Suvarnadurg: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Fort on an island in Maharashtra, India}}

{{Infobox military installation

|name = Suvarnadurg Fort सुवर्णदुर्ग  

The literal meaning of ''Suvanadurga''  in the [[Marathi language]] is "Golden Fort" as it was considered as the pride or the "feather in the golden cap of Marathas". Built by Adilshah Navy for defence purposes, the fort also had a shipbuilding facility. The basic objective of establishing the fort was to counter enemy attacks, mainly by the colonialists of Europe and also by the local chieftains.<ref name=Suvana/>

==Geography==

The fort is on an island in the [[Arabian sea]] on the west coast within the jurisdiction of [[Ratnagiri district]], off the Kanakadurga fort and below the headland Harnai port. The nearest town is [[Dapoli]], a hill station (near [[Chiplun]]), {{convert|17|km|mi}} from Harnai. [http://www.talukadapoli.com/en/places/kanakdurg-harnai/ Kanakadurga],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.talukadapoli.com/en/places/kanakdurg-harnai/|title=Kanakdurg, Harnai {{!}} Taluka Dapoli|last=admin|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-10}}</ref> the harbour fort, built originally as a strategic link to the sea fort has a lighthouse. Harnai, near the dilapidated Kanakadurg fort, is an important harbour, which is right on the edge of the land that protrudes into the Arabian Sea. This is a natural harbour known for large fishing and marketing. It is conjectured that the Kanakadurga fort<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.talukadapoli.com/en/places/kanakdurg-harnai/|title=Kanakdurg|website=Taluka Dapoli}}</ref> and other land side forts such as [[Bankot|Bankot fort]], Fategad fort and Gova fort<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.talukadapoli.com/en/places/goa-fort-harnai/|title=Goa fort, Harnai {{!}} Taluka Dapoli|last=admin|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-10}}</ref> were built primarily as lookout forts for the security of the Suvarnadurg fort. There is no landing jetty at the Suvarnadurga fort. However, the landing is on the shores of the sandy beach of the rocky island. Another feature of the area is that a narrow channel separates the Gova, Kanakadurg<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.talukadapoli.com/en/places/kanakdurg-harnai/|title=Kanakdurg|website=www.talukadapoli.com}}</ref> and Fattehgarh forts on the mainland.

==History==

[[Image:Suvarnadurg fort.JPG|thumb|Suvarnadurg fort]]

[[Kanhoji Angre]] who was also known as Angria was appointed in 1698 as Admiral of the Maratha Naval Fleet by the [[Peshwas]]. He had complete control over the west coast, from [[Bombay]] to Vengurla, except for the fort of [[Murud-Janjira|Janjira]], which remained with the Siddis  (for 200 years). Angre was considered to be a mercenary who attacked defenseless towns and also traders. He even attacked the [[East India Company|East Indian Company's]] ship in 1702 and refused to release the six British captives. He severed his relations with the Peshwas in 1704 and was called "the Rebel Independent of the Raja Shivaji". In spite of the warning by the British that he should not attack or capture British ships, he captured their ships in 1707. He had a free run of the west coast from [[Surat]] to [[Dabol]] and captured all private vessels. When Shivaji's grandson was imprisoned, Kanhoji got his opportunity to stake his claim for independence. In 1713, he had captured Peshwa's general Bhairu, which forced the Peshwa general Balaji Rao (Commander-in-Chief of the Maratha forces) to come to an agreement with him. For maintaining "fealty" with the [[Satara (city)|Satara]]s (Shivaji's family stronghold), he was granted 26 forts and its dependent villages, which included Suvarnadurg. In subsequent years, these forts became strongholds for piracy. According to both Indian historians of [[Anglo-Maratha Wars (disambiguation)|Anglo-Maratha Wars]] such as Anil Athale<ref name=AnilAthale>{{cite book| last=Athale | first=Anil| title=Struggle for Empire: Anglo-Maratha Wars, 1679–1818|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WuL2PQAACAAJ|publisher=Reliance Publishing House|date=2002| isbn=9788175101203}}</ref> and now revisionist western historians such as John Keay<ref name=JohnKeay>{{Cite book|last=Keay|first=John|title= The Honorable Company: A History of the English East India Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XpdgQt6Tc54C|publisher=Harper Collins, U.K.|isbn=9780007395545|date=2010-07-08}}</ref> and Simon Leyton. The pejorative pirate was used in British records, but the correspondence between the English and Maratha Navy suggests more a communication between the Maratha state and a trading company without permits, the English East India Company. Leyton wrote in ''The "Moghul's Admiral": Angrian "Piracy" and the Rise of British Bombay'': "It is now generally accepted by historians that Kanhoji [Angria], at least, was not a pirate in any sense of the word; rather, he is more properly thought of as the 'Admiral' of the Marathas"—an Indian Kingdom—"who for many years confronted European attempts to claim navigational rights over coastal shipping lanes".<ref name=SimonLeyton>{{Cite journal|last=Leyton | first=Simon|title=The "Moghul's Admiral": Angrian "Piracy" and the Rise of British Bombay|date=2013 |url=http://brill.com/jemh |journal= Journal of Early Modern History |volume=17 |pages=75–93 |doi= 10.1163/15700658-12342358| name-list-style=vanc}}</ref> With his new ordered control, Kanhoji held complete control over a coast line stretching over a coast length of {{convert|240|mi|km}} and {{convert|40|mi|km}} width extending from Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]) to Vengurla to the south. He later entered into an agreement with the British, which went against him as the British flouted all terms with him. Humiliated by this treatment by the British he decided to attack them. He entered into an alliance with the Raja of Satara, equipped his vessels and manned them by the best crew consisting of [[Dutch people|Dutchmen]]. He also employed a [[Jamaica]]n [[pirate]] as his chief gunner. Many European pirate forces had also joined his army after the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] of 1713–14 (comprising a series of individual peace treaties among several [[Europe]]an states including [[England]], [[France]] and [[Spain]], among others). With this force, he attacked the merchant ships of the [[East India Company]].<ref name=Suvana/><ref name= Saletore>{{Cite book|last= Saletore |first=Rajaram Narayan |title= Indian Pirates: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day |pages=99–102|access-date=2010-01-13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PVMMoChwY4C&q=Kanhoji%20Angre |publisher= Concept Publishing Company|year=1978}}</ref>