Question

Maratha kingdoms were located mainly in the ___________ part of India.

Answer 1

Answer: The correct answer is South-Western part of India.

• British wanted to destroy the Marathas from the late 18th century.
• In 1761, Marathas lost the Third Battle of Panipat.
• Hence the Maratha kingdom was divided into multiple states under different chiefs, belonging to different dynasties such as Bhonsle, Gaikwad, Holkar, Sindhia.
• All these were held together in a confederacy under a Principal Minister known as the Peshwa.
• Peshwa was the administrative and military head based out of Pune.
• The Treaty of Salbai was signed in 1782, at the end of the first war. There were a series of wars. First war did not have a clear victorious side.
• In the Second Anglo Maratha War (1803-05), British won the territories located in present day Orissa, Delhi, Agra and other territories located to the north of the river Yamuna.
• The Maratha power was crushed in the 3rd Anglo-Maratha power war, fought from 1817 to 1819.
• To the South of the Vindhyas, British gained complete control over territories, the Peshwa was dismissed by the British and sent away to a location near Kanpur.