understanding historical change: south asia

early modern

1450 CE - 1750 CE

Babur

founder of Mughal dynasty in India; descended from Turkic warriors; first led invasion of India in 1526; died in 1530.

Akbar

The most famous Muslim ruler of India during the period of Mughal rule. Famous for his religious tolerance, his investment in rich cultural feats, and the creation of a centralized governmental administration, which was not typical of ancient and post-classical India.

Jizya

Poll tax that non-Muslims had to pay when living within a Muslim empire

Sulh-i-Kul

universal tolerance. A policy of tolerance towards all religions, promoted by Akbar in 1580 and made famous by Abul Fazl in his accounts of Akbar's rule, the Akbarnamah and the Ain-i Akbari.

Mansabdari system

Akbar's administrative system.

Military and civil officers held a mansab or rank.

Under this system these officers (mansabdars) provided a certain number of soldiers and

horses to the military service of the state.

They were given rights to land (jagir) for maintenance of these soldiers and horses.

Akbar arranged these ranks in 33 grades from ranges of 10 to 10,000.

Selection of mansabdars was based on ability and was not hereditary. Sons of rankholders

had to prove themselves.

System was designed to prevent landed aristocracy by giving jagirs in lands different

from where the officers came from.

Jagir

The right to the assessed tax revenue of a piece of land, given for a limited term by the Mughals as a reward for service; the holder of a jagir is a jagirdar

Silver-textile trade

The early silver-textile trade in India was built on the exchange of prized hand-woven cottons, muslins, and silks for massive inflows of bullion (gold and silver) from the Roman Empire, Southeast Asia, and later European and global maritime networks

Indo-Persianate World

Indo-Persianate world refers to the deep cultural, linguistic, political, and artistic synthesis between Persian civilization and the Indian subcontinent, spanning roughly from the 11th through the 19th centuries. [1, 2]

Samarkand

During the rule of Timur Lane was the most influential captial city, a wealthy trading center known for decorated mosques and tombs.

Aurangzeb

Mughal emperor in India and great-grandson of Akbar 'the Great', under whom the empire reached its greatest extent, only to collapse after his death.

military fiscalism

new form of governance pioneered by cash hungry states in 18th century, highly monetized system, states turned to private financiers (bankers, wealth merchants) for cash loans, money used to pay growing standing armies of mercenaries-- led to downfall of many states, became heavily indebted to European trading companies

Maratha Empire

Indian power that existed from 1674 to 1818 and ruled over a large area of the Indian subcontinent; credited with ending Mughal rule in India.

Ulema

a group of religious advisers to the ottoman sultan; this group administered the legal system and schools for educating Muslims

Awadh

A kingdom taken over by the British in 1856 under the pretext of freeing the people from misgovernment.

East India Company

An English company formed in 1600 to develop trade with the new British colonies in India and southeastern Asia.

Thomas Roe

Built a factory for the EIC in Surat

Child's War

A conflict between Great Britain and Mughal India (1686 - 1689). It was sparked by a growing crisis when the English controlled East India Company attempted to force the Mughal Empire to recognize its presumptive monopoly on European trade with Asia

Firman of Farrukhsiyar

The Firman of Farrukhsiyar was a royal decree issued in 1717 by the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar that granted major trading and settlement privileges to the British East India Company

Carnatic Wars

War between Indians and Europeans over controlling the Eastern coast of India

Battle of Plassey

the victory in 1757 by the British under Clive over Siraj-ud-daula that established British supremacy over Bengal

battle of buxar

This battle took place in 1765 between the East India Company and the

then-Bengali Nawab Mir Kasim. Mir Kasim sought to restore Indian control of Bengal and in so

doing provoked the EIC. Mir Kasim lost his struggle, and his predecessor, Mir Jafar, was

restored to the throne by the EIC. Importantly, the 1765 Treaty of Allahabad gave the EIC the

right to collect revenue or "diwani" in eastern India. This was a crucial step in the Company's

shift from trade to government.

robert clive

Architect of British victory at Plassey; established foundations of the Raj in northern India.

