The state of Travancore established an alliance with the British against the incursions of Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1795, Travancore entered into a subsidiary alliance with the British, whereby the Raja was obliged to provide troops in times of war. By 1805, this arrangement was converted into one of paying a hefty tribute, and British were authorized to control the internal administration. Thus, Travancore, once a free ally, became a subordinate, tributary state under the dominance of the British Residence. The Resident, Col. Macaulay, by his overbearing and provocative attitude, angered the Dewan Velu Thampi in 1808. Velu Thampi sought the help of the Raja of Cochin to overthrow the British and conspired with the Americans and the French to provide forces to defeat them. Thean, vested with absolute power by the king, made extensive military preparations, training people in military practices and gathering a large amount of arms and ammunition. The Resident's house was attacked, and reinforcement vessels for the British Government were captured. The army of Travancore fought bravely against the British in Quilon. The Dewan also communicated with the Rajah Zamorin of Malabar, but this was intercepted by the British. Velu Thampi relied on the expectation of support from the French forces and believed that a large number of British troops would be engaged in hostilities with the Marathas in North India, rendering them unable to assist the British in the deep South. Dr. Majumdar cites this as evidence that Indian rulers had extensive knowledge and intelligence about domestic and international situations, which they could leverage effectively. Unfortunately, the Dewan did not receive the necessary help. Three divisions of the British army approached from different directions to reinforce their forces stationed in Quilon Despite being outnumbered, the Travancore army put up a brave fight. Velu Thampi fled to the mountains and ultimately took his own life, marking the dignified end of a brave and valiant effort. The Marathas had the greatest reason to despise the British, as the establishment of British supremacy meant the end of their newfound hegemony. The Marathas were the largest political power after the decline of the Mughals and the Nawab of Bengal, when the British were just establishing their political base. Even after the decimation at Panipat, the Marathas remained a formidable force. However, the rivalry among petty Maratha chiefs and the short-sighted policies of their nominal head, the Peshwa, enabled the British to conquer large parts of Maharashtra. Peshwa Baji Rao II owed his throne to the British and sought to rid himself of their influence. He engaged in intrigues free himself from British entanglement, with his minister Tryambakji as the key conspirator. The British Government became aware of the and accused Tryambakji murdering Gangadhar Shastri, an agent of the Gaekwads in Pune. The Gaekwad of Baroda was completely subservient to the British and was the only Maratha clan chief not to join the Maratha confederacy in their fight against the British 1803-1805 or in 1817-1818. The appointment of Gangadhar Shastri the Peshwa's suspicions about British intentions. The British favored Shastri over the Gaekwad, likely because he served British interests. An enormous sum of sixty thousand rupees was granted to Shastri and his family by the Baroda Government, ratified by the British. There was no evidence against Tryambakji regarding the murder accusation, but at the insistence of the British Resident, he was arrested. The Peshwa resisted the charges for a long time and requested a formal investigation, which the British Resident refused. Ultimately, the Peshwa had to confine Tryambakji in a hill fort in Tannah due to an ultimatum from the British. Unable to directly accuse the Peshwa, the British used Tryambak as a scapegoat. Tryambakji managed to escape from the fort, and popular sentiment was in his favor. This led to military preparations throughout the Peshwa's dominion. The Peshwa conspired with other Maratha chiefs, but the Gaek did not participate, and Scindhia was immobilized by a treaty with the British. The Peshwa received support from the Bhonsla of Nagpur and Holkar of Indore. The British Resident forced the Peshwa to sign a humiliating treaty that dissolved Maratha confederacy and required the Peshwa to sever all connections with other Maratha. He was also required to provide funds to maintain British troops. The first encounter occurred at Khidki in Pune, where the British army, numbering two thousand eight hundred, was vastly outnumbered by the Maratha forces. Yet, theatha forces were defeated. In the next encounter at Koregaon, the Maratha troops were again defeated by a smaller British force. The Bhonsla was convincingly defeated in Nagpur, and Holkar was defeated in Mahidpur. By 1818, the Peshwa was hopelessly vanquished, and the Maratha Empire ceased to exist. Peshwa Baji Rao II lost his dominions and settled in Bithur with a pension of eight lakhs rupees a year.