privateering activities, Angre continued to capture and collect jakat from European merchant ships until his death in 1729.[citation needed] Kanhojikoli 's naval prowess in capturing dozens of European trading ships and avoiding capture has led to many historians to appraise Kanhoji as the most skilled Indian navy chief in the maritime history of India.[citation needed
]
Early life
Angre koli was born on the fort Suvarnadurg, near Ratnagari in the year 1667 to mother, Ambabai and father, Tukoji. His father served at Suvarnadurg under Shivaji with a command of 200 posts.[1] Kanhoji family background attracted much wild speculation amongst European Merchants, travelers and writers in the 18th century, and later. In 2009, modern Dutch Historian, Rene Barendse, specializing in South Asian history as well as history related to the Indian Ocean, summarises that Kanhoji Angre's origin is highly controversial. He writes:
To the British he was of Siddi (east african) descent[a][b]
, to the nationalist Maratha literature an impeccable Maratha. According to the Portuguese Angre was of "vile and poor" origins, and he "exercised the office of servant and peon for another Hindu" – most likely he was a
Ethiopian descent to gain ascendancy over the other bands of seafarers and their leaders along the Konkan Coast, a group that the Dutch with some justification called "Shivaji's roving and robbing armadas".[5]
Other sources, mainly Indian, on his family background go into details of each opinion. As per Rajaram Narayan Saletore[who?], his surname "Angre" is derived from Angarwadi; the family's original name was Sankpal, and the family members before Kanhoji were known as Sankpals.[6] Historian Sen believes that Angre's origin is "obscure and he certainly did not belong to the nobility of the land". Citation of the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (historical archives of the Portuguese empire) is given to show that Kanhoji started his life as a humble servant of some Hindus in the island of Versova. According to his family history, he was a "Kshatriya" Maratha.[7][8] Historian V. G. Dighe, in 1951, cites G. S. Sardesai's Selections from the Peshwa Daftar, and calls them "blue-blood Marathas" who "would spurn to marry in families lower than those of Deshmukhs, Jadhavs, Jagtaps and Shitoles."[9] However, S.R.Sharma seems to agree with the Portuguese opinions and believes him to have been a "Maratha Koli captain".[10] Little is known about his early life except that he was involved in daring exploits at sea with his father. He spent much of his childhood in the Suvarnadurg Fort. Kanhoji grew up among Koli sailors,[11] and learned seamanship from them.[1]
Naval career
naval fortifications
built by the Maratha Navy
gallivats
, but also including some captured English ships.
Angre's career as a Naval commander began in 1685 when the Killedar (fort commander) of Suvranadurg tried to defect to the
Chhatrapati Shahu and his prime minister Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath. He gained their support to develop naval facilities on the western coast of India, or Konkan. Angre was also placed as chief of 26 forts and fortified places of Maharashtra.[13]
Kanhoji started his career by attacking
Chhatrapati Shahu ascended the leadership of the Maratha Empire, he appointed Balaji Viswanath Bhat as his Senakarta (Commander) and negotiated an agreement with Angre around 1707. This was partly to appease Angre who supported the other ruler, Tarabai, who claimed the Maratha throne. As per agreement, Angre became head of the Maratha Navy.[13]
Naval strategy and resources
Under the leadership of Kanhoji, the Maratha developed a naval base at
coastal fortifications on almost all creeks, cove, and harbours, such as a fortress or citadel with navigational facilities. The main naval bases were at Bankot, Anjanvel, Jaygad, Vijaydurg and Sindhudurg. Any ship sailing through Maratha territorial waters was to pay a levy called Chouth, which expressed Angre's dominance.[14]
To develop a strong navy Angre encouraged shipbuilding. Most of the vessels were built with teak grown near Bombay. Angre also encouraged cultivation of Teak on the western coast to ensure a supply of timber for the boats. to the Angre forces. He built ship building factories at Kolaba fort, Sakharkhadi, Suvarnadurg, and Vijaydurgh. The design of these ships and their durability had been of high quality. Kanhoji also utilized shipbuilding on modern European or more specifically English designs.
