Kanoji Angre
A short writeup about Kanhoji Angre — the 18th century Indian admiral who kept the British, Dutch, AND Portuguese in check simultaneously
Kanhoji Angre (also called Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré) was born in 1669 on Suvarnadurg fort near Ratnagiri. His dad served under the legendary Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, so naval/military life was basically in his blood.
Here's why he's so fascinating:
He went toe-to-toe with every major European colonial power at once. The British, Dutch, and Portuguese were all trying to dominate Indian Ocean trade routes, and this guy was the main reason they couldn't just walk in and take over. He captured European merchant ships and collected taxes from them.
In 1713, when Peshwa Bahirupant Pingle led a military force specifically to bring Angre to heel, Angre turned it around completely — defeated him AND took him captive. Instead of this ending badly, it led to negotiations where Angre was officially crowned Admiral (Sarkhel) of the Maratha fleet and given ten forts and sixteen fortified posts. Remarkable diplomatic outcome for someone who just kidnapped the Peshwa.
European powers genuinely could not catch him. The British East India Company repeatedly tried and failed. His knowledge of the coastline and guerrilla-style naval tactics made him nearly untouchable.
He died in 1729 still undefeated, which is a pretty rare distinction for anyone who spent decades fighting multiple colonial empires simultaneously.
The guy deserves a Netflix series at minimum.