The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c15.5

c15.5

Kanhoji’s origin was obscure, and he certainly did not belong to the nobility of the land. Of his early career little or nothing is known. A Portuguese Viceroy states that he started life as a humble servant of other Hindus in the island of Versova.² The rapid growth of his power, however, soon attracted the wondering notice of his contemporaries, and all sorts of probable and improbable stories about his birth and early career obtained currency among the credulous seamen who frequented the ports of western India. These stories were widely disseminated through the literary efforts of an English sailor, Clement Downing,¹ and the account of Angria’s Arabian origin was so commonly accepted that an unknown writer, who claimed to narrate an ‘authentic history and fighting adventures’ of Kanhoji’s son, Tulaji, had no hesitation in calling him ‘the Arabian pirate’.² Among modern writers, Enthoven believes in the Abyssinian origin of the Angrias, but he adduces no evidence for his belief.³ According to the official history of his family, Kanhoji was a Maratha Kshatriya by birth and the original surname of his ancestors was Sankpal. The new name of Angria was supplied by the village of Angarvadi, where the family had long resided.⁴ Tukoji, father of Kanhoji, had served under Shivaji;⁵ and the son had naturally followed in the footsteps of the father. Malhar Ram Rao Chitnis says that when Rajaram sought refuge in Jinji he was accompanied by the Commander-in-Chief of the navy, Sidoji Gujar, and Kanhoji was left in charge of Suvarnadurg. Here he distinguished himself against the Sidis of Janjira who had reconquered their lost possessions on the mainland and was appointed Subhedar of the Armada by Rajaram with the title of Sarkhel. When exactly this happened we do not know, but by 1703 he had attained so much importance that Caetano de Mello e Castro, Viceroy of Goa, addressed a friendly letter to him, sent him some presents and permitted the merchants of Chaul to purchase a vessel which Kanhoji had probably captured as a prize and was anxious to dispose of.⁶ In 1710 he captured a Dutch sloop.⁷ In 1712 he was simultaneously at war with the Portuguese, the Sidi and his own countrymen of Shahu’s party, while his relations with the English were at breaking point, but his power on the sea was so well recognised that a Portuguese writer did not hesitate two years later to compare him with the famous Barbarossa.¹