Between 1717 and 1720, the East India Company made at least two attempts to defeat the Maratha Navy, but were unsuccessful. In response to a British ship being captured by Kanhoji's seamen, the British attempted to capture Vijayadurg and Khanderi, but these attempts were unsuccessful. In 1720, Angre captured the vessel Charlotte along its owner, a merchant named Curgenven who had been bound to China from Surat.[16] Curgenven would be imprisoned for 10 years.[16]
Naval crew
Crew on Maratha belonged to diverse communities. They included seafaring indigenous communities such as Koli, Bhandari and Kharva.[17]
He also had Muslim staff. Since most of these people were illiterate, Angre employed Europeans, generally Dutch, to command his best vessels.[13] He also employed a Jamaican pirate named James Plantain and entrusted him with significant responsibilities such as the chief gunner post.[18] Angre employed Manuel de Castro, a Portuguese soldier who was about to be punished by the East India Company[19] for his failure in capturing Khanderi Island, which was controlled by Kanhoji Angre.[20]
Bases
In 1698, Angre located his first base at
Devgad Taluka, located about 485 km from Mumbai.[21] The fort which was originally built by king Bhoj and strengthened by Maratha ruler Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,[21]
is located on the coast and has an entrance hollowed out in it to accommodate entry of a vessel from the sea.
Angre created an operating base from the fortified islands of "Kolaba" at Alibaug.
Alibaug
, and attempted to levy a tax on every merchant vessel entering the harbour.
He established a township called Alibag on seashore at southern tip of Mumbai.[22] The main village at that time, was today's Ramnath. Kanhoji even issued his own currency in the form of a silver coin called the Alibagi rupaiya.
In 1724, Angre built a port at
Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra.[23] Seven guns and 70 cannonballs were found in the port.[23] The port was also used for limited trading activities.[23]
Campaigns
Kanhoji's controlled the northern coastline of the highlighted Konkan coastal area of India
Kanhoji intensified the attacks on European ships on the western coast of
Goa as these vessels were on their voyage from England to Bombay.[24] In 1712, he disabled a thirty-gun man-of-war which was conveying Portuguese "armado" and captured it.[24]
Angre eventually signed a treaty with the East India Company President Aislabie to stop harassing the company's fleet. Aislabie would eventually return to England during October 1715.
After the arrival of Charles Boone as the new Governor of Bombay on 26 December 1715, Boone made several attempts to capture Angre. Instead of succeeding, in 1718 Angre captured three East India Company merchant ships, which refused due Jakat/tax and hence ransoming their crews.
On 29 November 1721 a joint attempt by the Portuguese (
Maratha warriors including Mendhaji Bhatkar and his navy, Angre continued to harass and plunder the European ships. Commander Matthews returned to Great Britain, but was accused and convicted of trading with the Marathas in December 1723.[citation needed] Also, during 1723, Governor Boone returned to Great Britain. After Boone's departure, relative calm prevailed between the British and Angre, until Angre's death in 1729.[citation needed
]
Battles
Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre, bust at Ratnadurg fort
1707 – Attacked the East Indiaman Bombay which blew up during the fight.[13]
1710 – Captures the Kennery (now Khanderi) Islands near Mumbai after fighting the East India Company vessel Godolphin for two days.[13]
1712 – Captured the yacht, HCS Algerine, of the President of Bombay, Mr. Aislabie, releasing it only after obtaining a jakat/tax of Rs. 30,000. (1713)[citation needed]
He seized East Indiamen Somers and Grantham, near Goa as these vessels were on their voyage from England to Bombay.[24]
He disabled a thirty-gun man-of-war which was conveying Portuguese "armado" and captured it.[24]
Death and aftermath
A British-Portuguese-Indian naval force attacks the fort of Geriah, 1756
By the time of his death on 4 July 1729, Kanhoji Angre had emerged as a master of the Arabian Sea from Surat to south Konkan. He left behind two legitimate sons, Sekhoji and Sambhaji; four illegitimate sons, Tulaji, Manaji, Yesaji and Dhondji. Angre's Samadhi (tomb) is situated at Shivaji Chowk, Alibag, Maharashtra.[22]
After Kanhoji, his son Sekhoji continued Maratha exploits at sea till his death in 1733. After Sekhoji's death, Angre's holdings were split between two brothers, Sambhaji and Manaji, because of divisions in the family. With the Marathas neglecting naval concerns, the British soon found it easier to defeat the remnants of the kingdom. Angre and his sons' reign over the Western coast ended with the capture of
Shamsher Bahadur commanded the Maratha forces.[26]
Seals of Kanhoji Angre
Three seals have been known to be used by Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre. One during the reign of Chhatrapati Rajaram, and two during the reign of Chhatrapati Shahu.
