descended from a shepherd, and Sindhia from a slipper-bearer.
The Maráthás under Holkar and Sindhia lay quiet for a time
after their crushing disaster at Panfpat in 1761. But within ten
years of that fatal field they had established themselves throughout Málwá, and proceeded to invade the Rájput, Jat, and Rohilla Provinces, from the Punjab on the west to Oudh in the east (1761-1771). In 1765, the titular emperor, Shah Alam, had sunk into a British pensioner, after his defeat by Sir Hector Munro at Baxár in 1764. In 1771, the emperor gave himself
over to the Maráthás. Sindhia and Holkar nominally maintained him on his throne at Delhi, but held him a virtual prisoner till 1803-4, when they were overthrown by our second Maráthá war. The dynasties of both Sindhia and Holkar have preserved to the present day their rule over the most fertile portion of Málwá.
The Bhonslas of Nagpur, 1751-1853.—The third of the northern Maráthá houses, namely the Bhonslas of Berar and the Central Provinces, occupied themselves with raids to the east. Operating from their base at Nágpur, they had (as we have seen) extorted in 1751 the ckauth, or 'quarter revenue' of Lower Bengal, together with the sovereignty of Orissa. The acquisition of Lower Bengal by the British (1756-1765) put a stop to their raids. In 1803, a division of our army drove the Bhonsla Maráthás out of Orissa. In 1817, their power was finally broken by our last Maráthá war. Their headquarter territories, now forming the Central Provinces, were administered under the guidance of British Residents from 1817 to 1853. On the death of the last Raghují Bhonsla without a direct male heir, in 1853, the Nágpur Maráthá territories (now known as the Central Provinces), lapsed to the British.
The Gáekwárs of Baroda.—The fourth of the northern Maráthá houses, namely, Baroda, extended its power throughout Gujarát, on the north-western coast of Bombay, and the adjacent peninsula of Káthiawár. The scattered but wealthy dominions known as the territories of the Gáekwár were thus formed. Since our last Maratha war, in 1817, Baroda has been ruled by the Gáekwárs, with the help of an English Resident. In 1874, the reigning Gáekwár was tried by a High Commission, com-
