The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c15.110

c15.110

In the meantime war broke out between the Peshwa and the Portuguese, and the two Angria brothers served their suzerain’s cause to the best of their ability. Sambhaji and Manaji, it is needless to say, followed no concerted plan, each acting on his own account. They might have helped the Peshwa’s forces operating against Bassein and other Portuguese places in two ways. First, they could have blockaded these ports and cut off communication with Goa, but this was neither effected nor even attempted. Not only did the Portuguese safely send reinforcements to Bassein, as occasion demanded, but the besieged themselves on certain occasions despatched expeditions to other places on the coast. The Angrias with their fleet were certainly cruising on the sea, but they never thought of attempting a regular blockade. There was yet another way of striking their enemies at a vital point. Goa depended absolutely for its food supply on the regular import of rice from the ports of Canara. If this supply was cut off, not only Goa but the besieged city of Bassein also which mainly relied on Goa for its provisions, would be reduced, to grave straits. Concerted action by the two brothers, or even resolute operation by Sambhaji alone, might have starved the Portuguese into submission. But no systematic effort was ever made by either of the two Angrias to intercept the Portuguese merchant flotilla. This can be explained by the fact that whereas the Peshwa was fighting against the Portuguese alone, the Angria brothers were fighting also against the English; and they were prone to be diverted from their main objective by the sight of vessels belonging to other nations. They had forgotten their father’s policy of fighting one enemy at a time and so narrowing the field of operations.