Q. Which of the following events ultimately sealed the fate of the Maratha Confederacy and led to the political and territorial end of the Peshwa’s rule?

[A] The defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), which broke the backbone of the Maratha army.

[B] The signing of the Treaty of Bassein (1802) by Baji Rao II, placing himself under the protection of the British Subsidiary Alliance System.

[C] The death of Nana Fadnavis, which eliminated the key figure capable of maintaining Maratha unity.

[D] The failure to defeat Tipu Sultan of Mysore, diverting resources and weakening the Maratha position.

Answer: B
Notes:

Explanation:

  • (b) Correct. Baji Rao II, the weakest and last Peshwa, was defeated by the Holkars in 1802 and fled to the British. By signing the Treaty of Bassein, he surrendered Maratha independence for British protection. This act was resisted by the Scindia and Bhonsle families, leading directly to the Second Anglo-Maratha War, which cemented British supremacy and began the systematic dismantling of the Confederacy, culminating in the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-1818) where Baji Rao II was defeated and exiled.
  • (a) Panipat was a major blow, but the empire recovered under Madhav Rao I.

(c) Fadnavis’s death (1800) certainly hastened the collapse by removing the unifying force, but the Treaty of Bassein was the decisive political and legal instrument for British control

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