position of Peshwa.
He was opposed by:
The Maratha ministers who supported the infant Madhavrao II.
Raghunath Rao sought British support.
He entered into:
Treaty of Surat, 1775.
Under the treaty:
The British agreed to support Raghunath Rao.
In return, the British expected:
The Treaty of Surat brought:
The Company directly into a Maratha succession dispute.
This began:
The First Anglo-Maratha War.
The Bombay Presidency supported:
Raghunath Rao.
However:
The Bengal authorities under Warren Hastings did not fully support the policy of the Bombay government.
The British eventually negotiated:
Treaty of Purandar, 1776.
The agreement recognised:
Madhavrao II as Peshwa.
Raghunath Rao was:
Given a pension.
The British did not permanently accept the settlement.
The conflict continued due to:
The Marathas achieved a major victory over the British at:
Battle of Wadgaon, 1779.
The British Bombay forces were:
Forced into a difficult position and compelled to negotiate.
The British accepted:
Convention of Wadgaon, 1779.
The settlement imposed:
Significant concessions on the British.
Warren Hastings rejected:
The Convention of Wadgaon.
He sent forces from:
Bengal
to continue the war.
This demonstrated:
The growing coordination of Company military power across presidencies.
The First Anglo-Maratha War ended with:
Treaty of Salbai, 1782.
The treaty established:
Peace between the British and the Marathas.
Important provisions included:
The treaty provided:
Long-term peace between the British and the Marathas.
It also allowed the British to:
Concentrate on other threats, especially Mysore.
The Second Anglo-Maratha War was fought during:
1803–1805.
By the beginning of the 19th century:
Maratha internal rivalries had intensified.
The principal Maratha leaders included:
A major rivalry developed between:
Yashwantrao Holkar
and:
Daulat Rao Scindia.
The conflict weakened:
Maratha political unity.
In:
1802,
Holkar defeated the combined forces of:
Scindia and the Peshwa.
Peshwa:
Baji Rao II
fled from Pune.
Baji Rao II sought British protection.
He signed:
Treaty of Bassein, 1802.
This became:
The immediate cause of the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
Under the Treaty of Bassein:
The Peshwa accepted British protection.
He agreed to:
The treaty:
Brought the Peshwa under British control.
It also:
Threatened the independence of other Maratha chiefs.
Scindia and Bhonsle therefore:
Resisted British intervention.
The British fought against:
Scindia and Bhonsle initially.
Holkar later:
Continued resistance against the British.
Important British commanders included:
Arthur Wellesley
and:
Lord Lake.
Arthur Wellesley led British operations in:
The Deccan.
He achieved important victories against:
Maratha forces.
The:
Battle of Assaye
was fought in:
Arthur Wellesley achieved:
A major British victory.
Assaye demonstrated:
It became:
One of Wellesley's most important victories.
The British defeated:
Bhonsle's forces
at:
Battle of Argaon in 1803.
Lord Lake defeated:
Scindia's forces
at:
Battle of Laswari, 1803.
After military defeats:
Scindia and Bhonsle accepted separate treaties.
They surrendered:
British influence therefore:
Expanded significantly in central India.
Yashwantrao Holkar continued:
Resistance against the British.
He successfully:
Challenged British forces in several engagements.
The British eventually negotiated with:
Holkar.
The war ended through:
Treaty of Rajghat, 1805.
The Second Anglo-Maratha War resulted in:
The Third Anglo-Maratha War was fought during:
1817–1818.
By 1817:
The Maratha Confederacy had been significantly weakened.
The Peshwa:
Baji Rao II
attempted to:
Recover political independence.
Lord Hastings pursued:
An aggressive policy towards the remaining Maratha powers.
British objectives included:
The:
Pindaris
were irregular armed groups operating across central India.
The British used:
Suppression of the Pindaris
as an important justification for military mobilisation.
The Peshwa and other Maratha chiefs feared:
Permanent British domination.
The Peshwa attempted:
To break free from British control.
In:
1817,
the Peshwa's forces attacked:
The British Residency at Pune.
This marked:
The beginning of open conflict.
The British defeated:
Peshwa's forces
at:
Battle of Kirkee, 1817.
The conflict included:
Battle of Koregaon, 1818.
The battle became:
A notable engagement during the final phase of the Maratha-British conflict.
