Maratha rule .281758.E2.80.931817.29 History of Ahmedabad

lithograph dutchman philip baldeus depicting ahmedabad , sabarmati river circa 1752

the peshwa , gaekwad divided revenues, peshwa, except gaekwad held 1 gate , deputy remained in city see share of revenue set apart, undertaking whole management of city. twenty-three years city remained in maratha hands. during first anglo–maratha war (1775–1782), general thomas wyndham goddard, acting in alliance fateh singh gaekwad against pune, 6,000 troops stormed bhadra fort on 12 february 1779. army made breach @ khan jahan gate , captured ahmedabad on february 15, 1779. there garrison of 6,000 arab , sindhi infantry , 2,000 cavalry. losses in fight totalled 108, including 2 britons. after war, city later handed fateh singh gaekwad held 2 years. city severely damaged , depopulated , economy destroyed. under terms of under treaty of salbai (24 february 1783) ahmedabad restored peshwa, gaekwad s interest being before, limited one-half of revenue , command of 1 of gates. years tho city improved, manufactures in 1789 being incomparably better of surat. 1790 famine caused fresh distress, , few years later quarter of space within walls inhabited. @ time (1798-1800) aba salukar, tho peshwa s governor, indebted , oppressive, ill-used people, , embezzled gaekwad s revenues. advancing against salukar, govind rao gaekwad defeated him near shah e alam and, pursuing him citadel, made him prisoner. on peshwa, private dislike aba secretly pleased, granted gaekwad, yearly payment of £50,000 (rs. 5,00,000), five-year lease of share of gujarat revenues. arrangement, renewed ten years in 1804, continued in force till 1814. though city considerably recovered, famine in 1812 devastated people. after second anglo-maratha war, british east india company had gained considerable political power , territories. when peshwa appointed trimbak dengle governor on 23 october 1814, relationship between gaekwad , peshwa deteriorated. gaekwad sent envoy peshwa in pune negotiate dispute regarding revenue collection. envoy, gangadhar shastri, under british protection. murdered, , peshwa s minister trimbak dengle suspected of crime. british seized opportunity force baji rao ii sign treaty of poona (13 june 1817). under terms of treaty, peshwa agreed, yearly payment of £45,000 (rs. 4,50,000), let in perpetuity gaekwar farm of ahmedabad. under same treaty peshwa agreed, revenue ahmedabad farm, should paid gaekwar british part of british claims on peshwa s revenues. few months later (6 november 1817), arranged gaekwad should, in payment of subsidiary force, cede british rights had obtained under peshwa s farm, and, in exchange territory near baroda, give own share in city of ahmedabad. exception transfer gaekwad allowed keep fort, gaekwad haveli, in south-west corner of city. in 1753, armies of maratha generals raghunath rao , damaji gaekwad captured city , ended mughal rule in ahmedabad. famine in 1630 , constant power struggle between peshwa , gaekwad virtually destroyed city. many suburbs of city deserted , many mansions lay in ruins.