of a formidable fleet which harried the coast of the Concan, and against which the Seedee chief, the Emperor’s representative afloat, could hardly maintain himself.  In 1698 Conajee Angria succeeded to the command of the Mahratta navy, with the title of Darya-Saranga.  In the name of the Satara chief he was master of the whole coast from Bombay to Vingorla, with the exception of the Seedee’s territory.  Defenceless towns as far south as Travancore were attacked and plundered, while, at sea, vessels of native merchants were preyed upon.  For a time he seems not to have meddled with the Company’s vessels; as the size of his ships increased, he grew bolder, and, in 1702, his doings began to excite apprehension.  In that year he was addressed to release a small trading vessel from Calicut with six Englishmen on board that had been seized and carried into one of his harbours.  What had roused his anger against the English does not appear, but a month later we find him sending word to Bombay that he would give the English cause to remember the name of Conajee Angria, a threat that he carried out only too well.  Two years later we find him described as a ’Rebel Independent of the Rajah Sivajee,’ and Mr. Reynolds was deputed to find him and tell him that he could not be permitted searching, molesting, or seizing vessels in Bombay waters:  to which he returned a defiant answer, that he had done many benefits to the English, who had broken faith with him, and henceforth he would seize their vessels wherever he could find them.  In 1707 his ships attacked the Bombay frigate, which was blown up after a brief engagement, and for the next half-century Angrian piracy was a scourge to the European trade of the West coast.  In 1710 Conajee Angria seized and fortified Kennery, and his ships fought the Godolphin for two days, within sight of Bombay, but were finally beaten off.  He had now grown so powerful that, in 1711, the Directors were told he could take any ship except the largest Europe ones; “along the coast from Surat to Dabul he takes all private merchant vessels he meets.”

Owing to the minority and imprisonment of Sivajee’s grandson, Sahoojee,[4] the Mahrattas were torn by internal divisions, in which Conajee Angria played his part.  On the death of Aurungzeeb, Sahoojee regained his liberty, and was seated on the guddee of Satara.  Owing to his want of hardihood, and weakness of character, the dissensions continued, and Sivajee’s kingdom seemed to be on the point of breaking up into a number of independent chiefships.  Among those aiming at independence was Conajee Angria.  In 1713, an army sent against him under the Peishwa, Bhyroo Punt, was defeated, and Bhyroo Punt taken prisoner.  It was reported that Conajee was preparing to march on Satara.  Ballajee Rao, who afterwards became Peishwa, was placed at the head of such troops as could hastily be collected together, and opened negotiations with Conajee.  An accommodation was arrived at,