']■ THE FIRST ANGLO-MARATHA WAR SJ5C0ND PHASE (1776-1779) Chapter IV - THE FIRST BORGHAT EXPEDITION (1 7 7 8 -7 9 ) For geographical mfer^neas ate Map Nos. 7, -feo. lQ.i,.att aQn.e<ji. Iifbe, ,fegil4nalfl£.i>i: k U X .ffhapter^ MAP NO-8 A SKETCH OF AN OLD MARATHA MAP SHOWING MA RA TH A& BRITISH POSITIONS NFAR BORGHAT (1778-73) [^REPRODUCED FROM THE MAP IN THE D.C.HC- NOre - 0R4G1NAL MrtrtftTHlNWrs |N HOPi SCRIPT aaNiHs - r 35ia>/Hrf 4.Nydl«VM »rvawtyw w x i o h iro>irtx in i >X XiinvAyo 5^HxvaviAi do A a o a iNtvw 70 H W i 3aVNYVt > X m H S 3 N V ? ? m s o p >X VtiaNVHOWvti ^ > o 0 % 0,o*o»o*o. z 0?‘’i (n z o m i i (ativno 30NVAQ\^VHNObON «n3l?NOW QNV ^ 0* 3SNVd OV«AlH9 baONfl r VHxvdVi>4 m O =t * ~n ITS H TI o r • X > * m ID DJ ii< • Xf I n 0 5 c_ > > H *0 l ! z » c U) z ~Al c o l o n e l h a r t l e y s a d v a n c e d q u a r d > 73 D a m A a a < (p 1: :} 5 iO 51k* MA»N BODY OF INFAHTRy fi V' m v ~ CO c5 raghobas troops and guns n A LM RPAR aUARD under CAPTAIN GORDON o M A P N O . l O THE RETREAT OF THE BRITISH FORCES FROM TALEGAO TO VADGAO (llT H AND 12TH JANUARy 1779) Qi > H z o I > O z ;o O m o v: > 2 m \ 03o o a “Xn o TALEGAO G i l d o X > -a 7 J VADG-A< 7t 33 m O 2 > > P c 1 c 5 I 2 > z Z o O o n H m f D 5 >I 1. ? nr incwes = 1 niLE '< HARATHA CAVA LRy MAKING A FLANK ATTACK CHAPTSit ly THE FIoST BOHGHAT EX?£i/ITION (177^-79) After the conclusion of the treaty of Purandar in March 1776, the second phase of the first Anglo-Maratha War started. This phase resulted in engaging the Marathas and the 3ritish in another round of military conflict and ended with the treaty of Vadgao in January 1779. Th« 3ombay Government»s reaction to the terms of the treaty of Purandar of 1776 was bitter. They considered these terras detrimental to their interests and decided not to implement the treaty. In open defiance of the Supreme Council’s order, they gave full protection to naghoba and later hobnobbed with the Pretender,^ two inveterate enemies of the r'aratha 3tate, The Bombay (ioverniBent‘s breach of the treaty of Purandar was disliked by the Pune iJarbar. In order to counteract the Bombay Government*a misdeeds, Nana Phadnis accorded a friendly welcome to St, Lubin, who callea him­ self a representative of the Government of France and visited Pune on the 26th April, 1776. Nana and the other Karbharis had several meetings with 3t, Lubin. M, Le Chevalier de Saint - Lubin was no stranger to India. He had served as Third Surgeon on the vessels of the French East India Company, In 1766 he came to Bombay via 3asra and then proceeded to Mangalore, where he entered into Haidar All’s service. He next came to Madras where he 106 10 7 became a friend of John Call, an engineer, In the service of the iJiast India Company. On hla return to France, he In­ gratiated himself to the confidence of Monsieur de Sartlne, e/ Minister for the Navy, by presenting several mimolrs on the political situation 6f India. On the ICth January 1775 Lubln submitted to the Ministers of France a plan for a treaty of alliance to be concluded vdth the Harathas. In March 1776 he was appointed an envoy of the French King for negotiating a commercial treaty with the Maratha 2 Government. After several meetings with Lubln, the Pune Court entered Into a treaty with him on the IBth June, 1777* 3y this treaty, the Peshwa gave assurance of fu ll protection to a ll the French possessions In India. The ^iarathas also promised to place at the disposal of the French, 25,000 o f their cavalry In case of an attack on the French establish­ ments In India.^ It was alleged that the basis of this agreement was to send out a body of troops from France to India to assist the Pune Government against Its enemies. Nana*s exuberant zeal In welcoming St Lubln as compared with hla coolness towards 7<lostyn, the British envoy at the Pune Court, was perhaps calculated to create an Impression on the English that if they did not faithfully carry out the terms of the treaty, the Marathas wsuld turn towards the French for help. Nana seems to have been sincerely convin­ ced like Haidar A ll, that vlth the help of the French he might be able to offset the growing 3rltlsh aggression In lod t India. He certainly had no Intension of breaking up rela­ tions with the English. 