Canberra, 22 March 2023 While continuing to fight a rear-guard action to safeguard their privileges and trade monopoly in the Home Country, the Company was also catering to a second requirement. From the very beginning, the Company had firmly believed that it must have full sway in the country where it was hoping to conduct […]
Continue reading
Tag Archives: Surat
Europeans in India Part 8 The English East India Company Section III: Early Decades – The Steady March
March 17, 2023 
0 Comments
Canberra, 17 March 2023 The East India Company’s beginnings in India were not very promising, mainly because of the concerted Portuguese opposition and the inability of the English to obtain permission from the Mughal Viceroy of Gujarat to erect a factory in Surat. The Portuguese were opposed to any new arrivals in India and made […]
Continue readingEuropeans in India Part 7 The Dutch Enter the Fray Section II Commercial Activities – Gujarat, The Coromandel & Bengal
January 29, 2023 0 Comments
Canberra, 29 January 2023 The Dutch arrived in India and faced great opposition from the Portuguese, who pushed back with force. The animosity was such that they moved on to the Far-East and established themselves in today’s Indonesia. From their base in the archipelago, they made gradual and initially surreptitious inroads into South Asia, initially […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section V: The Gaekwads of Baroda
September 11, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 11th September 2022 The Gaekwads were hereditary Patels of Davdi, a village near Talegaon in Pune district. From the time of the Maratha conquest of Gujarat, they were in the direct service of the Senapati, Khande Rao Dabhade. The Senapati was also a hereditary position and equal in status to the Peshwa, being the […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 17 The Supreme Council of Calcutta: English Interlude
June 23, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 23 June 2022 In April 1774, when he started his retreat from his march towards Pune, Raghunath Rao entered into negotiations with the English East India Company through their Bombay Government. The English, still basking in the glow of the resounding victory Robert Clive had achieved in Bengal, readily grasped at the overtures although […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 12 The Rise of the Peshwas: Balaji Viswanath Bhat
November 12, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 12 November 2021 Bringing Kanhoji Angre into Shahu’s fold without bloodshed was a great triumph of Balaji’s diplomacy. The most powerful chieftain from the rival camp was now a supporter of Shahu, which further strengthened the foundations of the Maratha kingdom that was being built. The new policy, enunciated by the Peshwa and fully […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 7 Sambhaji Bhonsle Section I: Accession and Early Rule
September 28, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 28 September 2021 On hearing of his father’s illness, Sambhaji hurried from Panhala to Raigarh but could not reach the fort before Shivaji’s death. He carried out the last rites and then returned to Panhala. The mourning period was followed by a short, but vicious power struggle for succession. The 23-year-old Sambhaji, as the […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 6 Shivaji Bhonsle Section IV Dealing with the Mughals 2. Towards a Maratha Kingdom
August 18, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 18 August 2021 From the time of his return to Bijapur, Shahji had been heavily involved in pacifying the restive nobles of the Doab on behalf of the Adil Shah. In appreciation of Shahji’s service, Ali Adil Shah had bestowed the fiefdoms of Bangalore and Tanjore on Vyankoji. Unfortunately, during the campaign Shahji died […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 6 Shivaji Bhonsle Section IV Dealing with the Mughals 1. Shayista Khan and After
August 1, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 1 August 2021 Busy with settling his newly captured throne, Aurangzeb deputed Shayista Khan as the viceroy of the Mughal Deccan. Shayista Khan was Aurangzeb’s maternal uncle, a highly regarded noble of the court, and a veteran soldier who had knowledge of the Deccan since he had been part of the force that had […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 81 Akbar Section IV: The Conquering Emperor; 3. The Gujarat Campaign
July 24, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 24 July 2020 Gujarat, situated to the south-west of the Mughal province of Malwa and shored by the Arabian Sea was a rich kingdom, mainly because of its seaports that facilitated a flourishing maritime trade. It was geographically large and consisted of the territories and districts of Surat, Broach, Kaira, Ahmedabad, large parts of […]
Continue reading
Sanu Kainikara 
Recent Comments