Pratap Singh Bhonsle or Pratapsinha (

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

: तंजावरचे प्रतापसिंह) was the

Maratha 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 ...

ruler of

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

of the

Bhonsle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest a ...

dynasty from 1739 to 1763. His rise to power followed three years of

anarchy Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...

and

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and restored the state to its previous greatness. His reign witnessed the Carnatic Wars and the Seven Years' War.

Early life

Pratapsinha was born to

Tukkoji Tukkoji Bhonsle (1677–1736) was the fourth Maratha ruler of Thanjavur, located in South India. He was from the Bhonsle dynasty and was the son of Ekoji I as well as the younger brother of Shahuji I and Serfoji I. Tukkoji ruled Thanjavur fro ...

, the Raja of Thanjavur and a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Annapurna. Initially, he was not expected to rule as he was not a legitimate son of the Raja. However, the early demise of the king's eldest son Ekoji II who died after ruling Thanjavur for a year and a period of anarchy which followed thrust Pratap Singh on the forefront of palace intrigues.

Period of Anarchy 1736–1739

Following Tukkoji's death in 1736, a period of anarchy followed. Ekoji, the king's eldest son and heir apparent succeeded to the throne but died after ruling Thanjavur for a year. However, in spite of his poor health, Ekoji offered a determined resistance to

Chanda Sahib Chanda Sahib (died 12 June 1752) was a subject of the Mughal Empire and the Nawab of the Carnatic between 1749 and 1752. Initially he was supported by the French during the Carnatic Wars. After his defeat at Arcot in 1751, he was captured by ...

who invaded Thanjavur during the former's short reign and forced him to retreat to

Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

. Ekoji died in 1737 succeeded by his wife

Sujana Bai Sujana Bai Bhonsle or Sujan Bai Bhonsle was the wife of Ekoji II, the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur of the Bhonsle dynasty. She ruled the state from the death of her husband in 1737 until she was deposed in 1738. Reign Sujana Bai ascended the ...

. Sayyid, the Governor of the Thanjavur Fort, rose into prominence during this period as a kingmaker and actively participated in court intrigues promoting one puppet ruler after another to the throne. He imprisoned Sujanbai in 1738 when the latter questioned his authority. Shahuji returned in 1738 and ruled for about a year. In February 1739, Chanda Sahib forced Shahuji to cede

Karaikal Karaikal ( /kʌdɛkʌl/, french: Karikal /kaʁikal/) is a town of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French by the Rajah of Thanjavur and became a French Colony in 1739. The French held control, with occasi ...

to the French and in April, the Raja confirmed the Grant. In July 1739, Shahuji prevented the French from landing in Karaikal. This resulted in invasion of Thanjavur by Chanda Sahib who captured Shahuji and imprisoned him on the pretext that he was not the actual Shahuji but an impostor. The

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

based at

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

sent home the following report on the events at Thanjavur:

Reign

Pratapsinha ascended the throne in 1739. He was the last ruler of Thanjavur to be referred in the official records of the

English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southe ...

as "His Majesty". As soon as Pratapsinha ascended the throne he had to contend with the intrigues of the pretender Shahuji in the company of a treacherous Maratha noble Koyaji Kattigai. K. R. Subramanian, Pg 48 It was also evident that the conspirators were in league with Sayyid. K. R. Subramanian, Pg 49 So immediately after ascending the throne, Pratapsingh ordered the death of Sayyid. In 1748, the pretender Shahuji sent an envoy, first to

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

K. R. Subramanian, Pg 50 and then to

Fort St. David Fort St David, now in ruins, was a British fort near the town of Cuddalore, a hundred miles south of Chennai on the Coromandel Coast of India. It is located near silver beach without any maintenance. It was named for the patron saint of Wales b ...

to negotiate terms of alliance with the

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in the ...