The three seals, along with their inscriptions and meaning are given below.
Reigning Chhatrapati
Inscription
Meaning
Seal of Kanhoji Angre during Chhatrapati Rajaram Era
The Samadhi (mausoleum) of Kanhoji Angre at Alibag, Maharashtra.
Kanhoji Angre stands as one of the most notable admirals of the Maratha Navy who caused significant troubles to the European trading companies. Kanhoji is credited with the foresight that a Blue Water Navy's ultimate and strategic role is to keep the enemy engaged far from the shores of the homeland. At one time, Kanhoji was so successful that he attracted enterprising Europeans in his fleet as mercenaries, including one Dutchman, whom he appointed to the rank of Commodore. At the height of his power, Kanhoji commanded hundreds of warships and thousands of sailors at a time when the Royal Navy had little in the way of naval resources in far-away India that could significantly offset the growing strength of the Maratha Navy.[citation needed]
Kanhoji's harassment of British commercial interests and the English victory over the Portuguese at Swally led them to establish a small naval force that eventually became the modern Indian Navy. Today, a statue of Angre stands in Indian Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. While the original fort built by Angre that overlooked the Naval Docks has vanished, its boundary wall is still intact and within it lays the Headquarters of Indian Western Naval Command and is called INS Angre (Indian Naval Station Angre).
The end of Angre family influences
The descendants of Angres continued to live in Kolaba till the 1840s and in 1843, the city was annexed to East India Company as per a despatch to Governor General of Bombay dated 30 December 1843.[30]
Publication of family history
Chandrojirao Angre, a descendant of Kanhoji Angre, and his distant cousin, Jijabai Angre (later Parvatibai Puar, of Dewas Junior) supported the publication of History of the Angres in 1939 at Alibag Mumbai.[30]
Tributes
Vijaydurg, Maharashtra, was named after Kanhoji Angre.[31]
The Western Naval command of the
enclave located at the Naval Dockyard, South Mumbai
.
During April 1999, the
Indian Postal Service
released a Rupee 3 stamp showing a ghurab of Kanhoji Angre's fleet as depicted in a c. 1700 AD painting.
The old Kennery Lighthouse, on Khanderi Island which marks the southern boundary of the Mumbai Port, was renamed as Kanhoji Angre Light House.
The large residential colony of Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers at
Alibaug
is named as " Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre Nagar".
During the
Radio Controlled boats carved out of Teak wood and powered by high torque motors were constructed by Vivek S. Kambli and Vishesh S. Kambli. A thrilling soundtrack
complemented this Audio Visual 3 Dimensional depiction of an important chapter from Maratha Naval history. The show lasted 10 days and was witnessed by thousands of Mumbai denizens.
An all-weather port at Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, named as Angre port, was inaugurated on 24 April 2012 by 9th descendant of Kanhoji Angre.[33]
The 2007 Hollywood film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End portrays a character named Sri Sumbahjee, a purported reference to Sambhaji, Kanhoji Angre's son.
