Colonial rule in India

European trading powers which approached India

• Portuguese

• Dutch

• French

• British

Portuguese

• First to discover the sea route to India

• Established political power along the West Coast

• Trading settlements - Diu, Daman, Goa, Salsette, Santhome, Bassein

Dutch

• Established trading factories - Masulipatnam, Surat, Pulicat

Political influence on India

• Dutch and Portuguese lost their prominence with time

• French and British tried to control markets and increase their political influence on the India trade

Anglo-French Rivalry

• Companies from England and France tried to dominate Indian trade with Europe

Carnatic wars

• Series of wars between the French and British (lasted 20 years)

• British - won

French East Indian Company (EIC)

• Formed to compete with the British and Dutch

• Established Factories at Pondicherry, Madras and Chandernagore

English EIC

• Formed through a charter signed by Queen Elizabeth I as permission to trade with India

• Established its trading centers in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras

English EIC trading rights

• English settlements and factories - Patna, Dhaka, Kasimbazar, Fort St George, Bombay, Sutanuti, Kolkata, Govindpur

Captain Hawkins

Failed to secure trading rights

Sir Roe

Permitted to establish 1st factory in Surat

Farmans

Decrees or orders issued by Mughal or British rulers.

British received 2 privileges in the form of farmans.

Aurangzeb’s Farman

Farman of 1691 granted by Aurangzeb, exempting the British company from paying customs duties in Bengal

Lord Farukhsiyar’s Farman

Farman of 1717 granted by the emperor Farukhsiyar exempting the British from paying custom duties to Gujarat and Deccan

Nawab

Title given to provincial rulers under Mughal and British.

Bengal

• Split into 3 provinces

• Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha/Orissa

• Nawab - Siraj-Ud-Daula

Local revolt

The Farman (1st one, by Aurangzeb) granted caused the locals to revolt as they were losing huge sums of revenue.

Dastak

Pass or permit for tax exemption in colonial India.

Allowed British to misuse their rights.

Siraj-Ud-Daula

Attacked the English factory in Kasimbazar, captured Fort William

Robert Clive (British officer)

• Responded by capturing Kolkata

• Accused the Nawab of Bengal of conspiring with the French against the British

Battles of Plassey

• War between EIC and Siraj-Ud-Daula

• Siraj-Ud-Daula was defeated and killed

• Major cause for loss - Mir Jafar

Mir Jafar

• Former commander in chief of Bengal

• Switched sides after making negotiations with the British who agreed to make him nawab in exchange for money

• One of many puppet rulers

Puppet rulers

Rulers/Nawabs who were forced to listen to the British

Consequences of the battle of plassey

• The EIC got free trading rights in the Bengal province

• Zamindari of the 24 parganas were now under the British

• British army and military power and equipment grew

Parganas

• Medieval Indian administrative unit under local landlords, comprising villages.

Zamindari

Feudal land ownership, landlords collect taxes from peasants.

Mir Qasim

• Son of Mir Jafar

• Qasim assigned the jagir of Burdwan, Midnapur and Chittagaon along with presents to the EIC.

• Qasim grew tired of being a puppet making the British angry

Battle of Buxar

• Qasim was defeated after which he fled to Awadh and formed an alliance with Nawab of Awadh( Shuja-ud-daulah) and Mughal emperor Shah Alam II

• They were all later defeated by Hector Munro, English commander, in The battle of Buxar

Diwani

British East India Company's land revenue collection authority.

Consequences of the Battle of Buxar

• Nawab of Awadh lost the districts of Kota and Allahabad

• Mughal emperor - Pensioner of British

• British got the right of Diwani in Bengal

• Mughal emperor gave Jagir of Northern Circar

• Both Nawabs depended on the British

Nizamat

British East India Company's civil and criminal administration. The person in charge was known as Nazim.

System of Dual governance

• British right to collect revenue

• Mohammad Reza Khan - appointed by EIC to exercise diwani functions

Loophole in Dual governance

• The Nawab was forced to appoint Reza to look after nizamat functions

• Due to this both Diwani and Nizamat were under the British

Ending of Dual governance

• Dual government came to an end under General Warren Hastings.

• Calcutta was declared the capital of British India until Delhi was declared as the capital of India

Warren Hastings

First Governor-General of India

Conquest of Mysore

• Ruler - Hyder Ali

• Was against trade with the British, had an alliance with the French

• After him his son - Tipu Sultan

• He was also against trade with the British

Anglo-Mysore wars

• Disagreements made way for 4 Anglo-Mysore wars

• British captured Srirangapatam

• Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed

War against Marathas

• Major obstacle for the British - Marathas

• Death of Peshwa Madhav Rao - Weak point in Maratha history

Anglo-Maratha wars

• 3 Anglo-Maratha wars before the British emerged victorious

• Claims of Raghunath Rao against Peshwa Madhav Rao II - Supported by British

Peshwa Madhav Rao II

Infant son of the deceased Peshwa

Raghunath Rao’s Claims

• Claimed his son wasn’t fit to rule

• Raghunath Rao wanted to rule the Peshwas

• His claims led to the first war

Nana Phadnavis

• Led the first battle against the British

• After his death there were internal conflicts

• British took advantage of this and conquered the Marathas

Instruments of British expansion

• Direct and indirect annexation

• Punjab, Sindh - Direct annexation

• Subsidiary alliance - more beneficial

• Doctrine of Lapse - Lord Dalhousie

Direct Annexation

Annexation by waging war and emerging victorious

Indirect Annexation

• Manipulating Indian rulers, ministers, or advisors

• Subsidiary Alliance (Most Beneficial)

• Doctrine of Lapse (Lord Dalhousie)

Subsidiary Alliance

• Lord Wellesley

• Indian rulers felt unsafe around other rulers

• They lost their independence without realising

• British maintained large forces

Places which were victims of this method

Hyderabad, Tanjore, Awadh, Gwalior, Indore, Udaipur, Jaipur  and Jodhpur

Provisions of this system

1. The British agreed to maintain a fixed and permanent force within the territory of their ally

2. In return, they didn’t take money but took a part of the ally’s territory

3. A British ruler called resident was placed at the court of the ruler

4. The ally could not maintain a relationship with any other ruler without the approval of the British

Doctrine of Lapse

• Led by Dalhousie

• Dalhousie - came to India as a governor-general

• Sanctioned by religion and society

Indian rule/provision

Every Hindu had the right to adopt a male child as a heir if there was an absence of a natural heir

British rule

• Dalhousie decided that rulers of the dependent states must seek permission from the British to adopt an heir

• Incase of refusal, said state would be annexed

Victims of this policy

Satara, Jaitpur, Sambhalpur, Udaipur, Jhansi and Nagpur

Conquest of Sind

Annexed because the British wanted a coveted trading post

Ranjit Singh

• Maintained a good strong army in Punjab

• However Punjab was annexed after 2 battles with the Sikhs

Annexation of Awadh

• Dalhousie annexed Awadh and deposed the Nawab, Wajid Ali Shah

• Dalhousie claimed misgovernment as the reason for annexation

Indian revolt

• His claim caused the Indian soldiers and the public to revolt against the British

• This was the major start of Indian revolts and protests

Purpose of British arrival

• Main purpose was to benefit from trade and increase profit through it

British administration

• Strict policies - ensured their control over India

• They never cared about the country or the people’s welfare

Territories

• Territories —> 3 Presidencies —> Bengal, Bombay and Madras

• Each Presidency was administered by a governor

4 Agencies

Civil service, The army, The police and The judiciary

British objective at first

• To trade with India

• Lured in by other prospects they colonised  India and became one of the most powerful empires in the 19th century