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Home , Jagat Seth, Midnapore, Murshid Quli Khan, Subsidiary alliance

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The expansion of British Power ou have read in previous classes that Y since ancient times was an important trading centre. Merchants and traders from Europe and Asia came to India regularly. The frequency of trade increased in the medieval period. The Indian rulers also supported this trade as it was very profitable for them.

Trade, till the early seventeenth century, companies from Portugal, Holland, England, was carried on by individual merchants and France and Denmark began to set up their traders as they did not always have the base in India. They established their trading backing of their respective countries. In course centres in different parts of the country, of time, this changed. The European countries especially in the coastal areas. These centres began to form trading companies to trade with were called ‘factories’, not because anything the east. One of them was the English East was manufactured there but because the India Company. It was started by a group of officials of the companies were called ‘factors’. merchants. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I gave it These factories consisted of offices and a charter which granted the Company the godowns. Most of them also had the houses of exclusive right to trade with the east. This the officials and residential quarters for the meant that no other trading group from merchants and traders who came for trade. England could compete with the Company. Over time, some factories were fortified. Think and answer Why did the companies Arrival of trading companies prefer the coast to set up their trading centres? From the seventeenth century onwards, See the map on page 11 and name the places trading where the English, French, Portuguese, Dutch and the Danes set up their factories.