. The British East India Company initially supported Pratapsingh but switched sides when Shahuji offered the fort of Devikottai at the mouth of the Coleroon river. K. R. Subramanian, Pg 51 The British sent two expeditions against Devikkottai which was defended by a garrison of 5,000 men. Their first attempt was a complete failure while the second ended in a truce. The second expedition was remarkable as the one in which

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

and

Clive Clive is a name. People and fictional characters with the name include: People Given name * Clive Allen (born 1961), English football player * Clive Anderson (born 1952), British television, radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister * ...

distinguished themselves. K. R. Subramanian, Pg 52 The War was brought to an end by the treaty of friendship between Pratapsingh and the Company. Devikkottai was made over to the English as per the provisions of the treaty. In the early part of his reign, Pratapsinha also had to deal with the imperious attitude of Dost Ali, the

Nawab of the Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

. Pratapsinha was soon deposed by Dost Ali who took over the administration of Thanjavur. But a Maratha invasion from the north brought about the death of Dost Ali and the restoration of Pratapsingh. The Maratha troops left after making one Murari Rao the ruler of Tiruchirapalli with whom Pratapsinha was in bad terms. Soon afterwards, the Nizam of Hyderabad sent a formidable force to Thanjavur to exact tribute. Two other expeditions forced the Raja into submission. The third and final expedition of the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

in 1742, resulted in the deposition of Murari Rao and the annexation of Tiruchirapalli. As a result of this campaign, Thanjavur was forced to become a vassal of Hyderabad and pay annual tribute.

The Seven Years' War

During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, Pratapsingh supported the English with arms and supplies. At Lawrences' behest, the great Thanjavur general Manoji took Coillady from the French and captured Chanda Sahib and beheaded him. K. R. Subramanian, Pg 53 However, the confederacy broke when Nanja Raja realized that he had been deceived by Muhammad Ali who had promised to give him Tiruchirapalli as per an early arrangement. K. R. Subramanian, Pg 54 Pratapsingh supported his cause when the French under Dupleix tried to threaten him. Muhammad Ali and Murari Rao forged an alliance with the French. In 1758, Lally marched to Thanjavur from

in order to force Thanjavur into subjugation but was repulsed by Manoji. He had to retreat with an insignificant plunder at

Nagore Nagore is a town in the Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located approximately 12 km North of Karaikal and 5 km South of Nagapattinam. Nearby towns are Karaikal, Tiruvarur, and Velankanni. It has a population of appr ...

when an English fleet made its appearance off the coast at Karaikal. The Thanjavur troops supported by a small English contingent harassed the French who eventually succumbed to starvation. The British inflicted a crshing defeat on the French in the siege of Puducherry in 1761. K. R. Subramanian, Pg 55 This dealt a death-blow to the French power in India.

Loss of Independence

From the onset, the Nawab of Carnatic Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah wasn't in good terms with Pratap Singh and desired to annex

. However, for the sake of their common interests, Pratap Singh maintained an uneasy alliance with Muhammad Ali. Matters reached a boiling point after the

. The

Carnatic Sultanate The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

was getting ready for plans to attack the

Thanjavur Maratha kingdom The Thanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by the Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was Marathi. Venkoji was the founder of the dynasty. Maratha conquest of Thanjavur Follo ...

. However, their common ally, the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, averted a crisis by stepping in to mediate a truce in 1762. The Raja agreed to pay twenty lakhs as arrears and an annual tribute of four lakhs to the Nawab of Carnatic. In return, Coiladdy and Yelengadu were ceded to Thanjavur. Notwithstanding allegations of partiality on part of the British, this treaty practically ended Thanjavur's independence.

Border disputes with Ramnad

There were frequent border disputes with the state of Ramnad on the

Aranthangi Aranthangi is a town chola Nadu in Pudukkottai district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. As of 2011, it had a population of 40,814. And this is one of the part in Chettinadu. Geography The town lies 10 degrees north in latitude and 70 degre ...

frontier. Actively supported by the Tondaiman of

Pudukkottai Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a large city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty , Cholas, ...

, Manoji once led a large army into the territory of the Sethupathy of Ramnad and even captured Aranthangi. The Nawab of Carnatic who was the actual overlord to whom Thanjavur paid tribute, stepped in and stopped the Raja from pursuing further hostilities.

Death

Pratapsinha died on 16 December 1763 K. R. Subramanian, Pg 57 after reigning for 24 years. His third and fifth queens committed

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son

Thuljaji Thuljaji Bhonsle (Marathi: तुळजाजी, also known as Tullasu Rasa) (1738–1787) was the eldest son of Pratap singh and the ruler of Thanjavur Bhonsle dynasty from 1763 to 1773 and 1776 to 1787. He was a weak-hearted ruler despite ...

Notes

References

# K. R. Subramanian(1928). ''The Maratha Rajas of Tanjore'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Thanjavur, Pratapsingh Of 1763 deaths Maharajas of Thanjavur Year of birth unknown