The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c10.10

c10.10

The excuse generally offered was that the English could not afford to offend the Delhi Government by supplying their enemies with warlike stores; but Shivaji was quite willing and even anxious to keep the transactions secret. In September 1671, Bombay informed Surat that 'an Engineer, mortar piece, grandos and a great gun or two are the assistance he expects which he thinks may be privately conveyed to him'.² How this could be managed we learn from another Bombay letter dated 9 November 1671, 'If Your Honour, etc., approve of spareing Sevagee 3 or 4 great gunns he sayes he will finde Portugues that shall buy them of us; as if for their owne use; and soe our name not brought in question'.³ In 1674, Shivaji again sent an envoy 'with an extraordinary kinde letter from him to the President together with a present of five loads of ordinary stuffs and a confirmation of the order for the payment of the money at Rajapore and other priviledges which hath granted to the English in his country and desired to be supplied with 60 big iron guns and two big brass guns'.⁴ The English at that moment did not possess any iron gun that they could spare but the two brass guns were for sale. The Surat authorities were, however, afraid that "soe publique an action as that would be must needs provoke this King, who being already made sensible by his ministers Bauder Ckaun⁵ and others as we hear, that his enemy is furnished with provisions from our island, might be incensed to ruine our trade in his dominions should wee assist him with such ammunition".⁶ In December 1676, the Surat council again addressed a letter to their Bombay colleagues positively forbidding them to sell the two brass guns that Shivaji was anxious to purchase. ‘Though Sevagee should profer you ready money’, the letter ran, ‘for your two brass gunns yet wee should not have you part with them without a positive order from us; for it is a matter of great consequence, and we know not how farr he may be trusted.’¹