Individual Paper
2. From Oceanic Crossroads: Empires, Networks and Histories
This paper explores maritime sovereignty along the west coast of the Indian subcontinent in the eighteenth century. It argues that the Marathas played a major role in the formation of maritime order during this period, by examining the agreements concluded by them with the British and Dutch East India Companies.
In 1739, the Marathas conquered Bassein from the Portuguese, provoking fear in the British East India Company that the Marathas then would shift their focus on the Bombay island. This fear drove the British Bombay government to conclude an agreement with the Marathas to ensure the security of the island. This agreement decided the scope of sovereignty and jurisdiction of the both parties over the waters along the west coast of India. It stipulated the British East India Company could issue their safe-conducts only to the company’s employees and merchants belonging to Bombay and the other British settlements, restricting the British claim for jurisdiction over the ships in the Arabian Sea to a limited extent. The validity of this agreement was confirmed at least in the agreement of 1775.
Meanwhile, the Marathas concluded an agreement with the Dutch East India Company in 1773, in which the latter recognized sovereignty of the Marathas over the waters from Cambay to the Cape Comorin. The agreement stipulated that the ships belonging to the Dutch East India Company and merchants under the company’s protection should sail with a safe-conduct issued by the Maratha government.
Shinsaku Kato
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan