In 1731, Ratnagiri came under the control of Satara kings; subsequently, the British gained control in 1818.
Earlier, one of the Bijapur rulers Potu Sri Chenna Reddy had built a fort on a headland near the harbour of Ratnagiri, and Maratha king Shivaji had strengthened it in 1670.
Ratnagiri has a palace, where the last king of Burma (Myanmar), Thibaw, and, later, "Veer" V. D. Savarkar, a freedom fighter in the British Raj days, had been confined by the ruling British.
According to a legend, after their twelve-year exile, Pandavas of the Mahabharata epic had settled for a while in the vicinity of Ratnagiri during their pilgrimage in the thirteenth year, and the then king of the region, Veeravrat Rāy, had subsequently fought on their side against Kauravas during the Mahabharata war at Kuruskshetra
