over, that it would be more for the intereft of their people, to be subjects, than tributaries, of the Mahrattas; these being mild as Governors, although the most unfeeling, as collectors of tribute, or as enemies yet it appears, that they entertain the greatest jealoufy of Sindia's defigns; the accomplishment of which would make their Princes fink into a state of greater infignificance, than they are at present. In a country fo fruitful of revolutions, it is difficult to fore fee the event of Sindia's prefent measures; but they point ftrongly towards raifing him to the head of the western Mahratta ftate, or to that of a new empire founded on its ruins. The The provinces of Agra and Delhi, and that whole neighbourhood, are in the most wretched ftate that can be conceived. Having been: the feat of continual wars for near 50 years, the country is almost depopulated, and moft of the lands, of courfe, are lying wafte: the wretched inhabitants not daring to provide more than the bare means of fubfiftence, for fear of attracting the notice of those, whofe trade is pillage. Nothing but the natural fertility of the foil, and the mildnefs of the climate, could have kept up any de gree of population; and rendered the fovereignty of it, at this day, worth contending for. So that a tract of country, which possesses every advantage that can be derived from nature, contains the most miserable of inhabitants: fo dearly do mankind pay for the ambition of their fuperiors; who, mif-calculating their powers, think they can govern as much as they can conquer. In the Mogul empire, many parts of it were 1000 miles. diftant from the feat of government: and accordingly its hiftory is one continued leffon to Kings not to grafp at too much dominion; and to mankind, to circumfcribe the undertakings of their rulers. It It is highly improbable that the houfe of Timur will ever rife again, or be of any confequence in the politics of Hindooftan.. It was in 1525 that the dynafty of Great Moguls, began: fo that reckoning to the prefent time, it has lafted 262 years; a long period for that country. SKETCH SKETCH of the MAHRATTA Hiftory. WE have frequently had occafion, in the courfe of the above fketch, to mention the MAHRATTAS: and as the rife and progress of that ftate, is of much importance to the general hiftory of the decline of the Mogul empire; and fo remarkable in itself, from the fuddennefs of its growth; it may not be improper to give a fhort, hiftory of it, in an uninterrupted narrative; although fome part of the former one may be repeated. The origin and fignification of the word MAHRATTA (or Mo RATTOE) has of late been very much the fubject of enquiry and difcuffion, in India: and various fanciful conjectures have been made, concerning it. We learn, however, from Ferihta, that MARHAT was the name of a province in the Deccan; and that it comprehended Baglana (or Bogilana) and other districts, which at This information occurs not only in Ferifhta's hiftory of Hindooftan, but in that of the Deccan, &c. likewife. The former we have before spoken of, as being tranflated by Col. Dow: but the latter has never yet made its appearance in any European language. It is expected, however, that the public will foon be in poffeffion of it, from the hands of Capt. Jonathan Scott, who has already exhibited a fpecimen of one part of his intended work; and' has engaged to complete it, on conditions, which the public, on their part, appear to have performed. Ferifhta lived in the Court of Ibrahim Audil Shah, King of Vifiapour; who was cotemporary with Jehanguire in the beginning of the last century Ferifita's hiftory of the Deccan, &c. opens to our view, the knowledge of an empire that has fcarcely been heard of,, in Europe. Its Emperors of the BAHMINBAH dynalty (which commenced with Hallan Cace, A. D. 1347) appear to have exceeded in power and fplendour, thofe of Delhi; even at the most flourishing periods of their history. The feat of government was at Calberga (fee Orme'as Hiftorical Fragments p. cxxxvi.) which was centrical to the great body of the empire; and is at this day a confiderable city. Like other overgrown empires, it fell to pieces with its own weight and out of it were formed four potent kingdoms, under the names of Vilapour (properly Bejapour) Golconda, Berar, and Amednagar; whole particular limits, and inferior members, we are not well informed of. Each of thefe fubfitted with a confiderable degree of power, until the Mogul conqueft; and the two firit, as we have seen above, preferved their independency until the time of Aurungzebe. It is worthy of remark, that the four Monarchs of thefe kingdoins, like the Cæfars and Ptolemies, had each of them a name, or title, common to the dynalty to which he belonged; and which were derived from the refpective founders. Thus, the Kings of Vifiapour, were ftyled Audil (or Adil) Shah; thofe of Gol conda, Cuttub Shah; and thofe of Berar and Amednagur, Nizam Shah, and Amul Shah. prefent form the most central part of the Mahratta dominions. The original meaning of the term Marhat, like that of most other proper names, is unknown; but that the name of the nation in question, is a derivative from it, cannot be doubted: for the testimony of Ferishta may be received without the smallest fufpicion of error, or of design to establish a favourite opinion, when it is confidered that he wrote, at a period, when the inhabitants of the pro-. vince of MARHAT did not exist as an independant nation; but were blended with the other fubjected Hindoos of the Deccan. Befides the teftimony of Ferifhta, there is that alfo of Nizam-ul-Deen *; an author who wrote at an earlier period; and who relates, in his general