Bajirao I was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. He, after Shivaji, is considered to be the most charismatic and dynamic leader in Maratha history. He was just twenty years old and already had a reputation for rapid decisions and a passion for military adventure.
The Maratha Confederacy, also referred to as the Maratha Empire, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states often subordinate to the former. It was established in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the Maratha Chhatrapati and recognised by Emperor Bahadur Shah I as a tributary state in 1707 following a prolonged rebellion. Following this, the Marathas continued to recognise the Mughal emperor as their nominal suzerain, similar to other contemporary Indian entities, though in practice, imperial politics at Delhi were largely influenced by the Marathas between 1737 and 1803.
The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Confederacy, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary after the death of Shahu in 1749. During the reign of Shahu, the office of Peshwa grew in power and the Peshwas came to be the de facto rulers of the Maratha Confederacy. However following the defeat of the Marathas in 1761, the office of the Peshwa became titular as well and from that point onwards served as the ceremonial head of the Confederacy underneath the Chhatrapati.
Kanhoji Angre, also known as Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré was a Maratha Navy officer. Kanhoji became known for attacking and capturing European East Indiamen and collecting jakat, seen by Europeans traders and colonists as ransoming of their crews. British, Dutch and Portuguese ships often fell victims to these raids.Despite attempts by the Portuguese and British to put an end to his privateering activities, Angre continued to capture and collect jakat from European merchant ships until his death in 1729. Kanhoji's naval prowess in capturing dozens of European trading ships and avoiding capture has led to many historians to appraise Kanhoji as the most skilled Indian navy chief in the maritime history of India.
Shahu I was the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Confederacy founded by his grandfather, Shivaji I. He was born into the Bhonsle family, and was the son of Sambhaji I and Yesubai. At a young age, he was taken into custody at the Siege of Raigad by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and held captive. He was released from captivity after the death of Aurangzeb in the hope of engineering an internecine struggle among the Maratha factions of Tarabai and Shahu. Shahu emerged victorious in the bloody Battle of Khed and was crowned as Chhatrapati.
Balaji Vishwanath Bhat was the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Bhat family who gained effective control of the Maratha Confederacy and other Mughal vassals during the early 18th century. Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Maratha king Shahu to consolidate his grip on a kingdom that had been racked by civil war and persistently intruded on by the Mughals under Aurangzeb. He was called the Second Founder of the Maratha State. He secured a grant from the Mughal court that confirmed Shahu as the legitimate Mughal vassal, at the expense of his rival Sambhaji II. Later, his son Bajirao I became the Peshwa.
Maharani Tarabai Bhosale (née Mohite) was the regent of the Maratha Empire from 1700 until 1708. She was the queen of Rajaram I, and daughter-in-law of the kingdom's founder Shivaji I. She is acclaimed for her role in keeping alive the resistance against Mughal rule in Konkan, and acting as the regent of the Maratha Empire during the minority of her son, Shivaji II. She defeated Mughal forces of Aurangzeb in several battles and expanded the Maratha Empire.
Suvarnadurg is a fort that is located between Mumbai and Goa on a small island in the Arabian Sea, near Harnai in Konkan, along the West Coast of India, in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Kolaba Fort located at Alibag beach is an old fortified maritime base in Alibag, Konkan, India. It is situated in the sea at a distance of 1–2 km from the shores of Alibag, 35 km south of Mumbai, in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, India. It is a popular tourist destination and a protected monument.
Khanderi is an island with a fort, located south of Mumbai, along the coast of Maharashtra, India.
Vijaydurg, the oldest fort on the Sindhudurg coast, was constructed during the regime of Raja Bhoja II of the Shilahar dynasty and restructured by Shivaji.
Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar was a Maratha General during the Peshwa Period. He is renowned as the builder of the Varadvinayak temple in Mahad.
Bhaironji Pant Pingale was the younger son of Moropant Trimbak Pingle. His father, Moropant Pingle was the first Peshwa of Chhattrapati Shivaji.
The Battle of Vijaydurg was fought between Tulaji Angre, the Admiral of the Maratha Navy and the combined forces of the East India Company and the Maratha Confederacy led by Peshwa Balaji Bajirao in early 1756.
The Maratha Navy was the naval wing of the armed forces of the Maratha Confederacy, which existed from around the mid-17th century to the mid-18th century in the Indian subcontinent.
Bankot Fort / Himmatgad Fort/ Fort Victoria is a fort located 47 km from Dapoli, in Ratnagiri district, of Maharashtra. This fort is an important fort in Ratnagiri district. The Fort is located on a prominent and commanding point for guarding the trade route along the Savitri River, which runs till, Mahad which was a busy route in medieval times. It is a fort located on a hill near the sea.
Jawji Babaji Gawli was also referred to as Jauji Gauli or Javji Gauli or Jivaji Gauli was a Sardar (Chieftain) in the Peshwa's army during the reign of Balaji Baji Rao.
Colaba State, also known as Culaba State or Angria's Colaba was a Kingdom and later princely state in India. It was founded by the famous Maratha Navy admiral Kanhoji Angre in 1698. The ruling family of the state, the Angre, were skilled seafarers who controlled the western coast of India from the late 17th century- to the first half of the 18th century, until the Maratha Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao destroyed the major portion of their navy in the Battle of Vijaydurg.
The Dhulap family was a Maratha noble family of the Maratha Empire in the late 18th century-early 19th century who were hereditary sarkhels or supreme commanders of the Maratha Navy during its decline. They came to power after the Angre family's downfall and Tulaji Angre's defeat at the Battle of Vijaydurg by the East India Company. Rudraji Dhulap and his son Anandrao Dhulap successively served as grand admirals of the Maratha Navy.
Yesaji Angre was a military commander and the youngest son of Kanhoji Angre, the famed Maratha Navy admiral from his wife Gahinabai Bhonsle. He spent his naval career under the service of his elder half-brother Sambhaji Angre. The Gwalior branch of the Angre family was descended from him.
