Bajirao II

Bajirao II
Name	Bajirao II
Title	13th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy
Reign	1795–1818
Predecessor	Raghunathrao
Successor	Baji Rao II (name conflict)
Birth date	10 January 1775
Birth place	Saswad, Pune district
Death date	28 January 1851
Death place	Bithur, Kanpur
Religion	Hinduism
House	Bhat family (Peshwa)

Bajirao II

Bajirao II was the thirteenth Peshwa of the Maratha Empire who ruled from 1795 until his deposition in 1818. His tenure intersected with key figures and events such as Maharaja Scindia, Nizam of Hyderabad, Peshwa court intrigues, the expansion of the British East India Company, and the decisive Third Anglo-Maratha War, shaping the end of Maratha political sovereignty. His life involved alliances and conflicts with leaders like Nana Phadnavis, Daulat Rao Scindia, Yashwant Rao Holkar, and Arthur Wellesley, later Marquess of Wellington.

Early life and family

Born in 1775 at Saswad near Pune, he belonged to the Bhat family (Peshwa), a lineage tied to the rise of the Maratha state under figures like Baji Rao I and Balaji Baji Rao. His father, Raghunathrao, had been a controversial claimant in the succession disputes that followed the death of Madhavrao I, involving actors such as Nana Phadnavis and the Peshwa polity. The broader familial network connected him to houses such as Scindia, Holkar, Gaekwad, and Bhonsle (Nagpur), which were principal chiefs within the confederacy. Marital and dynastic alliances linked the Peshwa house to regional powers in Deccan politics and to nobility in Aurangabad and Satara.

Rise to power and appointment as Peshwa

The political vacuum after the deaths of successive Peshwas and the machinations of ministers like Nana Phadnavis and military chiefs such as Mahadaji Shinde created factionalism in the late 18th century. Following the coup and counter-coup dynamics involving Raghunathrao and regents, senior nobles and key sardars negotiated his installation in 1795. His ascendancy was influenced by the intervention of principal Maratha houses including Scindia (Shinde), Holkar (Ahilyabai lineage), and the Nizam of Hyderabad as regional realignments responded to pressures from the Kingdom of Mysore under Tipu Sultan and the rising British East India Company presence after the Anglo-Mysore Wars and the Treaty of Salbai settlements.

Reign and administration

His reign saw continuous tensions among the confederacy’s chiefs—Daulat Rao Scindia, Yashwant Rao Holkar, Malhar Rao Holkar II—and power struggles within the Peshwa court involving ministers and clerks from Pune and regional capitals. Administrative practice relied on traditional revenue systems in territories such as Khandesh, Berar, and the Deccan Plateau while responding to military needs after engagements like the Battle of Kharda. Diplomatic correspondence with the Nizam of Hyderabad and treaties with princely states such as Kolhapur and Satara shaped territorial control. The Peshwa’s capacity to mobilize forces was undermined by rivalries, defections, and the fiscal strains imposed by indemnities and subsidies demanded by both internal chiefs and the British East India Company.

Anglo-Maratha relations and the Third Anglo-Maratha War

Relations with the British East India Company deteriorated amid disputes over subsidies, diplomatic missions, and the Company’s expansionist treaties like the Subsidiary Alliance framework pioneered by Lord Wellesley. Complex interactions involved envoys, treaties, and confrontations with commanders including Arthur Wellesley and later General Thomas Hislop. The increasing pressure culminated in the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818), where coalitions among Scindia, Holkar, Bhonsle of Nagpur, and the Peshwa failed to present a united front. Key actions included the Battle of Kirkee, the siege of Ashti and Gawilgarh, and operations near Pune that leveraged Company artillery, logistics, and alliances with disaffected Maratha sardars.

Defeat, exile, and later life

Defeated in 1818, he capitulated to the British East India Company and signed the treaty that effectively ended Peshwa sovereignty, resulting in his deposition and subsidiary stipulations that placed his domains under Company influence. He was initially pensioned and later escorted into exile to Bithur near Kanpur, where he lived under Company supervision with limited dignity. During exile he encountered Company administrators and served as a symbol in correspondence concerning the reorganization of former Maratha territories, interacting indirectly with figures such as Lord Hastings and local rulers reinstated under princely arrangements. He died in 1851 in Bithur, closing a chapter that included the rise of leaders like Rani Lakshmibai and the subsequent revolts that drew on Maratha legacies.

Legacy and historical assessment

Historians assess his legacy in the context of the waning Maratha Confederacy, juxtaposing his administrative limitations with the structural transformations wrought by the British East India Company and leaders like Nana Sahib. Interpretations vary: some scholars attribute collapse to internal factionalism involving Scindia and Holkar rivalries and to diplomatic failures against Lord Wellesley policies, while others emphasize the strategic and technological advantages marshaled by the Company at battles such as Kirkee and the strategic diplomacy of commanders like Arthur Wellesley. His exile and the subsequent absorption of Maratha domains influenced the political geography that led to princely presidencies including Bombay Presidency and Bengal Presidency, and informed later nationalist narratives tied to figures like Tatya Tope and the events of the 1857 Rebellion.

Category:Peshwas Category:Maratha Empire Category:1775 births Category:1851 deaths