Editing Shivaji (section)

=== Navy ===
{{Main|Maratha Navy}}
[[File:Sindhudurg watchtower.JPG|thumb|[[Sindhudurg|Sindudurg Fort]] provided anchorages for Shivaji's Navy]]

Aware of the need for naval power to maintain control along the [[Konkan]] coast, Shivaji began to build his navy in 1657 or 1659, with the purchase of twenty [[galivat]]s from the Portuguese shipyards of [[Vasai|Bassein]].<ref name="Roy2011">{{cite book|author=Kaushik Roy|title=War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC&pg=PA17|date=30 March 2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-136-79087-4|pages=17–}}</ref> Marathi chronicles state that at its height his fleet counted some 400 warships, although contemporary English chronicles counter that the number never exceeded 160.{{sfn|Sarkar, History of Aurangzib|1920|p=59}}

With the Marathas being accustomed to a land-based military, Shivaji widened his search for qualified crews for his ships, taking on lower-caste Hindus of the coast who were long familiar with naval operations (the famed "Malabar pirates"), as well as Muslim mercenaries.{{sfn|Sarkar, History of Aurangzib|1920|p=59}} Noting the power of the Portuguese navy, Shivaji hired a number of Portuguese sailors and Goan Christian converts, and made Rui Leitao Viegas commander of his fleet. Viegas was later to defect back to the Portuguese, taking 300 sailors with him.<ref name="Shastry1981">{{cite book|author=Bhagamandala Seetharama Shastry|title=Studies in Indo-Portuguese History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AsYcAAAAMAAJ|year=1981|publisher=IBH Prakashana}}</ref>

Shivaji fortified his coastline by seizing coastal forts and refurbishing them. He built his first marine fort at [[Sindhudurg Fort|Sindhudurg]], which was to become the headquarters of the Maratha navy.<ref name="RoyLorge2014">{{cite book|author1=Kaushik Roy|author2=Peter Lorge|title=Chinese and Indian Warfare – From the Classical Age to 1870|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=627fBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA183|date=17 December 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-58710-1|pages=183–}}</ref> The navy itself was a [[green-water navy|coastal navy]], focused on travel and combat in the littoral areas, and not intended for the [[high seas]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://optimizeias.com/new-naval-ensign-the-naval-prowess-of-chhatrapati-shivaji-that-has-always-inspired-the-indian-navy/ | title=New Naval Ensign: The naval prowess of Chhatrapati Shivaji that has always inspired the Indian Navy - Optimize IAS | date=3 September 2022 }}</ref><ref name="Misra1986">{{cite book|author=Raj Narain Misra|title=Indian Ocean and India's Security|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NhVz7mZCisC&pg=PA13|year=1986|publisher=Mittal Publications|pages=13–|id=GGKEY:CCJCT3CW16S}}</ref>