The tongue of land that juts into
the sea off Worli is probably best known today for the fine dining establishment
it harbours and the old fishing village of the indigenous Kolis – which is a
beautiful, inimitable instance of the contradictions that define Bombay. However,
delve deeper into this miniscule peninsula and at its tip, you would find the
ruins of the once magnificent Worli Fort.
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| Source: Wikipedia Commons |
That may have been a touch
dramatic, for the Fort is neither in ruins nor, truthfully, can it lay claims
to any magnificence. In fact, the inconsequentiality of the Worli Fort is best
demonstrated by the fact that we do not even seem to remember who built it.
While most reports suggest that it was constructed by the British around 1675, some
sources credit the Portuguese as having built it nearly a century earlier[1].
As rational beings confronted by conflicting accounts on the internet, we have
but one choice. Trust Wikipedia.
The British (as per trusty Wikipedia)
supposedly built the Fort as a strategic outpost to keep an eye on ‘enemy ships
and pirates’. The enemy ships would have likely been the Portuguese, stationed
a short distance away at the newly constructed Castella
de Aguada. The reference to pirates, however, is intriguing. Did pirates roam
the seas around Bombay in the late 17th and early 18th
century? Haranguing merchant vessels and pillaging, plundering, pilfering with
abandon? Evidently so; the tale of English pirates looting Aurangzeb’s treasure
aboard the Ganj – i – Sawai is fascinating,
if somewhat gruesome[2]. Yet, while European trade in the region
unsurprisingly attracted European pirates, one Maratha “pirate” in particular
caused a great deal of consternation to the British and Portuguese alike – Kanhoji
Angre[3].
Kanhoji Angre was born in
Angarwadi, Pune in 1669. His father had been in Shivaji’s service and Kanhoji
followed the martial family tradition. He was initially appointed as a deputy to
the Admiral of the Maratha naval forces by Rajaram (Shivaji’s younger son and
successor) and later assumed that office himself, reportedly before the end of
the 17th century.[4]
Throughout this period, Kanhoji repeatedly harassed European vessels as well as
the ships of the Siddis (the Mughal vassals in the region) in a bid to
establish Maratha sovereignty over these waters. It would appear that Kanhoji
was aware of the greater technological prowess of the European ships and astutely
limited his assaults to speedy skirmishes, in an aquatic adaptation of Shivaji’s
guerrilla warfare tactic, to gain the upper hand in these exchanges[5].
He had also instituted the system of issuing passes (known as dastak) to ships, and would attack and
seize those that did not purchase protection. The East India Company, in particular,
was largely unsuccessful in dealing with these assaults, and in 1713, entered
into a peace accord with Kanhoji to bring an end to these attacks[6].
This was also a time of upheaval within
the Maratha confederacy, with Kanhoji being an important actor. Upon Rajaram’s
death in 1700, his widow, Tarabai Bhosale, had proclaimed her infant son as the
rightful heir to the throne (and had assumed the role of regent herself).
However, after Aurangzeb’s death (in 1707), Shahuji, Shivaji’s grandson, who
had been imprisoned by the Mughals since 1689, was finally released. His entry
into the Maratha political arena obviously complicated matters. As the direct
male heir to Shivaji, he wasted no time in declaring for the throne. The
dispute over the rightful successor to the title of ‘Chhatrapati’ split the
Maratha kingdom down the middle.
Initially, Kanhoji sided with Tarabai
and was one of her most important allies. Around 1713, he had defeated an army
sent by Shahuji and may have marched directly against Shahuji himself. However,
Shahuji’s Peshwa, Balaji Viswanath (father to the famous Bajirao), convinced
Kanhoji to ally with Shahuji with promises of titles, land and prestige.
Kanhoji was swayed and it turned out to be a wise, fortuitous decision as Shahuji’s
claim prevailed. The support of the Chhatrapati proved crucial in the future
campaigns launched by Kanhoji, especially in his engagement with the combined
forces of the British and the Portuguese in the Battle at Kulaba in 1721.
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| Kolaba Fort Source: Wikipedia Commons |
Until his death in 1729 or
thereabouts (there exist conflicting reports on the exact date[7]),
Kanhoji remained undefeated and unconquered, on land and sea. As proof of how perspectives
ineluctably infuse historical facts, Kanhoji has been labelled a ‘pirate’ by some,
a legendary Maratha warrior by others. The idea of ‘piracy’ itself has been
debunked[8],
and Kanhoji cannot be compared to a Blackbeard or a Red Rackham. It would be
equally misplaced, though, certainly tempting, to fete Kanhoji as a
proto-freedom fighter railing against the British. He was neither but that does
not, in any way, diminish the allure of his legacy.
[3] I was unable to
find any direct source to suggest some link between the Worli Fort and Kanhoji.
However, it is entirely plausible that a long forgotten battle did take place
when the might of the British army at Worli Fort clashed with the guile of
Kanhoji’s naval forces. In any event, this was as good a segue into Kanhoji’s
story as I could imagine.
[6] This inability to
deal with sea-faring attackers appears to have plagued the Company well into
the next century, as demonstrated in the historical treatise Thugs of
Hindostan. One wonders if Napoleon was really all that he is made out
to be; after all, he lost to the people who couldn’t handle a 300 year old curmudgeonly
school principal – turned – warrior – turned pirate.
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