The Maharaja Soma Shah was
Koli
Koli may refer to:
Places
* Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland
* Koli National Park, a national park in Finland
* Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran
* Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific
Other uses
* Koli peopl ...
ruler of the petty kingdom of ''Ramnagar'', present days in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. He invented the
Chauth
Chauth (from Sanskrit, meaning ''one fourth'') was a regular tax or tribute imposed from the early 18th century by the Maratha Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name, on ...
system which was a form of the
Protection fees.
Chauth system
It was started by
Maharaja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
of Ramnagar when Portuguese possessed the
Daman and Diu
Daman and Diu (; ) was a former union territory in northwestern India. With an area of , it was the smallest administrative subdivision of India on the mainland. The territory comprised two districts, Damaon and Dio island, geographically sep ...
and was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name. It was levied on the lands which were under nominal
Portuguese Rule
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas Colonialism, colonies, Factory ...
by Maharaja Som Shah. Chauth was a fee for Portuguese to purchase the protection from Maharaja of ramnagar so Maharaja Som Shah was called as ''
'Chauthia Raja'
'' which means Guardian King. The Portuguese chief ''
'Fernao De Miranda paid the 1/4 share of the total revenue of daman and diu.
Disputes and Politics on Chauth
The
British Indian
British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...
historian
Jadunath Sarkar
Sir Jadunath Sarkar (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty.
Academic career
Sarkar was born in Karachmaria village in Natore, Bengal to Rajkumar Sarkar, the local Zamindar ...
states that there was several disputes between petty kingdom of
Jawhar
Jawhar is a city and a municipal council in Palghar district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division of India. Jawhar was a capital city of the erstwhile Koli princely state of Jawhar.
Situated in the ranges of the Western Ghats, Jawhar is k ...
and the kingdom of Ramnagar in 1670 after the treaty between ''Raja Vikram Shah Mukne (Vikramrao)'' of Jawhar and Portuguese ''Captain Fernao De Miranda'' of
Daman and Diu
Daman and Diu (; ) was a former union territory in northwestern India. With an area of , it was the smallest administrative subdivision of India on the mainland. The territory comprised two districts, Damaon and Dio island, geographically sep ...
. Miranda entered into an agreement with Vikramshah to destroy the Ramnagar and he would pay to him the chauth. Thereafter, the
Raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
Vikramshah attacked at Ramnagar and destroyed many villages and infested the ramnagar territory and claimed the
Chauth
Chauth (from Sanskrit, meaning ''one fourth'') was a regular tax or tribute imposed from the early 18th century by the Maratha Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name, on ...
from Portuguese. Till now chauth was charged by ramnagar's ruler so there was a big problem for Portuguese they again forced the vikramshah to defeat the ramnagar ruler but maybe there was a political views because both of the petty kingdoms of Ramnagar and
Jawhar
Jawhar is a city and a municipal council in Palghar district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division of India. Jawhar was a capital city of the erstwhile Koli princely state of Jawhar.
Situated in the ranges of the Western Ghats, Jawhar is k ...
's rulers belong to same tribe of the same community so they both claimed the chauth from Portuguese.
Fall of Ramnagar and annexation in Maratha Empire
Jadunath Sarkar
Sir Jadunath Sarkar (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty.
Academic career
Sarkar was born in Karachmaria village in Natore, Bengal to Rajkumar Sarkar, the local Zamindar ...
wrote that, after the failure of the treaty with
Jawhar State
The Jawhar State was a princely state in India. As a princely state, it became a part of Bombay Presidency during the British Raj. It was the only state belonging to the Thana Agency. The last Koli Ruler of Jawhar at Indian independence wa ...
, Portuguese ''Captain Fernao De Miranda'' went to the
Maratha Emperor '
Chhatrapati
Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit language.The word ‘Chhatrapati’ is a Sanskrit language compound word (tatpurusha in Sanskrit) of ''Chatra (umbrella), chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). Th ...
Shivaji
Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...
' of
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...
and persuaded him to destroy the Koli countries of Jawhar and Ramnagar and to get ride of protection fees. Jadunath Sarkar stated that there also was a political problem for Chhatrapati Shivaji to attack the Jawhar and Ramnagar. Some of the important
Subedar
Subedar is a rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army; a senior non-commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army, and formerly a Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army.
History
''Subedar'' or ''subadar'' was the ...
s,
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
s and military soldiers were from same community as the rulers of Jawhar and Ramnagar. So Chhatrapati Shivaji collected the information but did not attack the Koli countries, instead claiming the
Chauth
Chauth (from Sanskrit, meaning ''one fourth'') was a regular tax or tribute imposed from the early 18th century by the Maratha Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name, on ...
from Portuguese.
After that ''Captain Fernao De Miranda'' paid Chauth to the Maharaja Som Shah, Vikram Shah and Chhatrapati Shivaji. After a few instalments of Chauth, the Captain did not pay for
Chhatrapati Shivaji. When asked to pay, he retorted that Chhatrapati Shivaji had not defeated any of the rulers and so was not a master to be paid. After this, in 1671,Chhatrapati Shivaji sent his prime minister
Peshwa
The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...
Moropant Trimbak Pingle
Moropant Trimbak Pingle (1620–1683), was the ''peshwa'' of the Maratha Empire, serving on Shivaji Maharaj's Ashta Pradhan (Council of Eight Ministers).
Early life
Moropant Trimbak Pingle was born to a Deshastha Brahmin family in 1620 Nimgaon. ...
against both rulers. Peshwa commanded the
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
Maratha Army
The Maratha Army was the land-based armed forces of the Maratha Empire, which existed from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries in India.
17th century
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of Maratha Empire, raised a small yet effective l ...
and defeated the Vikram Shah and then marched against Maharaja Som Shah and captured the some of the territory. Thereafter, Chhatrapati Shivaji claimed the Chauth. After some time, the Portuguese did not pay because Chhatrapati Shivaji had not conquered the entirety of Empire of Maharaja Som Shah. In 1672, there was a battle for one week. During the battle,
Mughal general
Dilir Khan
Jalal Khan Daudzai, known by his title Diler Khan, was a Mughal general who served under Aurangzeb and was the governor of Awadh. He was the son of Nawab Darya Khan Daudzai, a mansabdar of Pashtun Afghan ethnicity, who had migrated to India in 16 ...
and an ally of Som Shah prepared his army. On the hearing of the Mughal army, Peshwa Moropant returned to
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
. It is mentioned that Kolis of Ramnagar captured the
Marathas
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
at
Gambhirgad Fort
Gambhirgad Fort ( mr, गंभीरगड ) is a fort located 58 km from Dahanu, Palghar district, of Maharashtra. This fort is less important fort in Palghar district. The fort is in ruins and restoration is to be done.
History
Gambhi ...
but Peshwa again with more power attacked at Ramnagar and captured it.
After the defeat of Maharaja Som Shah, Ramnagar kingdom was annexed in the
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...
on 19 June 1672.
See also
*
List of Koli people
The Koli people (Hindi: कोली) are a community native to India and Pakistan. The Koli forms the largest caste-cluster, comprising 24% of the total population of the Gujarat and 30% of Himachal Pradesh. The following is the list of notable ...
*
List of Koli states and clans
The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they ...
References
{{Reflist
*