The Dhulap family was a

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

noble family of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

in the late 18th century-early 19th century who were hereditary ''sarkhels'' or supreme commanders of the

Maratha Navy The Maratha Navy was the maritime component of the military forces of the Maratha Confederacy, active along the western coast of India from the mid-17th to early 19th century. It was established under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji in ...

during its decline. They came to power after the Angre family's downfall and Tulaji Angre's defeat at the

Battle of Vijaydurg The Battle of Vijaydurg was fought between Tulaji Angre, the Admiral of the Maratha Navy and the combined forces of the East India Company and the Maratha Confederacy led by Peshwa Balaji Bajirao in early 1756. Sarkhel Tulaji After the death of ...

by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. Rudraji Dhulap (active between 1756-1764) and his son Anandrao Dhulap (active between 1764–1795) successively served as grand admirals of the

Rise to power

The Angre family of Kolaba had become divided between Manaji Angre and Sambhaji Angre in the north and south respectively. Sambhaji Angre was succeeded in 1743 by Tulaji Angre, who was a skilled seaman similar to his father

Kanhoji Angre Kanhoji Angre (Help:IPA/Marathi, anʱod͡ʒiː aːŋɡɾe, also known as Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré (August 1669 – 4 July 1729) was a Maratha Navy admiral. Kanhoji became known for attacking and capturing European Union, European Ea ...

. However, he alienated himself from the

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

(''de facto'' ruler and prime minister of the

Balaji Baji Rao Balaji Baji Rao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), often referred to as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, Peshwa Bajirao I. During his tenure, the Chhatra ...

which led to his capture by the

and

's forces at the

in 1756.Naravane, M. S.; Battles of the Honorary East India Company: Making of the Raj, op cit page 103, New Delhi, 2006 After the downfall of Tulaji Angre, Rudraji Dhulap was appointed as ''sarkhel'' or admiral of the

, and operated between 1756-1764.Naravane, M. S.; Battles of the Honorary East India Company: Making of the Raj, op cit page 104, New Delhi, 2006 Rudraji and Janrao Dhulap distinguished themselves in the naval fights against

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

in the Maratha-Mysore Wars, during the reign of

Madhavrao I Madhavrao I (formerly known as Madhavrao Ballal Bhat) was the second son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao and grandson of Peshwa Bajirao I, who served as the 9th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his tenure, the Maratha Empire recovered from losse ...

History

Rudraji Dhulap was succeeded as ''sarkhel'' by his son Anandrao Dhulap, who was active between 1764-1795. The

and

tried to revive Maratha naval power by creating an independent naval ''

subah A ''Subah'' is a term for a province or state in several South Asian languages. It was introduced by the Mughal Empire to refer to its subdivisions or provinces; and was also adopted by other polities of the Indian subcontinent. The word is derive ...

'' at Vijaydurg under the command of the Dhulap family, however without much success. Thus, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

were easily able to overpower the declining Maratha Navy during the

First Anglo-Maratha War The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) was the first conflict fought between the British East India Company and Maratha Empire in India. The war began with the Treaty of Surat and ended with the Treaty of Salbai. As per the treaty, th ...

. Under the Dhulap family in the late 1700s, the

undertook operations against enemy ships whenever the Marathas were engaged in conflicts with either the

or Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1774 A.D. the first Anglo-Maratha war broke out and lasted till 1782 AD, ending with the Treaty of Salbai. However the

under Anandrao Dhulap, pretending to be ignorant of the treaty, attacked the "Ranger", a small

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

of 12 guns under the command of Lieutenant Pruanthen on its way from

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

. The attack took place on 8 April 1783, on the coast near

Ratnagiri Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in southwestern Maharashtra, India. The district is part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for the Hapus or ...

. The English took heavy casualties in the long and fierce fight, after which Anandrao took it to his base at Vijaydurg as a trophy. But on the protest of the English, the Marathas restored the ships and the goods that had been seized and declared the incident closed. The Dhulap family remained in power until 1812, and their descendants were still living in a neighbourhood of Vijaydurg in the 1980s.

References

{{reflist Maratha clans

Rise to power

History

See also

Further reading

References