Book Excerpt: Kanhoji Angre And The Marathas' Assertion Of Supreme Naval Power

Yodha: Illustrated Military History of India—The Epics (BCE) to The Uprising (1857). Shiv Kunal Verma. The Browser. Pages 432. Rs 731.

Kanhoji Angre (1698–1729 CE) began his remarkable journey within the walls of Sindhudurg Fort, his birthplace. Rising from humble origins, he became one of the most formidable naval commanders on India’s west coast.

However, the foundation for Kanhoji’s coastal domination was laid by Chhatrapati Shivaji, a rare Indian monarch who understood the potential of maritime power.

During his reign, Chhatrapati Shivaji underwent various phases, his military tactics evolving with him as he metamorphosed the Marathas into a composite kingdom. After his coronation in 1674, the Maratha Army, in its shape and structure, began to operate along a defined organisational triad that centred around the infantry, cavalry, and artillery.

The fact that the Maratha forces under Chhatrapati Shivaji kept pace with the latest warfare techniques is evident from their systematic capture of English and Dutch forts and the subsequent sacking of Surat in 1664.

By then the Maratha Navy held control of the coastline from Tarapur in North Konkan to Karwar in North Karnataka, barring the regions of Bombay, Janjira and Goa. Chhatrapati Shivaji was well aware of the importance of naval warfare. He also knew that the sea-borne Portuguese were as much a threat to him as were the Mughals.

By 1659, he had assembled a fleet of 20 warships, which steadily expanded over time. Since the Portuguese were more advanced in maritime tactics, he invited Portuguese mercenaries to join the Maratha Navy, even going so far as to appoint Rui Leitao Viegas as the commander of his navy.

However, the Portuguese authorities were increasingly uncomfortable with these developments, for they feared the Maratha Navy would neutralise the Siddis who controlled the Janjira region.

After a series of covert negotiations with the Viceroy of Goa, Joao Nunes da Cunha, Rui Viegas and 300 Portuguese sailors ‘returned’ to the Portuguese colours in 1668.

When Chhatrapati Shivaji was succeeded by Sambhaji in 1680, Kanhoji Angre was barely 13 years old. His father, Tukoji had served at Suvarnadurg under Chhatrapati Shivaji with a command of 200 posts.

In 1685, the commander of Suvranadurg tried to defect to the Siddis of Janjira who continued to be aligned with the Mughals, but he was thwarted by Kanhoji, which brought him to the notice of Sambhaji.

After the death of Admiral Sidhoji Gujar in 1698, Kanhoji was appointed the Sarkhel or Darya Saranga (admiral) of the Maratha Navy. Under the command of Kanhoji, the Maratha Navy started attacking merchant ships of the East India Company (EIC) and began to dominate all the European fleets.

He positioned his naval base at Vijaydurg, which featured a dockyard with facilities for building vessels, using the teak grown in the Western Ghats. The Maratha naval fleet consisted of gurabs (warships) that weighed up to 400 tons and gallivats (warboats) that were lighter in displacement at around 100-120 tonnes.

Another type of ship developed for coastal waters was the pal (man-of-war), a three-masted vessel armed with cannons.

After the Marathas signed a treaty of friendship with the Portuguese and another with the Siddis in 1703, they began to concentrate all their forces against the EIC.

Any European ship (British, Dutch, or Portuguese) sailing through Maratha territorial waters at the time was to pay a levy, called chouth, which underlined Kanhoji’s complete dominance.