Which naval forts were erected by Shivaji? 1. Suvarnadurg 2. Vijayadurg 3. Sindhudurg 4. Kolaba Select the answer using the code given below:

Correct — A, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Shivaji's navy was built to hold the Konkan against the Siddis of Janjira, the Portuguese and later the English, and the four forts named here are the standard list of its bases. Sindhudurg was raised new, from 1664, on a rock island off Malvan. Kolaba, off Alibag, was begun under Shivaji in the 1660s and finished after his death. Suvarnadurg, off Harnai, and Vijaydurg, at the mouth of the Vaghotan creek, were older sites that he took and rebuilt on a much larger scale, Vijaydurg becoming the strongest of them all and later the headquarters of Kanhoji Angre. On the standard account all four count as naval forts erected by Shivaji.

• (b)1, 2 and 4 only — This leaves out Sindhudurg, which is the one fort of the four built entirely new under Shivaji and the most celebrated of them.
• (c)3 and 4 only — Suvarnadurg and Vijaydurg belong to the same programme. Both were taken and rebuilt as naval stations, and Vijaydurg became the principal base of the fleet.
• (d)2 and 3 only — Kolaba and Suvarnadurg are dropped here without reason. Kolaba was begun under Shivaji himself and later became an Angre stronghold.

Shivaji is the first Indian ruler of the period to treat sea power as part of a land state's defence. His forts fall into three groups: hill forts such as Rajgad, Raigad, Torna and Pratapgad; land forts; and the jal-durgas or sea forts of the Konkan, built on rock islands and creek mouths where they could shelter and supply a fleet. The naval command passed after him to families of admirals, the best known being the Angres, whose power on this coast lasted into the middle of the eighteenth century.

Items like this reward knowing why the forts were built rather than the founding date of each. The Konkan gave Shivaji a coastline he could not defend from inland, with the Siddis holding Janjira and European fleets working the same waters, so a chain of island and creek forts was the answer. One honest caveat is worth carrying: Vijaydurg and Suvarnadurg stood on older foundations, so 'erected' means captured and substantially rebuilt in their case, while Sindhudurg was new work. Textbook lists count all four as his naval forts.

• Sindhudurg was built from 1664 on a rock island off Malvan in present-day Sindhudurg district.
• Vijaydurg, at the mouth of the Vaghotan creek, was captured and greatly extended by Shivaji and became the fleet's main base.
• Suvarnadurg, off Harnai, was taken from the Adil Shahi and rebuilt as a naval station.
• Kolaba, off Alibag, was begun under Shivaji and completed after his death.
• Vijaydurg and Kolaba later served as strongholds of Kanhoji Angre, admiral of the Maratha fleet.

• Assuming a fort on an older site cannot be credited to Shivaji.
• Confusing Janjira, which he never took, with the forts he built or rebuilt.
• Mixing the hill forts of the Sahyadris with the sea forts of the Konkan.

A list-verification item where every element is correct, which is itself the difficulty — candidates expect at least one intruder.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which island fort off the Konkan coast did Shivaji repeatedly fail to capture?

  • (a)Sindhudurg
  • (b)Janjira
  • (c)Vijaydurg
  • (d)Suvarnadurg

  Answer(b) Janjira — the stronghold of the Siddis, which held out against Maratha attacks.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Kanhoji Angre is associated with

  • (a)the Maratha navy
  • (b)the Peshwa's revenue administration
  • (c)the ashtapradhan council
  • (d)the Mughal artillery

  Answer(a) the Maratha navy — its admiral in the early eighteenth century, based at Vijaydurg and Kolaba.