hiftory of Hindooftan, that one of the Kings of Delhi, made an excurfion from Deogur (Dowlatabad) into the neighbouring province of MARHAT†. Sevajee may be confidered as the founder of the MAHRATTA EMPIRE. His ancestry is not very clearly afcertained; but the most commonly received opinion, is, that his grandfather was an illegitimate son of a RANA of Oudipour, the chief of the Rajpoot Princes; the antiquity of whofe house may be inferred from Ptolemy. (See the Memoir, page 153.) The mother of this illegitimate fon is faid to have been an obscure perfon, of a tribe named Bonfola (fometimes written Bouncello, and Boonfla) which name was affumed by her fon, and continued to be the family name of his defcendants, the Rajahs of Sattarah, and Berar. After the death of his father (the Rana of Oudipour) he having suffered fome indignities from his brothers, on the fcore of his birth, he retired in difguft to the Deccan, and entered into the fervice of the King. of Bejapour (vulgarly Vifiapour). The reputation of his family, added to his own personal merit, foon obtained for him a distin Nizam-ul-Deen, was an officer in the court of Acbar; and wrote a general history of Hindootian, which he brought down to the 40th year of that Emperor. This alfo occurs in Ferifhta's history of Hindoostan. It was in the reign of Alla I. A. D. 1312. See alfo page lii, of the Introduction.. guished guished rank in the armies of the King of Vifiapour; in which he was fucceeded by his fon. But his grandfon, Sevajce, who was born in 1628, difdaining the condition of a fubject, embraced an early opportunity (which the diftractions then exifting in the Vifia pour monarchy, afforded him) of becoming independant. So rapid. was the progrefs of his conquefts, that he was grown formidable to the armies of the Mogul empire, before Aurungzebe's acceffion to power: having before that period, feized on the principal part of the mountainous province of Baglana; and the low country of Concan, fituated between it and the western fea. He had alfo, acquired from the kingdom of Vifiapour, the important fortrefs of Pannela, which commanded an entrance into the heart of it, from the fide of Baglana; together with several other places of strength. In the Carnatic, he had poffeffion of Gingee, together with an extensive district round it and this perhaps may be confidered rather as an ` ufurpation of one of the Vifiapour conquests, than as an acquisition made from the original Sovereign of the Carnatic: for the King of Vifiapour appears to have poffeffed the fouthern part of the Carnatic, including Tanjore +. Great part of the history of Sevajee will be found in Mr. Orme's hiftorical fragments of the Mogul empire: and is well worth the reader's attention. At his death, which happened in 1680, his domains extended from the northern part of Baglana, near Surat, to the neighbourhood of the Portuguese districts of Goa, along the fea coaft; but probably not very far inland, beyond the foot of the Gauts, and other ranges of mountains, which may be confidered as branches of them: for Aurangzebe's army kept the field in Vifiapour, at that period, and neceffarily traitened Sevajee's quarters on that fide. These con * The French obtained the grant of Pondicherry in 1674, from a Rajah of Gingee, who acknowledged the King of Narfinga as his fuperior; but this latter, was at the fame time, dependant on Vifiapour. Sevajee took poffeffion of Gingee, about the year 1677; and confirmed the above grant, in 1680. t I am ignorant of the period, when the Mahratta Prince, whofe defcendants now. hold Tanjore, came into the poffeffion of it. quefts quefts were the fruits of hardy and perfevering valour; partly, acquired in defpight of Aurungzebe, then in the zenith of his power. Sevajee had also plundered Surat and Golconda; and even attacked Goa, when the Portuguese power was at its height. His fon Sambajee, though poffeffed of confiderable ability both as a statesman and a foldier, fell a facrifice to debauchery. In one of his loofe excurfions, he was treacherously feized on, and cruelly put to death, by Aurungzebe, in 1689. This, however, produced no fubmiffion on the part of the Mahrattas; who still increased in power, though not fo rapidly as before. The Roman ftate had fcarcely a hardier infancy: and the mountains of Gatte, which shelter from the ftormy Monfoon, the countries that are fituated to the leeward of them, afforded also a shelter to this rifing ftate. Sahoo, or Sahojee (vulgarly, Saow or Sow Rajah) fucceeded his father Sambajee, at a very early age; and as he inherited the ability and vigour of mind of his immediate ancestors, and reigned more than 50 years; great part of it at a feason, the most favourable for the aggrandizement of a state, that was to rife on the ruins of another; the Mahratta power grew up to the wonderful height that we have beheld it at. For the confufions occafioned by the difputed fucceflion among Aurungzebe's fons, and their defcendants, opened a wide field to all adventurers: and particularly to this hardy and enterprifing people, bred in the fchool of war and difcipline; and who had fhewn themselves able to contend even with Aurungzebe himself. The conquefts atchieved under Sahoojee, are aftonishing to thofe who do not know that Hindooftan is fo full of military adventurers, that an army is foon collected by an enterprifing Chief, who holds out to his followers a profpect of plunder; which the then distracted state of the empire, afforded the most ample means of realizing. At the time of Sahoojee's death, which happened in 1740, the Mahratta ftate or empire had swallowed up the whole tract from the western fea to Oriffa; and from Agra to the |