| F10195_006629.
which he felt against them at the close
of his Indian career.
The Marathas. Treaty with the Peshwa. Submission of Bhonsla.
The most ambitious of Wellesley's schemes
of Empire was that which he entertained
with regard to the Marathas. This mighty
race, which occupied the whole of Central
India, from Cuttack on the east-coast
to Gujarat in the West, & stretched to the
dominions of the Nizam in the South
& the Great Mughal in the North, this
vast people, though nominally still
under the dominion of the decayed
Mughal Empire, was in reality divided
into several kingdoms under various
Maratha chiefs. Of these the most important
were the Peshwa, whose capital
was Poona; Sindhia & Holkar, two
powerful princes whose dominions -
much complicated the one one with the
other - lay to the East of the Gujarat; &
Bhonsla, the Raja of Berar, whose territory
stretched over practically the whole
of the Eastern part of the Maratha
country. These various states were always
fighting amongst themselves for power.
Since 1801 Sindhia & Holkar had been
at war with one another, & Baji Rao,
the Peshwa, had joined Sindhia. On October
25th, 1802, Hokar won a decisive vic- | F10195_006629.
which he felt against them at the close
of his Indian career.
The Marathas. Treaty with the Peshwa. Submission of Bhonsla.
The most ambitious of Wellesley's schemes
of Empire was that which he entertained
with regard to the Marathas. This mighty
race, which occupied the whole of Central
India, from Cuttack on the east-coast
to Gujarat in the West, & stretched to the
dominions of the Nizam in the South
& the Great Mughal in the North, this
vast people, though nominally still
under the dominion of the decayed
Mughal Empire, was in reality divided
into several kingdoms under various
Maratha chiefs. Of these the most important
were the Peshwa, whose capital
was Poona; Sindhia & Holkar, two
powerful princes whose dominions -
much complicated the one one with the
other - lay to the East of the Gujarat; &
Bhonsla, the Raja of Berar, whose territory
stretched over practically the whole
of the Eastern part of the Maratha
country. These various states were always
fighting amongst themselves for power.
Since 1801 Sindhia & Holkar had been
at war with one another, & Baji Rao,
the Peshwa, had joined Sindhia. On October
25th, 1802, Hokar won a decisive victory [tory next page] |
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