Administrative System of the Marathas c15.15

c15.15

The naval spirit roused by Shivaji did not die with him. The Angrias maintained the naval reputation of Maharashtra till the destruction of their fleet by the combined efforts of the Peshwa and the English. The Peshwas also had a strong fleet for defending the western coast. The mercantile spirit of the Maratha traders also found a greater scope with the expansion of the Maratha empire. In Shivaji's time merchant-men plied between Arabia and the Malabar coast; during the Peshwa period the Maratha traders actually settled in Arabian coast towns like Muscat⁹ and their trading vessels visited China. The naval policy of Shivaji therefore bore ample fruit, though long after the Maratha Alfred had passed away.