Kanhoji Angre

Topic: The Marathas · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 3 "The Marathas"

Meaning

Kanhoji Angre was an 18th-century Maratha naval commander (admiral) who won many sea battles against European ships, demanded passes from them, and was called a "pirate" by them. His family ran a fleet based at Kolaba and other centres on the west coast [3]. He matters because his navy was the one serious Indian challenge to European sea power before 1800. It also showed an Indian state claiming control over its own seas.

Explanation

Background: Europeans at sea and the cartaz

• From the start, the Maratha armed forces had three wings: infantry, cavalry and navy. The navy's job was to guard the Konkan coast.
• Shivaji had already built a large fleet in the 17th century.
• In 1665, four of Shivaji's ships were seized at Muscat and their crews were arrested.
• The ruler of Oman got ready to attack Shivaji's coast.

• When he heard the Maratha navy had more than a hundred ships, he pulled back into his harbour.

• European companies controlled sea trade with a pass system.

• Indian ships had to buy a cartaz (a Portuguese word for a naval trade pass, or sea permit).

• A ship found at sea without one was confiscated.

• In the Adnyapatra (1715), the Marathas themselves warned that for the Europeans, "Navy and gunpowder are their chief weapons." Kanhoji Angre's navy was the Maratha answer to this danger.

How Angre fought: weak ships, clever tactics

• His ships were technologically weaker than European ships, which were bigger and carried more guns.
• He still won many naval battles because he used geography and tactics well:
• Shallow creeks. His light boats escaped into waters where heavy European ships could not follow.
• Monsoon timing. He struck when the weather suited his small ships.
• Island bases. Forts on islands and on the coast gave his ships shelter and supplies.

• Swarming. Many small, fast vessels attacked a single big, slow ship together.

• The Angre (Angria) family ran a fleet based at Kolaba and other centres on the west coast [3].

The pass system turned around

• The Marathas used the Europeans' own rule against them.
• They demanded passes from European ships sailing in their waters.

• So European ships now had to obey the kind of rule they had forced on Indian ships.

• The Europeans called Angre a "pirate".

• The label was political, not legal. Angre was an admiral of a recognised state, not a free-roaming sea robber.
• European records gave him this name because they were angry about having to obey his passes.

Results and meaning

• Angre kept European ships from fully controlling the western coast for some time.
• His story shows that Indians did not just accept European control of the sea. An Indian state claimed maritime sovereignty (the right to rule its own waters), not just the right to defend its coast.
• Today the Indian Navy traces its inspiration to the Maratha fleet. Navy Day 2023 was marked at Sindhudurg [2].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: the 18th century, after the age of Shivaji. Maratha power as a whole runs from c. 1630 to 1818.
• Place: the west coast (Konkan). The Angre fleet was based at Kolaba and other centres [3].
• Older naval base: Sindhudurg, an island fort near the Maharashtra–Goa border, was built in 1660 by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj [2][4]. It is about 550 km from Mumbai and about 135 km from the naval station at Goa [2]. This shows how far south Maratha sea power reached, right up to Portuguese Goa.
• Heritage status of the coastal forts: UNESCO added the "Maratha Military Landscapes of India" to the World Heritage List at the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris. It is India's 44th World Heritage property [4][5].

• It covers twelve forts. The sea forts in it are Vijaydurg (coastal fort) and Khanderi, Suvarnadurg and Sindhudurg (island forts) [4].

• Key people: Kanhoji Angre, the admiral; Shivaji, who founded the navy; Ramachandrapant Amatya, Shivaji's finance minister, who wrote the Adnyapatra.

• How we know:
• The NCERT Class 8 account of the Maratha navy.
• The Adnyapatra ('The Royal Edict', 1715). It calls the Europeans "hat-wearers" and says their chief weapons are navy and gunpowder. It advises the state to control their traffic (their trade and movement) and not let them build strong buildings on the coast.
• European company records. These are where the "pirate" label comes from, so historians read them with care.

Don't confuse with

• Shivaji's navy (17th century): Shivaji founded the navy. The 1665 Muscat episode and the building of Sindhudurg (1660) belong to him. Kanhoji Angre is the 18th-century commander who fought the European companies.
• Cartaz: the Portuguese pass that Indian ships had to buy. The Maratha passes worked the other way round: they were demanded from European ships.
• Kolaba vs the UNESCO forts: the note names Kolaba as the Angre fleet's base [3]. Kolaba is not one of the 12 forts in the UNESCO property. The sea forts in that property are Vijaydurg, Khanderi, Suvarnadurg and Sindhudurg [4].
• Mahadji Shinde: he also adapted to European warfare, but on land. He kept a large European-style army of disciplined infantry and artillery. Angre's strength was at sea, using light ships and local tactics.

Prelims Hooks

• Kanhoji Angre: 18th-century Maratha naval commander whom the Europeans branded a "pirate". The Angre fleet was based at Kolaba [3].
• Angre's ships were technologically inferior to European ships. He won through geography and tactics, not better technology.
• Cartaz: a Portuguese naval trade pass. Indian ships without one were confiscated. The Marathas later demanded passes from the Europeans.
• 1665 Muscat episode: four of Shivaji's ships were seized. The ruler of Oman backed off after hearing the Maratha navy had over 100 ships.
• Sindhudurg: an island fort built in 1660 by Shivaji (not Angre), near the Maharashtra–Goa border. Navy Day 2023 was held there [2][4].
• Adnyapatra (1715) by Ramachandrapant Amatya names the Europeans' chief weapons as "navy and gunpowder".

Mains Points

• Maritime sovereignty, not just defence. By turning the cartaz system back on the Europeans, the Marathas claimed the right to control their own waters. This makes Angre's navy the one serious Indian challenge to European sea power before 1800. It is useful for answers on Indian responses to European expansion.
• Who writes history decides the labels. European records called Angre a "pirate". In fact he was an admiral of a recognised state. This is a good example of colonial sources painting a rival power as a criminal, and of why historians must read such sources critically.
• Awareness without a united response. The Adnyapatra (1715) saw the danger clearly: Europeans wanted territory and the spread of their religion, backed by navy and gunpowder. Angre's victories showed the danger could be resisted. But no united Indian naval policy followed. This is a useful line for questions on why Indian powers lost to the Company.

Related concepts

• Adnyapatra
• Bargir and shiledar
• Bargi raids
• Maratha Military Landscapes
• Sindhudurg Fort
• Maratha navy

Read more

• Military organisation: army, forts, navy