The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c6.10

c6.10

Within a fortnight of the despatch of this letter the Count of Assumar left India for Mozambique, where he died fourteen months later. The departure of the Viceroy naturally caused some delay in the enquiry instituted by him, as is clear from a letter addressed to Pitambar, the Maratha envoy, by Antonio Paes de Sande, one of the two Commissioners in charge of the Portuguese Government in India during the absence of the Viceroy. The letter is dated 12 July 1678, and runs as follows: ‘We have received the letters that Pitambar Shenvi wrote to me and the Arch-Bishop Primate, in which he represented to me that he came to this city in connection with the subject of the payment of *chauth* of the territories of Daman, which used to be paid to the King Chauthia. The Viceroy, Dom Pedro d’Almeida, replied that he would send for information (on this subject) from the Captain General of the North and from the commandant of the fortress of Daman, and when the said information came he would advise Shivaji Raze to send a person with authority to settle this business with the said captains, after examining the terms under which the said *chauth* was created; but the said advice had not come and the decision that was expected has been delayed. To this my answer is that the cause of the delay arose from the embarkation of the said Viceroy for Mozambique and on that account the said captains neglected to send the information he asked of them. It was not therefore possible to inform you that this state is not tributary to any neighbouring king. As however I desire to preserve peace and amity with Shivaji, I do not take any notice and pretend to be ignorant of the information that the said captains gave me. From that information it is clear that the said *chauth* had its origin in the covenant that the village-managers (varadores das aldeas)¹ of the district of Daman made on their own initiative with the King Chauthia, without informing the past Viceroys and Governors, in order to avoid the loss and robbery that his subjects used to commit in those villages. From that covenant a contract has been solemnly drawn up with various conditions which were to be operative between them, and I have no doubt that in conformity with them the said *chauth* will be paid to Shivaji Raze, as I am told in his letters that Shivaji is in possession of his (Chauthia’s) kingdom. To settle this business Pitambar Shenvi may advise Shivaji Raze to send on his behalf a person with proper authority. I write on this subject after consulting the captain of the fortress of Daman and examining the terms under which the agents of the said villages subjected them to the payment of the said *chauth*. The consideration of this affair is entrusted to the judges deputed for it, so that after the said villagers have been heard and the common law and the known custom relating to the *chauth* have been considered, the final decision on this matter may be made with justice. Shivaji Raze may be informed that I, on my part, do not lack the desire of seeing his claim decided so that our friendship may continue to increase.²