Aniruddha Pimpalkhare of Pune built a 17 footer gaff rigged wooden boat in 2021 and named it SV Angré as a tribute to Sarkhel Angre. She is currently moored at Colaba, Mumbai in front of Gateway of India.
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kanhoji Angre.
^Historian Kaushik Roy cites the writing of a 1700s contemporary of Angre and states that "according to Clement Downing, a sailor and contemporary of Angre. He has written of his personal encounters in the sea in the early 1700s in the book "History Of The Indian Wars" written in the 18th century and published by Oxford University Press in the early 20th century. As per his account, Kanhoji's father was an Arabian Kafri who accepted Islam and served in the fleet of the Siddis of Janjira. Probably Kanhoji's forefathers came from south Africa and some of them later settled in the Gulf of Ormuz where they accepted Islam".[2]
Kolaba districts. Pathak writes: It contains authentic and useful information on several aspects of the district and is considered to be of great value to administrators, scholars and general readers. The revised edition of it was compiled and published in 1964. But the old gazetteer published during the British regime contained much valuable information, which was not reproduced in the revised edition. Therefore, the department decided to reprint this volume. Accordingly Kolaba District Gazetteer (1883) was reprinted in 1989. Considering its utility, need was felt to preserve this treasure of knowledge.[3] According to these records, Grose, has given information on Kanhoji's heritage. Grose writes in 1750 that Tukaji was an African Muslim who was born in the Gulf of Hormuz and in 1643 was shipwrecked near Chaul. He helped Shahaji in the war with the Moghals and married the daughter of Shahaji's minister, and their son Parab was the father of Kanhoji. This is an example of foreign warriors being admitted into the Hindu fold and acquiring Hindu wives and other such examples are given in the chapter on Thana History.[4]
^Kolaba district. Government of Maharashtra. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020. About this time the Angria family, who during the eighteenth century rose to high power both in Kolaba and in Ratnagiri, first came to notice. The founder of the family was Tukaji Sankhpal. According to Grose, an Englishman based in Bombay, Tukaji was a negro born in an island in the gulf of Ormuz, a Musalman by religion, who in 1643 was shipwrecked near Cheul. He helped Shahji in his war with the Moghals, married the daughter of Shahji's minister, and had a son named Purab who was the father of Kanhoji. [Account of Bombay, II. 214.Grose, who was a member of the Bombay Civil Service, wrote about 1750. He was well acquainted with the country, and took special interest in matters connected with the Hindu religion and with Hindu castes. The unlikeliness of the story is a strong argument in favour of its truth. Shivaji's coronation at Raygad in 1674 (see below, Places of Interest) is an example of the case of a man of comparatively low caste rising to the highest rank among Hindu warriors by careful attention to Hindu rules and by liberality to Brahmans. Examples of successful foreign warriors being admitted to be Hindus and marrying Hindu wives are given in the chapter on Thana History. Thana Statistical Account, Bombay Gazetteer, XIII 411 note 3. According to Grant Duff (History, 163) Kaahoji's father was Tukaji a distinguished officer in Shivaji's fleet.]
^Shripad Rama Sharma (1964). The founding of Maratha freedom. Orient Longman. p. 327. For a short while, however, this sinister combination against the Marathas on the west coast was neutralised by the rise of a 'Shivaji of the Seas' – the Maratha Koli captain Kanhoji Angre
^Elliott, D.L., 2010. Pirates, polities and companies: global politics on the Konkan littoral, c. 1690–1756.[1]Archived 6 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine
^ abGovt. of, Maharashtra. "British Period". Mumbai: The Gazetteers Dept. Govt. of Maharashtra. Archived from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
Malgonkar, Manohar The Sea Hawk: Life and Battles of Kanhoji Angrey, Orient Paperbacks, c. 1984
Risso, Patricia. Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Piracy: Maritime Violence in the Western Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf Region during a Long Eighteenth Century, Journal of World History – Volume 12, Number 2, Fall 2001, University of Hawai'i Press
