Who are maha-samanthas​

Samantas is the name given to landed chiefs who were granted a 'piece of land' by the King in return for their 'allegiance' to the crown and had to perform mandatory military duties whenever called upon by the King to serve.

The British used them as outposts. They could make a break after a long journey, or they could use them as trading posts, or they could take resources from the two areas and send them to Britain. One big function of the outposts was to serve as prisons. Those who committed crimes in England would be sent to Australia as punishment.