The Warrior of Vasai- Part 2
In the previous blog, we saw that Chimaji Appa, after capturing Sashti and doing some bombardment of Vasai from the fort of Dharavi, had to retreat to Pune in July 1737 due to rains and his poor health. This reduced the Maratha strength in Konkan and after the Portuguese reinforcements of around 5000 men arrived in September 1737 in Vasai, the Maratha campaign was put on hold for the time being. Let us see the events leading up to March 1739 from this point, which will help us to understand the challenging campaign of Vasai in greater detail. THE PORTUGUESE STRIKE BACK- Taking advantage of the reduced Maratha power, Portuguese thought of recovering the losses they faced in Chimaji Appa's campaign in March- April 1737. The Marathas had figured out that it was not possible to capture Vasai without hemming in the Portuguese from all sides and weakening them eventually. Therefore, Marathas started attacking the surrounding areas of Mahim and Shirgaon. However, around January 1738, the...