The Maratha Wars were a series of wars between the British and the Maratha confederacy.

The first war (1776-82) was a civil war that commenced when the British supported one faction against another. As a result the British gained a small island adjacent to Bombay.

The second war (1803-05) was caused by the defeat of one clan who then accepted British protection. Other clans contested this successfully and the Marathas were left with a free hand in central India and Rajasthan.

The 3rd war 1817-18 ended with the British annexation of the Marathi territory, thus completing the supremacy of the British in India.