Mention about the first Anglo-Maratha war.

The first Anglo-Maratha war was a direct result of the ‘divide and rule’ policy followed by the British East India Company. The Marathas had been established as a powerful race in the 18^th Century whose importance reduced with their loss in the 1761 Battle of Panipat. But they still possessed the power to stop the Britishers from ruling all over the country. In this scenario, the then Peshwa Madhavrao passed away in 1772 and was succeeded by his brother Narayan Rao. But their uncle Raghunath Rao wanted to be the Peshwa and signed the Treaty of Surat with the Britishers on March 6^th, 1775. According to the treaty, he was to cede Surat, Salsette and Bassein in return for British help to secure for himself the post of Peshwa. This ultimately led to the first Anglo-Maratha War which occurred between 1775 – 1782 and in which the English lost to the Marathas. The war was concluded by the Treaty of Vadgaon on 29th January 1799. The Britishers had to recognize Madhu Rao II as the Peshwa along with handing over any conquests, Raghunath Rao was given the Pune Darbar and retired on an allowance while Salsette and some other islands were retained by the British.