ABSTRACT
The geopolitics of the west coast of India in the mid-seventeenth century, seems to be quite competitive and complex with the political and commercial landscape being 'marked by the overlapping conflicts engaging the Marathas, Mughals, other indigenous powers, and the Europeans'. Choosing the path of relentless military campaigns and conquests, Shivaji expanded his domains up to the west coast. In fact, before his military rendezvous with Maharaja Jai Singh, the Mughal commander of the Deccan, Shivaji had laid the foundations of his first marine fort at Sindhudurg in Malwan, which eventually became the naval headquarters of the Marathas. At the same time Jai Sing was also courting the Sidis of Janjira to join the Mughal military campaign against Shivaji. The character of the politico-military equations on the west coast started changing quickly with the rise of Kanhoji Angre, the daring Maratha seafarer, early in the eighteenth century.