Mir Jafar

Siraj-ud-daula's trusted uncle, was supposed to support him during the battle of Plassey but was bribed out of doing it and simply refused to fight at his cousins most crucial moment. Became the British puppet prince of Bengal.

Siraj-ud-Daula

Indian raj that controlled Bengal. Fought against British and was betrayed by his most trusted uncle.

jagat seth

Prosperous banking house during Alivardi Khan's reign.

Diwani of Bengal

Revenue collection rights granted to East India Company.

Dyarchy/Dual Administration

A system in which all important national and provincial administrative positions were shared equally by Chinese and Manchus

Tipu Sultan

ruler of Mysore state, 1750-99. Became hated enemy of the British and was finally defeated in 1799.

Permanent settlement of 1793

an agreement introduced by Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General of the British East India Company, to fix land revenue demands permanently in regions like Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha

Bengal Famine of 1770

Famine that resulted from British East India Company overtaxing peasants. 1/3rd of the population starved

Subsidiary Alliance scheme

a treaty system introduced by the British East India Company to expand its control over Indian princely states without direct military conquest

Sikh Empire

Was formed in India, and was tolerant of Muslims. Sikhs invaded in 1848, but lost. However, their fierce fighting and pledge of loyalty after losing, impressed British. While given autonomous rule, Sikhs wanted independence and backed Gandhi's independence movement.

Doctrine of Lapse

native states without a clear successor fell under british rules

Orientalism

A term coined by literary scholar Edward Said to describe the way Westerners misunderstood and described colonial subjects and cultures.

Company school of art

a hybrid Indo-European style of painting that emerged in India during the 18th and 19th centuries

Anglo-Indian

Person of mixed British and Indian descent

anglicization

the colonial american desire to emulate English society, including English taste in foods, customs, and architecture

utilitarianism

idea that the goal of society should be to bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people

Thomas Mcaulay

In 1834 Macaulay went to India, where he served on the Supreme Council between 1834 and 1838.[19] His Minute on Indian Education of February 1835 was primarily responsible for the introduction of Western institutional education to India.[20][21]

Macaulay recommended the introduction of the English language as the official language of secondary education instruction in all schools where there had been none before, and the training of English-speaking Indians as teachers

Liberal Imperialism

The idea that powerful advanced Western states should intervene, if necessary by force, in other countries to spread good government and liberal democratic values

Rebellion of 1857

Indian uprising against the East India Trading Company to bring religious purification, an egalitarian society, and local and communal solidarity without the interference of British rule.

Azamgarh Declaration

a historic rebel manifesto issued on August 25, 1857, during the Indian Rebellion of 1857

Bahadur Shah Zafar

The Mughal emperor during the 1857 rebellion against British rule, seen as the natural leader.

Rani of Jhansi

Leader of 1857 rebellion in central India, lost her state in 1854 under doctrine of lapse

Crown rule

British governance in India from 1858 to 1947.

Henry Maine

Society evolves from family/contract

Father is the "boss"

Evolutionary stage Perspective/ from "archaic" to "modern" Law , From "status" to "contract"

"White" and "Black" Towns

historic English settlements featuring timber-framed and half-timbered architecture, where dark oak beams contrast against pale, limewashed infill panels

hill stations

communities in hilly regions where British went on vacation, favorable climate; shows degree to which colonial population sought to escape contact with Indians after 1857

Sati

The Indian custom of a widow voluntarily throwing herself on the funeral pyre of her husband.

Tarabai Shinde

Author of 'Stripurushtulna', critiquing gender inequality.

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein

a prominent Bengali feminist thinker, writer, educator and political activist from British India. She is widely regarded as a pioneer of feminism in Bangladesh and India

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Reformer advocating for women's rights and education.

Age of consent bill (1891)

raised the age of sexual consent for all girls, married or unmarried, from 10 to 12 years old, making sexual intercourse with a girl under 12 punishable as rape.