Apart from their territorial ambitions, the major reason for the British intervention in the Maratha state was primarily commercial. The sudden growth in the company’s cotton trade after 1784 AD to China from Gujarat through Bombay, motivated the British authorities to play a more interventionist role in the region. The British authorities wanted to remove the intervention of the Marathas from the way of their lucrative trade.
THE FIRST ANGLO-MARATHA WAR (1775-82 AD)
This was the first of the three Anglo- Maratha wars fought between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war began with the Treaty of Surat (1775 AD) which was signed by Raghunath Rao with the Bombay Government to seize the throne with the help of English troops and ended with the Treaty of Salbai (1782 AD). The political ambition of the company to extend its influence towards the Maratha territories and the internal conflict among the Maratha leaders played a significant role in this war.
THE SECOND ANGLO- MARATHA WAR (1803-05 AD)
The second phase of the struggle between the British and the Marathas was intimately connected with the circumstances created by the growing French power for the company in India. Wellesley, who came to India as the Governor-General in 1798, believed that the only possible way to safeguard India against the French danger was to establish solid military control upon the Indian princes.
In this context, he pursued his aggressive policy of interference in the internal affairs of the Marathas with the desire to impose a subsidiary alliance on them. Though Peshwa accepted the subsidiary alliance of the British, the other Maratha Chiefs showed resentment against it.
They considered the subsidiary treaty as humiliating and a threat to their independent political existence and thus, declared war against the British. In the war, the well-prepared and organized army of the English under Arthur Wellesley defeated the combined armies of Scindias and Bhonsle and forced them to conclude separate subsidiary treaties with the British. Bhonsle signed the Treaty of Deogaon (17th December 1803) and Scindia signed the Treaty of Surji- Arjangaon (30th December 1803).
In 1804 AD, Yashwant Rao Holkar made an attempt to form a coalition of Indian rulers to fight against the British.
His attempt, however, proved to be unsuccessful and after being defeated, he was forced to conclude with Sir George Barlow the Treaty of Rajpurghat Rajghat (25th or December 1805). Thus, the war finally resulted in the establishment of British influence on the Maratha empire.
THE THIRD ANGLO-MARATHA WAR (1817-18 AD)
The third and final phase of the struggle began with the coming of Lord Hastings as the Governor-General in 1813, who resumed the aggressive policy of Wellesley and was determined to proclaim the British Paramountcy in India. On the other end, there was resentment among the Marathas against the loss of their freedom to the British. Thus, the Peshwa, who was agitated by the rigid control exercised by British residents, attacked the British residency at Poona. He was joined by other Maratha Chiefs.
However, the British were determined to prevent the Peshwa to exert his authority again on the Maratha confederacy and the battles that followed undermined the power and prestige of the Marathas. The Maratha confederacy was dissolved and the Peshwa, Baji Rao II was dethroned and pensioned off at Bithur near Kanpur. A subsidiary treaty known as the Treaty of Mandsor was signed with Holkar. To satisfy the Maratha pride, Pratap Singh, a descendant of Shivaji was made the ruler of a small kingdom of Satara founded out of the Peshwa’s lands.