Trade rivalry The presence of numerous trading companies vying for goods such as spices (pepper, clove, cardamom, cinnamon), cotton, silk, indigo, Fort William, Calcutta – it was a base of the English . saltpetre, and so on, led to intense rivalry among them. All of them wanted to buy these goods at low prices in India and sell them at very high prices elsewhere, particularly in Europe. Since profits from trade were huge, each European country vied for a greater share of this trade. However, the quantum of trade was not sufficient to sustain all the companies. Little by little, the profits earned by them began to shrink. The only way to increase profits was by eliminating competitors and ensuring a trade monopoly. The companies trade. The English and the French became the which had the support of their respective key players, dominating trade between India governments set out to do just that. They built and Europe. their own armies and were not averse to using force to achieve their goals. Anglo-French rivalry The presence of two In course of time, the Portuguese, the Dutch traditional rivals and a clash of trade interests and the Danes were ousted from the Indian between the two, led to a series of wars. These wars are commonly known as the Carnatic The Company shall not extend its Wars since most battles were fought in the fortifications. region within the present state of Tamil Nadu. The Company, however, had by this time The English and the French clashed thrice become very strong. After the military in the Carnatic. The wars lasted for nearly 20 successes against the French, both in Europe years (1744–1763). After this, the French and in India, it was feeling even more ceased to be a strong political force in India. confident. To expand trade and secure The way was clear for the establishment of markets, it now decided to annex territories in British power in India. India. Matters came to a boil in 1756 when Siraj-ud-Daulah became the of . The BrITISh In BengAL He asked the Company to remove all its In the early seventeenth century, the English fortifications in Calcutta (now ). The East India Company was merely a trading Company refused to do so. So the nawab sent body. It sent requests to the his troops and occupied the Company’s for trade concessions and privileges. After the factories in Calcutta. The British officials were death of , the alarmed at this development. They decided to became weak. Taking advantage of this, the depose Siraj-ud-Daulah and install a puppet officials of the Company began to intensify nawab in his place. This led to a war. their operations in Bengal, the richest of the Indian provinces. In 1717, they succeeded in (1757) obtaining the right to import and export goods On 23 June 1757, the armies of Siraj-ud- without paying customs duty. However, Daulah and the English East India Company some officials of the Company were also met at Plassey (Palasi). The British forces were engaged in private trade. The concession led by granted was only for the Company. But these . , the Commander- officials also stopped paying duty on their inChief of the Nawab and a large section of the private trade, resulting in an enormous loss of Nawab’s army loyal to Mir Jafar did not take revenue to Bengal. part in the battle. Jagat Seth, the richest banker The conflict between the of Bengal of Bengal, also refused to help the Nawab. and the Company intensified in the first half Siraj-ud-Daulah was defeated, imprisoned of the eighteenth century. Bengal at this time and later killed. The British made Mir Jafar the was ruled by Murshid Quli , Shuja- nawab of Bengal. udDin and then . They tried to The Battle of Plassey is an important keep the officials of the Company in check. landmark in the . It marked the Alivardi Khan laid two conditions which the first step in the transformation of a small Company had to obey or lose its right to trade trading company into the supreme political in Bengal. These conditions were as follows. power. The British got a foothold from where The officials of the Company engaged in they were to eventually conquer the whole of private trade shall pay customs duty or the India. privilege of not paying the duty will be withdrawn altogether. Bengal after Plassey Mir Jafar was a puppet in the hands of the English East India Company. Total financial British. They constantly demanded money control over the rich eastern provinces gave from him. The Company’s officials used him, the British enormous resources for the next ‘as a golden sack into which they could dip round of expansion. their hands at pleasure.’ When he could pay no more, he was replaced by . The Bengal after Buxar new nawab rewarded the Company by After victories at Plassey and Buxar, the granting it the right to collect revenue of the English East India Company became the real districts of Burdwan, and . After being in the shadow of the British for some years, Mir Qasim tried to free himself from their control. He dismissed the court officials who favoured the British. He hired European experts to train his army. He also abolished all duties on internal trade so that both Indian and British merchants could trade on equal terms. This was unacceptable to the British merchants as it ended their trade Lord Clive meeting Mir Jafar after the monopoly and hence adversely affected their Battle of Plassey, a painting by Francis Hayman ruler profits. The British now decided to depose Mir of Bengal. The military came under its control. Qasim. Revenue began to be collected directly by the officials of the Company. A small amount of (1764) revenue was given to the nawab to run the The British defeated Mir Qasim in a series of administration. So, the British had all power battles. Mir Qasim fled to Awadh. He formed and income but no responsibility. On the other an alliance with Shuja-ud-Daulah, the Nawab hand, the nawab had all responsibility but no of Awadh and Shah Alam II, the Mughal power and no stable source of income. This Emperor. The combined armies met the unique arrangement is generally known as the British forces at Buxar on 22 October 1764. The Dual or Double Government. The people of Indian army was defeated. A treaty was Bengal suffered immensely under this system. signed and Shah Alam II granted the Even during the famine which struck Bengal Company the ‘Diwani’ of Bengal, and in 1770, neither the Company nor the nawab Orissa (now ). Shuja-ud-Daulah was provided any relief to the people. made to pay 50 lakh as war damages. The Dual system of governance in Bengal Mir Qasim was deposed and Mir Jafar was ended in 1772. Bengal was brought under the made the nawab. direct control of the Company. The new The Battle of Buxar was a decisive battle in Governor-General, Warren Hastings (1772– Indian history. The weakness of the Indian 1785), embarked on a further expansion of armies was thoroughly exposed. The nawabs British influence in India. of Awadh and Bengal, and the Mughal Emperor now became dependent on the groWTh oF BrITISh InFLuence The and the Marathas were the strongest rivals of the British during the second half of the eighteenth century. The British launched wars against both.

Wars with Mysore Haider Ali (1761–1782) and

Tipu Sultan Warren Hastings The was the head of the confederacy. The British and the Marathas fought three wars. The Third Anglo–Maratha War (1817–1819) destroyed the Maratha power completely. The Peshwa was exiled to North India and his territories were taken over by the British. Other Maratha chiefs were also forced to give up their territories and

