Chronologically arrange the following treaties/conventions signed between the Marathas and the British (starting with the earliest) : 1. Treaty of Salbai 2. Treaty of Purandar 3. Convention of Wadgaon 4. Treaty of Surat Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a)4-2-3-1
- (b)4-3-2-1
- (c)1-3-2-4
- (d)1-2-3-4
Correct — A, 4-2-3-1. All four documents belong to the First Anglo-Maratha War, and they run Surat, Purandar, Wadgaon, Salbai. The Treaty of Surat, 6 March 1775, is the war's cause: the claimant Raghunathrao bought Bombay's military support by ceding Salsette and Bassein. The Treaty of Purandar, 1 March 1776, is Calcutta overruling Bombay — the Supreme Council annulled Surat, dropped Raghunathrao and recognised the infant Madhavrao II, while keeping Salsette. The Convention of Wadgaon, 16 January 1779, is the humiliation: a British force marching on Poona was surrounded and signed a capitulation, which Warren Hastings promptly repudiated as made without authority. The Treaty of Salbai, 17 May 1782, closes the war on terms close to the status quo, confirming Madhavrao II as Peshwa and buying about twenty years of peace until the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1802.
- (b)4-3-2-1 — Starts correctly with Surat but puts Wadgaon before Purandar. Purandar came in March 1776, less than three years before the Wadgaon capitulation of January 1779, and it is Purandar's collapse that leads to the march on Poona.
- (c)1-3-2-4 — Opens with Salbai, which is the treaty that ended the war. Nothing in the list can precede the Treaty of Surat, because Surat is what started it.
- (d)1-2-3-4 — Simply the order in which the paper listed the items, which is a common way of laying a trap in chronology questions. It also opens with the closing treaty.
The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-1782) grew out of a succession dispute at Poona after the murder of the young Peshwa Narayanrao. His uncle Raghunathrao claimed the office, was set aside by the Barbhai council of ministers led by Nana Fadnavis, and turned to the Bombay Presidency for troops. The war that followed pitted an over-confident Bombay government, only partly controlled by Calcutta, against a Maratha confederacy that fought it to a draw — the only one of the three Anglo-Maratha wars the British did not win.
The safe way through any chronology item is to find the causal chain rather than memorise four dates. Here the chain is unusually clean: a claimant signs away territory for troops (Surat), the higher authority cancels the bargain (Purandar), the war resumes and the British are humbled (Wadgaon), and a negotiated peace restores roughly the pre-war position (Salbai). Cause must precede repudiation, repudiation must precede renewed fighting, and the peace must come last, which fixes the order without a single date. Two details are worth carrying: Wadgaon is a convention rather than a treaty precisely because Hastings refused to ratify it, and Salbai matters less for what it gave either side than for the twenty years of peace it bought, which the Company used to consolidate elsewhere.
- Treaty of Surat, 6 March 1775 — Raghunathrao ceded Salsette and Bassein to the Company in return for troops to support his claim to the Peshwaship.
- Treaty of Purandar, 1 March 1776 — the Calcutta Council annulled Surat, abandoned Raghunathrao and recognised Madhavrao II, while retaining Salsette.
- Convention of Wadgaon, 16 January 1779 — a British force retreating from its march on Poona capitulated; Warren Hastings repudiated it as unauthorised.
- Treaty of Salbai, 17 May 1782 — ended the First Anglo-Maratha War, recognised Madhavrao II as Peshwa and restored most conquests.
- Salbai gave about twenty years of peace between the Company and the Marathas, until the Second Anglo-Maratha War began in 1802.
- 6 March 1775 — Treaty of Surat: Raghunathrao cedes Salsette and Bassein in exchange for British troops
- 1 March 1776 — Treaty of Purandar: Calcutta cancels Surat, drops Raghunathrao and recognises Madhavrao II
- 16 January 1779 — Convention of Wadgaon: British capitulation on the march to Poona, repudiated by Warren Hastings
- 17 May 1782 — Treaty of Salbai: peace close to the status quo, holding until the second war in 1802
- Choosing the order in which the paper listed the items; here that is option (d), and it is wrong.
- Placing Wadgaon before Purandar because a military reverse feels like it should precede a negotiated settlement.
- Confusing the Treaty of Salbai (1782) with the Treaty of Bassein (1802), which belongs to the second war and brought the Peshwa into the Subsidiary Alliance.
Asked as a chronological ordering item, and in the other common format as a treaty-to-year or treaty-to-provision match.
Match List I (Year) with List II (Event): I. 1775 II. 1780 III. 1824 IV. 1838; List II: A) First Anglo-Burmese War B) First Anglo-Afghan War C) First Anglo-Maratha War D) Second Anglo-Mysore War
- (a) I-D, II-C, III-B, IV-A
- (b) I-D, II-C, III-A, IV-B
- (c) I-C, II-D, III-A, IV-B
- (d) I-C, II-D, III-B, IV-A
Answer(c) I-C, II-D, III-A, IV-B
The outer bracket of the same chronology. UPSC pins the start of the First Anglo-Maratha War to 1775, which is the year of the Treaty of Surat — so the treaty that opens the CDS list also dates the war it began.
The First Anglo-Maratha War was concluded by which one of the following?
- (a) The Treaty of Surat
- (b) The Treaty of Purandar
- (c) The Convention of Wadgaon
- (d) The Treaty of Salbai
Answer(d) The Treaty of Salbai
The same four documents two years later, reduced to a single question about which one ended the war. Anyone who can order them can answer that one from either end of the sequence.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The First Anglo-Maratha War was brought to a close by which treaty?
- (a)Treaty of Surat
- (b)Treaty of Purandar
- (c)Treaty of Salbai
- (d)Treaty of Bassein
Answer(c) Treaty of Salbai — signed on 17 May 1782, it recognised Madhavrao II as Peshwa and gave about twenty years of peace.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Treaty of Surat of 1775, Raghunathrao ceded to the East India Company the territories of
- (a)Salsette and Bassein
- (b)Surat and Broach
- (c)Ahmednagar and Poona
- (d)Thana and Kolaba
Answer(a) Salsette and Bassein — the price of British troops for his claim to the Peshwaship, and the trigger of the First Anglo-Maratha War.