Kolhapur State was a princely State

Princely state

A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

 of British India, under the Deccan Division of the Bombay Presidency

Bombay Presidency

The Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...

, and later the Deccan States Agency

Deccan States Agency

The Deccan States Agency was a unit of British India exercising suzerainty over a number of princely states. The agency was created in the 1930s, and was composed of a number of princely states in western India, located in the present-day Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka...

. It was considered the fourth most important Mahratta

Mahratta

Mahratta may refer to* the Maratha caste, a ruling class of the Indian subcontinent* the Maratha EmpireShips*SS Mahratta , lost in a collision with SS Victoria in 1887 in the River Hoogly.* SS Mahratta , lost on the Goodwin Sands in 1909....

 principalities, the other three being Baroda State

Baroda State

Baroda State was an Indian princely state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until 1947 when it succeed to newly formed, India. With the city of Baroda as its capital, during the British Raj it was part of the Baroda Residency...

, Gwalior State

Gwalior state

Gwalior State was an Indian kingdom and princely state ruled by the Maratha dynasty. The state took its name from the old town of Gwalior, which, although never the actual capital, was an important place because of its strategic location and the strength of its fort. The state was founded in the...

 and Indore State. Its rulers, of the Bhonsle

Bhonsle

The Bhonsle were a prominent clan within the Maratha clan system who served as rulers of several states in India.The most prominent member of the clan was Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire...

 dynasty, were entitled to a 19-gun salute - thus Kolhapur was also known as a 19-gun State. The state flag was a swallow-tailed orange pennant.

History

Kolhapur State, together with its jagir

Jagir

In historic India, a jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond his lifetime, in recognition of his military service...

s or feudatories, covered an area of 3,165 square miles (8,200 km²). According to the 1901 census, the state population was 910,011, of which 54,373 resided in Kolhapur Town. In 1901, the state enjoyed an estimated revenue of £300,000.

The Maharaja

Maharaja

Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

s of Kolhapur have a common ancestry with the Bhonsle dynasties of Tanjore and Satara

Satara

Satara is a city located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The town is 2320 ft. above sea-level, near the confluence of the Krishna and its tributary river Venna. The city was the capital of the Maratha empire in the 17th century, hence one of the the historical cities of...

, claiming descent from the Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

 royal clan Bhonslà. The states of Satara and Kolhapur came into being in 1707, because of the succession dispute over the Maratha kingship. Shahu Sambhaji, Heir Apparent to the Maratha kingdom, captured by the Mughals

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 at the age of nine, remained their prisoner at the death of his father Sambhaji

Sambhaji

Sambhaji Raje Bhosle was the eldest son and successor to Emporer Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire.- Early life :...

, the elder son of Shivaji Maharaj the founder of the Maratha Empire

Maratha Empire

The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....

  in 1700. The Dowager Maharani Tara Bai (a widow of Chatrapati Rajaram, younger son of Shivaji Maharaj)proclaimed her son Shivaji I, as Chhatrapati Maharaj under her regency. The Mughals released Shahu under certain conditions in 1707, and he returned to claim his inheritance. He defeated the regent at the Battle of Khed and established himself at Satara, forcing her to retire with her son to Kolhapur. By 1710 two separate principalities had become an established fact, eventually confirmed by the Treaty of Warna in 1731.
The British sent expeditions against Kolhapur in 1765 and 1792; Kolhapur entered into treaty relations with the British, after the collapse of the Maratha confederacy in 1812. In the early years of the 19th century the British invaded again, and appointed a political officer to temporarily manage the state.

The last ruler of Kolhapur was HH Maharaja Chhatrapati Shahaji II Puar. After India's independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Kolhapur acceded to the Dominion of India

Dominion of India

The Dominion of India, also known as the Union of India or the Indian Union , was a predecessor to modern-day India and an independent state that existed between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950...

 on 14 August 1947 and merged with Bombay State

Bombay State

The Bombay State was a state of India, dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on May 1, 1960.-History:During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency...

 on 1 March 1949. In 1960 Bombay state was divided into the linguistic states of Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

 and Gujarat. The boundaries of former Kolhapur state correspond very closely with those of modern-day Kolhapur district.
http://uqconnect.net/~zzhsoszy/ips/k/kolhapur.html

Rulers of Kolhapur

• Shivaji II (1700–1714)
• Shambhuji I (1714–1760)
• Shivaji III
  Shivaji III
  Shivaji III was a Raja of Kolhapur of the Bhonsle dynasty. He ruled from 1838 to 1866. During his reign, he was granted a personal salute of 19 guns with a hereditary salute of 17 guns. He was succeeded by Rajaram I....
  
   (1760–1812) (adopted from the family of Khanwilkar)
• Shambhuji II (1812–1821)
• Shahoji I (1821–1837)
• Shivaji IV
  Shivaji IV
  Shivaji IV was a Raja of Kolhapur from 1871 to 1883. A distant relation of the main family line, he was born as Shrimant Narayanrao Dinkarrao Bhonsle, and was adopted at the age of eight by the widow of Rajaram I. Owing to his youth, he reigned under a regency until he had attained his majority...
  
   (1837–1866)
• Rajaram I
  Rajaram I
  Rajaram I was a Raja of Kolhapur from 17 August 1866 to 30 November 1870. During his reign, the gun salute of the state was increased from 17 to 19 guns. The first of his line to travel abroad, he died aged 20 in Florence, Italy and was cremated on the banks of the Arno River by special...
  
   (1866–1870) (adopted from the family of Patankar)
• Shivaji V
  Shivaji V
  Shivaji V was the last Maharaja of Kolhapur from the Bhonsle dynasty, reigning from 1941 to 1946. He was from the Satara branch of the Bhonsle dynasty, and had been appointed to the vacant Kolhapur throne from birth, as Rajaram II had only left a daughter...
  
   (1870–1883)
• Shahu IV (1883–1922) (adopted from the family of Ghatge)
• Rajaram II
  Rajaram II
  Rajaram II was the Maharaja of Kolhapur from 1922–1940, succeeding his father Maharaja Shahu IV. A benevolent ruler, he was instrumental in the uplifting of the dalits and depressed castes in his state...
  
   (1922–1940)
• British rule (1940–1942)
• Shivaji VI (1942–1947)
• Shahoji II
  Shahoji II
  Shahaji II was Maharaja of Dewas from 1937–1947 and Maharaja of Kolhapur from 1947-1983...
  
   (1947–1949), titular Maharaja 1949-1983 (adopted from the family of Pawar)
• 1948 acceded to India
• Shahu II
  Shahu II
  Shahu II is the present and titular Maharaja of Kolhapur.-Family:Shahu II married Her Highness Maharani Yagyaseniraje on 9 March 1970, the couple have two sons:1...
  
  as titular Maharaja (1983–present)(adopted from Kadam family of Bande)

External links

• Kolhapur History and Genealogy royalark