[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928) › c2 # The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c2: Preface The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c2 - **Language:** English ### Preface ### [c2.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.1) A CIVILIAN writing about military matters labours under obvious difficulties, and it is necessary to offer an explanation for undertaking a task for which neither my training nor my profession qualifies me. Nearly ten years ago I began a study of the civil institutions of the Marathas with a view to explore the causes of the rapid expansion of their empire and its speedy collapse. The Maratha empire was primarily a military organisation and its civil institutions were closely connected with its military system. Every state forms an organic unit, and even a cursory examination of its character demands an enquiry into the nature of its component parts. This is the only excuse I can offer for trespassing into domains other than my own, but I am fully conscious of my limitations and I have carefully avoided all technical matters as far as possible and confined myself to those broad questions to which even a layman can do some justice. The need for such a survey was pointed out by Sydney Owen more than fifty years ago. ### [c2.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.2) If the civilian student of military history suffers from some disadvantage due to his lack of technical knowledge, he is further handicapped when he selects the military history of the Marathas as the subject of his enquiry. In England a large number of useful works on the art and science of war was written and published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but the Maratha commanders and strategists have left us nothing of that kind. Their military theories must, therefore, remain a subject of conjecture. Luckily facts and figures, on which such conjectures can safely be based, are not wanting, though they are still buried in unpublished records scattered in different parts of India and Europe. All the information we need cannot be found in Marathi records, but these can be profitably supplemented by contemporary English, Portuguese, French and Dutch records; and for the last phase of the Maratha military organisation we have the valuable accounts left by European military experts like Tone and Smith, who wrote from personal knowledge. On the naval history of the Marathas their own records do not throw much light, and we have to rely almost entirely on foreign sources. It has been my endeavour to piece together these widely scattered scraps of information in the following pages; with what success, it is for my readers to judge. I have examined, as far as possible, all the manuscript records available in London, Paris, Lisbon, Evora and Goa, and I have not neglected the rare old publications likely to throw light on my subject. But these old records and manuscripts are without any index and in some cases they are not in a good state of preservation. It is, therefore, quite possible that some papers bearing on the subject may have escaped my scrutiny. ### [c2.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.3) The political history of the Marathas is now fairly well known, thanks to the monumental work of Grant Duff. It has been, therefore, possible to avoid a detailed narrative of their campaigns, but, as the average reader is yet unfamiliar with their naval activities, I have deemed it necessary to deal with that subject in greater detail; though a fuller account of the exploits of Kanhoji Angria and his sons has to be postponed for a future occasion from consideration of space. ### [c2.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.4) It is necessary to add a few words here about my references to Factory Records and Bombay Public Consultations. The date indicated either in the text or in the footnotes will supply a surer means of locating the extracts than the page or folio number, as each copyist seems to have numbered his own pages according to his own convenience. To avoid confusion, I have sometimes given the number of the particular part of the volume as well, but it should be noted that in the original volumes the different parts have not been separately numbered. It is also necessary to point out that in the following pages the word Maratha has not been (except when otherwise indicated) used in the caste sense. ### [c2.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.5) My thanks are due to Mr. Otwell, Superintendent of Records, India Office, for kindly permitting me to read the Bombay Public Consultations of 1700 to 1756. I take this opportunity for offering my grateful thanks for similar courtesy to Dr. Jaime de Cortesao of Biblioteca Nacional of Lisbon, Senor Pedro de Azevedo of Archivo Ultramarino of Lisbon, Dr. Lopes da Sylva of Bibliotheca Publica of Evora and M. Paul Roussier of the Colonial ### [c2.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.7) Office of Paris. Col. C. E. Luard has placed me under great obligations by lending me several rare publications on Maratha history and I am also indebted to Sir William Foster and Prof. Alfred Martineau for their expert guidance in my search of English and French records. Prof. Nripendra Chandra Banerji and Dr. Hem Chandra Ray Chaudhuri have very kindly gone through my manuscripts and my friend and colleague Sri Sailendra Nath Mitra has read the proofs with his usual kindness and patience. The late Mr. S. M. Edwardes very kindly revised some of the earlier chapters and I am indebted to him for some valuable suggestions. They are not, however, in any way responsible for any shortcoming that may still disfigure this work. ### [c2.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.8) The bibliography indicates the fact, and not the extent, of my indebtedness. ### [c2.9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.9) It has not been possible to print Portuguese words correctly for want of proper types, but it is hoped that this unavoidable defect will cause my readers no serious inconvenience. ### [c2.10](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.10) SURENDRA NATH SEN ### [c2.11](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.11) Senate House CALCUTTA 8 October 1928 ### [c2.12](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.12) The first of these, the \*Gospel of the Hebrews\*, was used by the Jewish Christians of Palestine, and was probably a version of the Gospel of Matthew, though it contained some traditions not found in our canonical books. The \*Gospel of the Egyptians\* was used by the ascetic sects of Egypt, and was marked by a strong tendency towards mysticism and asceticism. The \*Gospel of Peter\* was used by the Docetists, and taught that Christ did not really suffer, but only appeared to do so. ### [c2.13](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.13) These gospels, and others like them, were not accepted by the Church as a whole, and were gradually lost or suppressed. The Church, however, felt the need for a standard collection of writings that would serve as a guide for faith and practice. This led to the formation of the New Testament canon, a process that took several centuries to complete. ### [c2.14](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.14) The first step in this process was the collection of the letters of Paul, which were widely circulated among the churches. Then came the four Gospels, which were accepted as the authoritative accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles and the other epistles were gradually added, and finally the Book of Revelation. ### [c2.15](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.15) By the end of the second century, the core of the New Testament was generally accepted by the Church. The process of canonization was not a formal act of a council, but rather a gradual recognition by the churches of the writings that were most valuable for their life and worship. It was only in the fourth century that the canon was formally closed by the councils of the Church. ### [c2.16](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2.16) The formation of the New Testament canon was a crucial event in the history of the Church. It provided a standard of faith and practice that helped to unify the Church and to protect it from the influence of heretical sects. It also ensured that the teachings of Jesus and the apostles would be preserved for future generations. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c2) · Pramāṇa