were no longer allowed to keep an army. ‘The Storming of Seringapatam’, a painting by Robert Ker Porter exPAnSIon under (1782–1799) were powerful rulers of Mysore Lord WeLLeSLey (1798–1805) (now Mysuru). They opposed the British. In 1798, Lord Wellesley became the Governor- Mysore controlled a large part of the spice General. He acquired territories through the trade. Tipu, in particular, did not want the system of Subsidiary Alliances, and British to trade in this region. He was also outright wars. close to the French, something which the British did not like. Between 1766 and 1799, Subsidiary Alliances four wars were fought between Mysore and the British. In 1799, during the course of the The system of forming Subsidiary Alliances Fourth Anglo–Mysore War, the British was a very clever move by the British to take defeated Tipu Sultan. He proudly declared advantage of the rivalries among the Indian that it was, ‘better to die like a soldier, than to rulers. They asked the rulers to accept the supremacy of the British and sign a subsidiary live a miserable dependent on the infidels, in the list of their pensioned rajas and nabobs.’ treaty with them. In return, the British Tipu died on 4 May 1799 while defending his promised to protect the ruler from internal capital, Seringapatam. rebellions and from attacks by his rivals. The Indian ruler who signed the Subsidiary Treaty Wars with the Marathas had to agree to the following conditions. The Marathas had become weak after their He would not keep an army of his own. defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. He would keep a British army (a subsidiary force), which was supposedly for his protection, and pay for its maintenance. Peshwa Baji Rao II signed a subsidiary treaty The ruler could also cede part of his at Bassein in 1802. Many chiefs of Rajputana territory to the British instead of also accepted the supremacy of the British and maintaining the British army. signed treaties. With this, the British became the supreme political power in India. Tipu Sultan’s love for plants was so great that he hit upon a novel idea of dispensing justice. BrITISh exPAnSIon (1805–1848) For various offence, he fixed proportionate The period from 1805–1848 saw a rapid punishments, not by imposing fines or putting people behind bars, but by making expansion of British power in India and them plant trees, water them, and bring South-east Asia. The British conquered Java them up to a particular height. and Sumatra from the Dutch. They also He would have to take permission from the occupied Singapore and Serawak in the Malay British before entering into an alliance with Peninsula. These conquests established their another ruler or declaring war against another kingdom. A British officer called the ‘Resident’ would be stationed at the ruler’s court. Also, no official of any other European power would be allowed in the court. Discuss Why did the British insist on disbanding the army of the subsidiary state? The subsidiary arrangement was very advantageous to the British. They could Lord Wellesley Peshwa Madhav Rao II maintain a large army at the cost of the Indian naval supremacy in the region and helped rulers. They indirectly controlled the defence them control the South-east Asian trade. The and foreign affairs of the protected ally, and kingdoms of Nepal and Burma were also could overthrow the ruler and annex his defeated and forced to cede territories to the territories whenever they wished to. Also, the British. In the north-west, the British extended ‘Resident’ could interfere in the internal their influence up to River Sutlej. In 1843, the affairs of the kingdom to further the interests British annexed Sindh. of the Company. On the other hand, the Indian ruler who Punjab accepted the Subsidiary Alliance became Amongst the few Indian kingdoms that totally dependent on the British. He could no remained independent was Punjab. It was longer take decisions independently. The high ruled by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was on cost of maintaining the British army and the friendly terms with the British. He had built a constant demands of the Resident also strong army, equipped and trained like the drained the treasury. The Company signed European forces. As long as he was alive, the the first subsidiary treaty with the Nizam of British did not interfere in the affairs of the in 1798. In 1801, the Nawab of kingdom. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Awadh also signed a subsidiary treaty. Singh in 1839, there was a struggle for power. In 1843, Dalip Singh, son of Maharaja Ranjit Jhansi and many other kingdoms under the Doctrine of Lapse. ‘This crisis of affairs appeared to me to afford Think and answer What prompted the Rani of the most favourable opportunity for the Jhansi to fight against the British? complete establishment of the interests of the British power in the , without Awadh the hazard of involving us in a contest with any party.’ Another pretext used by Dalhousie to annex territories in India was misgovernment. — Lord Wellesley, 24 December 1802 Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh was accused * * * * * of misrule and reluctance to introduce ‘A system of fattening allies as we fatten oxen, till reforms. Awadh was annexed in 1856. This they were worthy of being devoured.’ created a lot of unrest among the Indian —A British writer on the system of soldiers in the British army as most of them Subsidiary Alliances came from Awadh and the surrounding countryside. They revolted against the British. You will read about this historic uprising in Lesson 6. Discuss Why did Dalhousie need an excuse to annex Awadh?