3ut In making the show Nana over* shot his mark. He did not take into consideration that the St Lubln fraud would orovlde the Sngllah with an excellent pretext for breaking the treaty of Purandar, against which the 3ombay Government had been chafing for a long time. At this time the parties at Pune were seething with discontent. The treasury of the Puna Government was low. Moroba Phadnls, the cousin brother of Hana, and one of the members of the 3arbhala, had developed a bitter hatred towards Nana/b Sakharam Bapu, Moroba and Chinto \^ithal Ralrlkar^ formed a trio against Nana. Overtures were made to Lewis, Deputy Eesldent of the English at Pune, by the party of dapu, Moroba, Bajaba Purandare^** and Tukojl Holkar for the Company’s assistance to bring the ex“Peahwa Haghoba to Pune, The President and Council of dombay had unanimously agreed to encourage the plan. In case iakharam Sapu and other chiefs would make the application under their own saals and handwriting.^ Dadoo Pant, an agent from Moroba, arrived at Bombay on the 5th January 1773, to negotiate with Governor Hornby for this purpose.^ So far the Calcutta Council had sympathy for the Pune Court in its dispute with the iomoay Govemr.ant over the terms of the treaty of Purandar. But the 3t Lubln affair gave a new turn to its attitude towards the Karathas, which 109 henceforward became tough. The Calcutta Councll^approvei^ the Bombay Government’s resolution. On the 2nd February 177d, the Calcutta Council resolved that the President and Council of 3offibay were warranted by the treaty of Purandar to join in a plan for conducting Raghunathrao to Pune on 7 the application of the Pune Darbar. They informed the 3ombay Governinent that the object of tneir own policy was to prevent ’the growth of an influence dangerous to the Company’s interests, to defeat the intentions of a party adverse to the Company and to promote security of the Com- pany’s possessions’. On the 23rd February 177^, after an unusually warm debate, the Supreme Council issued orders for forming a detachment consisting of six battalions of sepoys, one company of native artillery, with the regular proportion of field artillery to which were afterwards added a regiment of cavalry and a body of 500 Kandahar horse supplied by the Nawab of Ayodhya. These forces were commanded by Colonel Leslie, He was instructed by the Supreme Council to proceed to !3ombay via 3undelkhand and Karhad (Serar) Subhas, whose rulers were on friendly terms with the British, Leslie, who set out in Karch 177^, instead of marching directly to Bombay with speed, wasted nearly seven months in fighting with the recalcitrant local chiefs in Bundelkhand, After his sudden death on the 3rd October 1776, the command of the 3engal army was placed in the hands of Thomas Uoddard. \k'hile Goddard's forces marched slowly through the 5atpuda no and the Vindhya tracts, the Calcutta viovernment was pre­ paring for its plans to detach the allies of the Peshwa from their allegiance to him and thus weaken the I'laratha otate. Thus the political strategy preceded the militairy strategy. With the Shonsales of Hagpur, the Bengal Government's relations were particularly close, so close that a regular correspondence had been kept up with Mudhoji Jhonaale directly as well as through Divakarpant Chorghade, Mudhoji*s diwan. A close alliance with Mudhoji iihonsale seemed to Hastings a very effective counterpart of a combination of the Pune Government, the Nizam and the '^^rench, which seemed to him threatening the British possessions on the 3ombay coast, in Ayodhya and even in 3engal. He knew well that if a war had to be waiged with the Maratha State, Goddard’s forces would be inadecuate to match the united strength of t’he three 9 powers, Further, an alliance with Mudhoji would divert the attention of the ^une Government and thus relieve fciiaia’ its* pressure upon Bombay. The Supreme Government consequently appointed A.K, Elliot to carry on negotiations with Mudhoji. iiut before he could take up his work, he died on the 3rd October, 1778 due to inflamation of liver. After Slliot's death. Colonel Goddard was entrusted with the former’s work of negotiating with Mudhoji. fehile at Hoshangabad, Goddard deputed Lt ^ifatherstone to proceed to Nagpur and seek avenues for establishing a treaty with Mudhoji. Watherstone tried to lure Mudhoji with his alluring Ill talks.