The British defeated:
Holkar's forces
at:
Battle of Mahidpur, 1817.
By:
1818,
the major Maratha powers had been:
Defeated or subordinated.
The office of:
Peshwa
was abolished.
Baji Rao II was:
Pensioned and removed from political power.
The British gained:
Some Maratha states survived as:
Princely states under British paramountcy.
They were no longer:
Independent powers capable of challenging British supremacy.
The Third Anglo-Maratha War:
Destroyed the political supremacy of the Maratha Confederacy.
It established:
British paramountcy over most of India.
By 1818:
The British had defeated or subordinated the major powers that could challenge their supremacy in large parts of India.
The defeat of:
created:
A much stronger British imperial position.
The three wars show a progression:
British intervention in Maratha succession politics.
British expansion through Subsidiary Alliance and military conquest.
Destruction of Maratha political independence.
The Treaty of Bassein was particularly important because:
It brought the Peshwa under British protection.
This weakened:
The unity and independence of the Maratha Confederacy.
The British repeatedly exploited:
Thus:
Political fragmentation became a major instrument of British expansion.
British advantages included:
The Marathas possessed:
However:
Political disunity reduced their ability to use these strengths collectively.
Major factors included:
Rivalry among Peshwa, Scindia, Holkar and Bhonsle.
The Peshwa could not effectively control the Confederacy.
The British exploited Maratha rivalries.
Treaty of Bassein weakened the Peshwa's independence.
British forces were more disciplined and coordinated.
Bengal revenues supported prolonged British warfare.
The wars were crucial because:
The Marathas were the last major Indian political power capable of challenging British supremacy over large parts of India.
Their defeat:
Opened the way for British paramountcy.
The broader sequence was:
Bengal
↓
Mysore
↓
Maratha Wars
↓
British Paramountcy.
The British expansion can be viewed as:
Plassey → Bengal political foothold.
Buxar → Bengal fiscal control.
Mysore → South Indian consolidation.
Anglo-Maratha Wars → Western and Central Indian supremacy.
Treaty of Surat.
Treaty of Purandar.
Battle/Convention of Wadgaon.
Treaty of Salbai.
Treaty of Bassein.
Battle of Assaye.
Battle of Argaon.
Battle of Laswari.
Treaty of Rajghat.
Battle of Mahidpur.
Battle of Kirkee.
Battle of Koregaon.
End of Peshwa rule.
Treaty of Bassein ended the First Anglo-Maratha War.
❌ Incorrect.
Treaty of Bassein:
1802 → Background to Second Anglo-Maratha War.
First War ended with:
Treaty of Salbai, 1782.
Treaty of Salbai brought the Peshwa under Subsidiary Alliance.
❌ Incorrect.
The major treaty that subordinated the Peshwa to British protection was:
Treaty of Bassein, 1802.
Battle of Assaye occurred during the First Anglo-Maratha War.
❌ Incorrect.
Assaye:
Second Anglo-Maratha War, 1803.
The Third Anglo-Maratha War ended with a treaty restoring the Peshwa.
❌ Incorrect.
The war resulted in:
Abolition of the Peshwa's office.
The Maratha Confederacy was defeated in a single battle.
❌ Incorrect.
Its political power was destroyed through:
Three wars + Internal divisions + British diplomacy + Military pressure.
The Anglo-Maratha Wars demonstrate:
How the British converted political intervention into territorial supremacy.
The decisive British advantage was not merely military.
It was:
Military power + Financial resources + Diplomacy + Political manipulation + Exploitation of internal divisions.
The Anglo-Maratha Wars were three major conflicts between the English East India Company and the Maratha Confederacy between 1775 and 1818. Their outcome destroyed Maratha political supremacy and established British paramountcy over large parts of India.
Succession dispute → Treaty of Surat → Wadgaon → Treaty of Salbai.
Maratha rivalry → Treaty of Bassein → Assaye, Argaon and Laswari → British territorial expansion.
Peshwa's resistance → Pindari question → Kirkee, Mahidpur and other battles → End of Peshwa rule.
The Anglo-Maratha Wars completed a major phase of British territorial expansion. While Plassey established the Company's foothold and Mysore's defeat secured South India, the defeat of the Marathas in 1818 enabled the British to emerge as:
The paramount political power over most of India.
