Second Anglo-Maratha War NCERT Notes For UPSC

The Second Anglo-Maratha war was the second in a series of wars fought between the British East India Company and the Maratha empire. The second Anglo-Maratha war took place from 1803 to 1805. At the end of the first Anglo-Maratha war, the Treaty of Salbai was concluded in 1782 and it established peace between Marathas and the British for the next twenty years. Marathas lost in the second Anglo-Maratha war and they were reduced to the vassalage of the British. 

Study the following article NCERT Notes on Second Anglo-Maratha war to know more about the course and Treaty of Bassein. This topic is useful for General study paper 1in both UPSC prelims and mains.

Second Anglo-Maratha War (UPSC Modern History) NCERT Notes: Download PDF Here

Second Anglo-Maratha War – Background

• In 1795, Peshwa Madhav Rao Narayan died. Baji Rao II, son of Raghunath Rao became the next Peshwa and Nana Phadnavis became the Chief Minister.
• During that time, Lord Wellesley introduced the Subsidiary Alliance system according to which the Indian rulers were supposed to pay subsidy inorder to maintain the British army in India.
• Nana Phadnavis refused to accept the Subsidiary Alliance system, as he was aware of the British intentions. His death in 1800 became favourable for the British.
• The five prominent Maratha families of that time which constituted the Maratha confederacy were
  1. Gaekwad of Baroda
  2. Bhonsle of Nagpur
  3. Holkars of Indore
  4. Sindhias of Gwalior
  5. Peshwas of Poona
• These Maratha families were in a tussle with one another. This added to the advantages of the British and provided an opportunity for the British to interfere in the affairs of Marathas.
• Soon Daulat Rao Sindhia gained superiority at Poona and Peshwa passed under his virtual control. The British made a secret proposal to the Peshwa of Poona (Baji Rao II) to sign a treaty under which the British would help the Peshwa to drive out Sindhia. However, Peshwa declined the offer.

Check NCERT notes on Third Anglo-Maratha War here.

Second Anglo-Maratha War – Course Of War

The course of second Anglo-Maratha war is as follows

• On April 1,1801 Baji Rao II brutally killed Vithuji who was the brother of Jaswanth Rao Holkar.
• Jaswanth Rao Holkar retaliated by waging a war against the combined armies of Sindhia and Baji Rao II. This was called the Battle of Poona.
• Finally on October 25,1802 Jaswanth Rao defeated both the armies and placed Vinayaka Rao (son of Amrit Rao) as the Peshwa of Poona.
• Bajirao II fled to Bassein and signed the Treaty of Bassein with the English on December 31,1802.
• Sindhias and Bhonsle did not accept the terms of the treaty and thus led to the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
• British army under Arthur Wellesley defeated the combined armies of Sindhias and Bhonsle and they were forced to accept Subsidiary alliance and conclude separate treaties with the British regarding the same.
• Yashwant Rao Holkar formed a coalition of Indian rulers and fought against the British in 1804. However, the British defeated the Marathas and isolated them from one another.

Check NCERT notes on First & Second Anglo-Mysore War here.

Significance Of The Treaty of Bassein

• With the Treaty of Bassein, the Paramount British influence was established in Poona.
• The head of the Maratha confederacy accepted a dependent relation with the British and thus all the other members of the Maratha confederacy were made subordinate to the British.
• The Company became the arbiter for any issues that arise between Peshwa and Marathas or any Indian ruler.
• Since the Peshwa surrendered all his claims over Nizam, to the British East India Company, Hyderabad was indirectly brought under the control of the Company.

You might also like: Third and Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

Second Anglo-Maratha War – Implications

• 1. The Sindhia army was defeated in September 1803 and the Treaty of Surji Anjangaon was concluded on December 30, 1803
     • Treaty of Surji Anjangaon: Under this treaty, Sindhias handed over Ahmednagar, Broach, region between Ganga and Yamuna, and parts of Bundelkhand to the British
  2. The Bhonsle was defeated in November 1803 and the Treaty of Devgaon was concluded with them on December 17, 1803.

• Treaty of Devgaon: Under this treaty, the Subsidiary alliance was agreed, and also the provinces of Cuttack, Balasore, and land to the West of the Wardha river were submitted to the British.

• Treaty of Rajpurghat was concluded with Holkar in 1806 and Jaswanth Rao Holkar agreed to surrender all the areas to the North of Bundi Hill.

You can check NCERT notes on Partition of Bengal here.

Conclusion

The Second Anglo-Maratha war completely came to an end with the Treaty of Rajpurghat. With the Marathas losing the war against the British, their power was shattered to a great extent.

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