The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c14.8

c14.8

Moreover, a fleet in those days did not cost the State much to maintain. While protecting the mercantile fleet of the country the fighting fleet would raise a revenue by emulating the example of the European powers settled on the western coast. Like the English and the Portuguese, the Marathas could also sell their passports to alien traders if they could hold their own afloat. There was another advantage which Shivaji must have foreseen even in the earliest days of his struggle against the Muslim powers of the Deccan and Hindustan, that his enemies might try to starve him into submission by prohibiting the export of provisions from their country² as Bahadur Khan actually did. But if the sea were open to him he could get an abundant supply from the ports of the south even when the usual trade routes of the country had all been blocked against him. Prudence therefore dictated and foresight suggested that he should equip a fighting fleet of his own to protect his people, to punish his enemies, to provide for the prosperity of his ports and to secure for himself and his subjects a share of the maritime trade. It was not his aim to secure the freedom of the sea against the world; he was quite content to share the sovereignty with his neighbours.