STrucTure oF AdMInISTrATIon Once the British started annexing territories in India, they realized that they would have to Maharaja Ranjit Singh Maharaja Dalip Singh enforce a proper system of administration to control the conquered regions. So, they Singh, succeeded to the throne. The British formulated policies to govern these territories. defeated him and annexed Punjab in 1849. These policies were designed to consolidate exPAnSIon under British rule in India. The welfare of the Lord dALhouSIe (1848–1856) common people was never a priority for them. Through it, the Company wanted to After taking over as Governor-General in 1848, Lord Dalhousie began the final stage of increase its profits from trade, annexations. He devised a policy called the increase the profitability of the territories it Doctrine of Lapse. According to it, when the held in India, and ruler of a kingdom under British protection strengthen its hold over India. (subsidiary state) died without a natural heir, The British divided the territories they held his territory would not automatically pass to in India into provinces. Three of these were an adopted heir, but would ‘lapse’, that is, Bengal, Bombay (now Mumbai) and Madras become part of the British dominion, unless (now Chennai). They were called the adoption had been earlier approved by the presidencies. Each presidency was British. Dalhousie annexed Satara, Nagpur, administered by a governor, with the Governor-General acting as the overall head. The district was looked after by the collector. He supervised revenue collection and the overall administration of the district. The day-to-day administration was carried out by four agencies: The civil service for general administration. The army to protect the territories the British held in India. The police to maintain law and order, and ensure peace. The judiciary to dispense justice. civil service

Lord Cornwallis started the civil service to effectively administer the Company’s territories in India. He introduced strict regulations for the officials, raised their salaries and linked promotions to seniority. Many bright young men were attracted to it. To train young civil servants, Lord Wellesley set up the Fort William College at Calcutta in 1801. The East India College in England was another institution which trained the young recruits. Till 1853, the civil servants were nominated the examination was held in London and by the directors of the Company. After 1853, very few Indians could afford the cost civil servants began to be selected through a of travel, competitive examination. It was difficult for the medium of expression was English,

Indians to get selected. This was because which was a foreign language to the salary. Generally speaking, the sepoys were loyal to their British masters. However, they were very conscious of their caste and religion. The British found this out in 1857, when the sepoys revolted against the Company. You will read more on this in Lesson 6.

Police The British needed an efficient police force to Fort William College, Calcutta ensure law and order. Lord Cornwallis created a permanent police force in India. Indians and the maximum age for competing Each district had many ‘thanas’, each under a was very low. ‘daroga’. Towns and villages had ‘kotwals’ and ‘chowkidars’ respectively. Later, the post Army of District Superintendent of Police was The British needed a large army to created. He looked after the entire district. conquer more territories, Like in the army, in the police too, Indians protect British territories from their rivals, were excluded from higher posts. protect the trading interests of the The police was an effective force under the British. It succeeded in reducing major crimes, Company, and one of them being ‘thugee’. The police, suppress internal revolts against the British. however, could never become popular with The army comprised Indian soldiers, who the people. The lower ranked policemen, in were called ‘sepoys’. It is the anglicized particular, were unsympathetic, oppressive version of the word ‘sipahi’. A large and corrupt. number of them were originally farmers. They were keen to join the Company’s army as it Judiciary was a very prestigious occupation. Most Before the coming of the British, the Indians sepoys were recruited from areas at present followed laws based on local customs and included in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and traditions. For sometime, the British did not Jharkhand. British officers commanded the interfere with the existing system. They sepoys. decided that British laws would apply only to The British army was a well-trained and the Europeans. However, the existence of two disciplined force. The sepoys were armed sets with muskets. They were also paid a regular Satyendranath Tagore, the elder brother of returned to India in November 1864. His first posting , was the first Indian to was in the . join the Indian Civil Service (ICS). He went to of laws created confusion. England to give the exams and was selected in The Bengal Regulation of 1793 stated that June 1863. He completed his training and justice should be based on written laws and regulations instead of age-old customs and traditions. So, some of the Indian traditions were written down in the form of laws and regulations. This made laws uniform and easier to enforce. Warren Hastings and Lord Cornwallis gave a proper shape to the judicial set-up. They set up civil courts (diwani adalats) and criminal courts (faujdari adalats) at the district level. In 1833, a Law Commission was appointed to codify Indian laws. It compiled the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and established the principle of Rule of Law. It meant equality before law as it professed the ideal of ‘One Law for All’. This, however, was seldom practised. The Europeans and Indians continued to be tried in separate courts. Discuss Equality before law is now defined as a Fundamental Right. It is enjoyed by all Indian citizens. What do you understand by it? The British had come to India as traders. Soon, they became conquerors. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the British were the supreme power in India. A large part of the country was under their direct rule. The few kingdoms that remained independent were indirectly under British influence. India was turned into a British colony. To Sum Up

