Maratha Wars

Three conflicts between the British and the Maratha confederacy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At the time, the confederacy controlled large portions of the Deccan and of the western coast of the Indian peninsula.

The British lost the first conflict (1775–82), in which they supported one contender's bid for the office of peshwa (chief minister). They won the second (1803–05), defeating members of the confederacy who challenged their restoration of an ousted peshwa. The third war (1817–18) started after the British invaded Maratha territory in pursuit of robber bands. When Maratha forces rose against the British, they were defeated, Maratha territory was annexed, and British supremacy in India became complete.