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In recent years there have been many books published, several of them
highly critical, on the relentless rise and expansion of the British in India
in the latter years of the 18th century. It has been all too easy to overlook
the paramount power in the greater part of India throughout this period; the
Marathas. These two excellent books each address this intriguing and
often rather brutal period that saw huge armies fighting to control the
rump of the once great Mughal Empire. Andy Copestake's impressive
book describes in detail the rise of the Maratha Confederacy with their
swift and formidable light cavalry and their domination of much of
northern and Central India. He describes in detail how they imposed a
Chauth - a levy of usually 25 percent on goods and wealth to pay for
their armies. The Marathas received a major setback when an Afghan
army under Ahmad Shah Dourani smashed a vast Maratha army at the
Battle of Panipat in January 1761. It marked the effective end of the
power of the Peshwa - the titular head of the Confederacy - and the
emergence and then ascendancy of the brilliant Madhaji Scindia of
Gwalior. It was he who recognised the superiority of European drill and
tactics. From 1784 until his death ten years later he employed Europeans
to raise 'Trained Brigades' to ensure his dominance. The author
discusses in depth the formation of the 'Army of Hindustan' from an initial force of just two battalions raised by the Savoyard mercenary
Benoit de Boigne. His initial success against the ruthless Ghulam Kadir
and the Mughal Ismael Beg at Agra in June 1788 was followed by
numerous others. The Army of Hindustan eventually numbered over
30,000 men and 200 guns. Almost every battalion was commanded by
Europeans of many nationalities including French, Irish, Scottish,
English, German and even Dutch Officers. The book is well illustrated
and has lots of fascinating details about an army that spread terror into
the hearts of the British. Who would have imagined that following the
capture of Ghulam Kadir, the French mercenary and Commander of three
Maratha brigades, Lestineau, would make off with his soldiers' back pay
and a saddle bag containing the Imperial jewels and flee into British
Territory?
Joshua Provan's book is rather different but no less impressive - it is
largely taken from original sources and discusses in detail the campaigns
that effectively saw the end of Maratha dominance. It centres on the
Second Maratha War. The Treaty of Bassein in 1803 to restore the
feckless Peshwa developed into a full scale operation to continue the
governor general Lord Wellesley's expansionist policies. It saw for the
first time the East India Company become the dominant power in the
subcontinent. The author carefully outlines the armies of the different
protagonists. The hard fought and bloody Battle of Assaye at which the
little known Arthur Wellesley came to prominence and the effective rout
of the Daulut Rao Scindia's army is described in extraordinary detail.
This is followed by a thorough account of Lieutenant-General Gerrard Lake's
remarkable campaign to take Delhi from the forces of Ambaji Inglia,
commanded by the French mercenary, Bourquien in 1803. Lake's
diplomatic skills saw many other mercenaries abandon their Maratha
masters. Perhaps the most impressive of these was Pierre Cuillier, the
failed handkerchief-seller from Sarthe in France, who is better known as
Perron, and who rose under Daulut Rao to the rank of General. He fled
to British territory at a critical moment. The capture of Delhi was
followed by the hard fought victory at Laswari and the difficult campaign
against the Maratha allies, the Jats. They were able to survive the British
onslaught and retain their then impregnable fortress of Bharatpur. The
irony is that Lord Wellesley was recalled to London where he was much
criticised for his war-mongering. Much of the Maratha lands were
restored in the peace that followed. The only sadness is that the front
cover used a painting from the Anne S K Brown Collection that has
nothing whatsoever to do with the Marathas - Indeed it shows the Nawab
Sadaat Ali Khan of Oudh in Durbar!
Both these books should appeal to the wider
public. It is refreshing to read well researched books on a fascinating
period that does not impose modem day sensibilities on the past but
narrate in epic and accurate detail the campaigns and battles that
dominated the end of the 18th century and first years of the next century.
Both are exciting reads.
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