India had a flourishing trade with other countries since ancient times. Trading companies from Portugal, Holland, England, France and Denmark set up trading centres in different parts of India. There was intense rivalry amongst the trading companies. Each of them wanted to monopolize trade with India. Ultimately, the English East India Company emerged victorious. The Company began to conquer territories in India to strengthen its position. The Battle of Plassey (1757) and that of Buxar (1764) strengthened its position in India. Bengal came under British rule and was severely exploited.

The British defeated the rulers of Mysore and the Marathas and annexed their territories. Lord Wellesley expanded British influence through the Subsidiary Alliance system. Many Indian rulers accepted British supremacy. The British annexed Sindh, Punjab and Awadh in 1843, 1849 and 1856 respectively. Lord Dalhousie annexed many kingdoms under the Doctrine of Lapse. The Company drafted administrative policies to govern the conquered territories. The administration rested on four pillars—the civil service, the army, the police and the judiciary. Warren Hastings and Lord Cornwallis shaped the working of these agencies.

Time to Learn A. Tick ( ) the correct answers. 1. In Queen Elizabeth gave a charter to the English East India Company. a. 1600 b. 1500 c. 1700 d. 1599 2. This nawab of Bengal asked the English East India Company to remove all its fortifications in Calcutta. a. Murshid Quli Khan b. Siraj-ud-Daulah c. Alivardi Khan d. Shuja-ud-Din 3. The British victory at led Shah Alam II to grant the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha to the English East India Company.

a. Buxar b. Plassey c. Seringapatam d. Panipat

4. This Governor-General introduced the system of Subsidiary Alliance. a. Robert Clive b. Warren Hastings c. Lord Wellesley d. Lord Dalhousie 5. One of the four agencies that carried out the day-to-day administration of the Company was the a. police. b. cavalry. c. infantry. d. espionage.

B. Fill in the blanks. 1.Indian spices such as ______and______were in great demand in Europe. 2.______was the Governor-General of India from 1772 to 1785. 3. The capital of the kingdom of Mysore was 4.Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of

C. Give short answers for the following questions. 1. What were factories? Why were they called so? 2. What did the British stand to gain through the system of Subsidiary Alliance? 3. Discuss the growth of British influence with special reference to Mysore. 4. Why did the British need a large army? Describe the British army. D. Give long answers for the following questions. 1. Why was there an intense rivalry among the trading companies of different European countries? 2. What were the issues of conflict between the nawabs of Bengal and the English East India Company? 3. ‘The system of Subsidiary Alliance was meant to create dependable and dependent Indian rulers.’ Explain. 4. How did Lord Dalhousie expand the British territories in India? 5. How did the British deal with dispensing justice in India? H 6. ‘Had the British not defeated the combined forces of Awadh, Bengal and the Mughals, the course of O Indian history would have been different.’ Discuss with your partner. T S Time to Do Enrichment Activities*

F. In the course of history, many people became heroes and martyrs and many others turned traitors and villains. Do a three-minute role play to present an animated discussion between Mir Jafar, Jagat Seth and Siraj-ud-Daulah.

G. On a political map of the world, mark and label all the important European countries which came to trade with India.

* For more enrichment activities go to page 27 H. It is shocking to know that while Bengal was witnessing famine, the British held a grand durbar to celebrate their victories. Get into groups of four and design a poster depicting the contradictory scenes. Give a catchy title to your poster.

I. The defeat of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II in the Battle of Buxar sealed the fate of the Mughals in India. Many attempts were, however, made to bring them back to power. Imagine yourself to be a secret admirer of the Mughals. Write a diary entry planning a strategy which would help the Mughals to become the supreme rulers of India.