Kanhoji Angre

Kanhoji Angre
18th Century Maratha Navy Admiral
Born	1669 SuvarnadurgRatnagiri, Maharashtra, India
Died	4 July 1729 Alibag, Maharashtra, India
Allegiance	Maratha Navy
Years of service	1698–1729
Rank	Admiral

Kanhoji Angré (Marathi: कान्होजी आंग्रे) or Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré (Sarkhel is a title equal to Admiral of a fleet) (August 1669 – 4 July 1729) was one of the first notable chief of the Maratha Navy in 18th century India. He fought against the British, Dutch and Portuguese naval interests on the coasts of India during the 18th century. As a result, his European enemies labeled him a pirate. Despite the attempts of the British and Portuguese to subdue Angre, he remained undefeated until his death.

Angre was born in the village of Angarwadi, six miles from Pune in the year of 1669, in a Sankapal Kshatriya family. They were the guardians of small state named 'Vir Rana Sank' and were hence known as 'Sankapal.' His mother's name was Ambabai and his father, Tukoji, served at Suvarnadurg under Shivaji with a command of 200 posts. Little is known about his early life except that he was involved in daring exploits at sea with his father. He spent much of his childhood in the Suvarnadurg Fort, where he would later become the governor.

He was originally appointed as Surkhel or Darya-Saranga (Admiral) by the chief of Satara in c. 1698. Under that authority, he was master of the Western coast of India from Mumbai to Vingoria (now Vengurla) in present-day state of Maharashtra, except for the property of the Muslim Siddis of Murud-Janjira who were affiliated with the powerful Mughal Empire.

Kanhoji started his career by attacking merchant ships of the British East India Company and slowly gained respect from all the colonial powers. In 1702, he abducted a merchant vessel from Calicut with six English sailors and took it to his harbor. In 1707, he attacked the frigate Bombay which blew up during the fight. In time, the British feared as he could take any merchant ship except large European ships. When Maratha Chattrapati Shahu ascended the leadership of the Maratha Empire, he appointed Balaji Viswanath Bhatt as his Senakarta (Commander) and negotiated an agreement with Angre around 1707. This was partly to appease Angre who supported the other ruler, Tarabai, who claimed the Maratha throne. As per agreement, Angre became head of the Maratha Navy.