Modern Indian History

The Second Maratha War (1803-1805)

1. Daulat Rao Scindia and Raghoji Bhonsle took the Treaty of Bassein as an insult to the national honour of the Marathas.
2. Arthur Wellesley captured Ahmadnagar in August 1803 and defeated the combined forces of Scindia and Bhonsle at Assaye near Aurangabad.
3. The Treaty of Deogaon was signed between Bhonsle and Wellesley.
4. The former signed the subsidiary treaty which forced him to give up the province of Cuttack in Orissa
5. Scindia signed a subsidiary treaty with the British. It is known as the Treaty of Surji – Arjunagaon.

Estimate of Wellesley

1. An unscrupulous annexationist and an advocate of forward policy,
2. Wellesley was one of the greatest empire-builders that England had ever produced.
3. Wellesley converted the British Empire in India to the British Empire of India
4. He located the weak spots of the Indian powers and applied his political technique (namely Subsidiary Alliance).
5. He rightly deserves to be called the maker of the erstwhile Madras Presidency and the creator of the Province of Agra.
6. Sir George Barlow was the next Governor-General for two years (1805-07)
7. The Vellore Mutiny of 1806 took place during his administration.
8. He was succeeded by Lord Minto (1807-13) who concluded the Treaty of Amritsar with Ranjit Singh of Punjab in 1809.
9. The Charter Act of 1813 was passed during this period.