A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MAHRATTAS
Various theories have been advanced as to the origin of the Mahratta-speaking races of Western India. It is a generally accepted idea that, though the higher classes are to some extent of Aryan blood, the majority of the people are descended from aboriginal tribes who settled in the country long before the Aryans commenced their emigration from the Oxus.
The Mahratta country extends from Bombay in the north to Goa in the south, and from the Indian Ocean in the west to the Central Provinces and the Nizam's Dominions in the east. The tract is divided into two well-defined portions by the Ghats, a chain of hills running parallel with the coast. The strip of country near the sea, from the mouth of the Taptee to Goa, is generally known as the Konkan, and was formerly infested with pirates and brigands. The table-land of the Dekhan to the west of the Ghats has been inhabited for numberless generations by cultivators, shepherds, and herdsmen, and it was not until the Mahomedan persecutions had driven these peasants into rebellion that they developed any warlike instincts, and became aware of their own capacity for conquest.
Considering the power to which they at one time attained, it seems remarkable that no mention should have been made of the Mahrattas in history from the time of the Mahomedan conquests in the thirteenth century to the reign of Aurangzeb. It would appear, however, that during this period the country on each side of the Ghats was divided into numerous Hindu principalities, which paid tribute to the Mahomedan Kings of the Dekhan and Golkonda, but were never really subdued. A Mahratta family of the Bhondle tribe, which claimed to be of Rajput descent, had been for many generations in the service of the Sultans of Bijapur. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, a son of this family, named Sivaji, turned brigand, and supported by his peasant followers, who rapidly developed into soldiers, commenced a series of daring raids in the rich plain country to the east of the Ghats. In 1664 Sivaji changed the scene of his operations to the coast, and sacked the town of Surat, carrying off booty to the value of a million sterling. The British factory recently established there by the East India Company was successfully defended by the merchants, supported by sailors from their ships, but the exploit excited general alarm, for Surat was not only a great emporium for trade, but the port at which Mahomedan pilgrims embarked for Mecca, and landed on their return to India.
WITH THE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, 1914.
By this time the Moghuls were thoroughly alarmed. The levying of the "chanth," or fourth share of the revenue, by the Mahrattas was seriously affecting their finances, for Sivaji's raids extended to the south, and as far to the east as Bengal. Large Moghul armies took the field against his followers, but on the whole with very little success. The Mahrattas were loose hordes of lightly-clad horsemen, who lived on fruit and grain. They were the Cossacks of India, ever hovering round camps and armies to carry off treasure, though unable to face the heavy-armed Moghuls in the open field. The latter, however, were generally very wanting in activity. Mahrattas could easily escape from fortresses if driven out by starvation, and few Moghul commanders dared to follow them into the winding paths of the Ghats, whither they would retreat, lest the Moghuls, in their turn, should be cut off or starved into submission. Meanwhile, troops of Mahratta horsemen might be scouring the plains, harrying and plundering the peaceful villages, ready to gallop back at the first warning to their fastnesses in the hills and jungles.
Sivaji died in 1680, after a brilliant career of conquest. From then until 1707 the Mahrattas were weakened by quarrels among themselves, which caused the principal power in the state to be gradually transferred from the Bhonste descendants of Sivaji to a family of Brahmans, who were their hereditary Peishwas or Ministers.
Under these "Mayors of the Palace" the Mahratta power reached its zenith. Satara was their original capital, but there were powerful Mahratta governments established at Poona, Gwalior, Nagpur, Indore, and Baroda; and, towards the close of the eighteenth century, they started on a career of conquest which made them masters of India from Delhi to Cape Comorin—a career which was only checked by the rising power of the British.
"WILD MAHRATTA BATTLE"