A History of the Mahrattas v2.c40.8

v2.c40.8

² [Kittūr (Kittoor) is now included in Sampgaon tāluka, Belgaum District, and lies about twenty-six miles south-east of Belgaum town. The Desāis of Kittūr were descended from two brothers who acted as shroffs or bankers with the Bijāpur army towards the close of the sixteenth century. In return for their services they obtained a grant of Hubli (Dhārwār), and their fifth successor established himself at Kittūr. In 1818, when Munro was besieging Belgaum, the Desāi of Kittūr rendered much assistance and was allowed by the British to retain possession of the fort and village, which he held till his death in 1824. As he left no heir, an attempt was made by interested parties to secure the jāgīr by a forged deed of adoption, which led to an outbreak resulting in the death of Mr. Thackeray, the Political Agent and Collector. The fort was consequently seized, and the village included in British territory. A second rising in 1829 was not suppressed without difficulty. A temple at Kittūr contains a stone record of a trial by ordeal in 1188. (I.G. Bom., 1909, ii. 23.)]