Treaty of Bassein (1802)
Baji Rao II signing the treaty in front of the East India Company officials. | |
| Context | Signed by the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire after fleeing from his capital of Poona, concerned about his personal safety. |
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| Signed | 31 December 1802 |
| Signatories | |
The Treaty of Bassein was a pact between the British East India Company and Baji Rao II, the peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. It was signed on 31 December 1802 after the Battle of Poona, in present-day Bassein (Vasai). The treaty was a decisive step in the dissolution of the Maratha Empire, which led to the East India Company's annexation of the empire's territories in western India in 1818.
On 13 May 1803, Baji Rao II was restored as peshwa under the protection of the East India Company and so had become a British client ruler. The treaty led to the expansion of Company rule over the Indian subcontinent. However, the treaty was not acceptable to all Maratha chieftains and resulted in the Second Anglo-Maratha War.