Treaty of Bassein (1802)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Treaty of Bassein was signed on December 31, 1802 between the British and Baji Rao II, the Maratha peshwa of Pune (Poona) in India. This treaty was a decisive step in the dissolution of the Maratha Confederacy, which led to the East India Company's usurpation of the peshwa's territories in western India in 1818.
[edit] Terms
The terms of the treaty entailed the following:
- An English force of around 6,000 troops be permanently stationed with the peshwa.
- Any territorial districts yielding twenty-six lakh rupees were to be ceded to the East India Company.
- The peshwa could not enter into any other treaty without first consulting the Company.
- The peshwa could not declare war without first consulting the Company.
- Any territorial claims made by the peshwa would be subject to the arbitration of the Company (i.e. Nizam and Gaekwar).
- The peshwa must renounce his claim over Surat and Baroda.
- The peshwa must exclude all Europeans from his service.
- To conduct his foreign relations in consultation with the British.
- In return, Arthur Wellesley (later 1st Duke of Wellington) restored the peshwa to Pune in May 1803.
The leading Maratha state had thus become a client of the British.
