FROM TRADE TO TERRITORY

Chapter 5

Class 8 Social Science : History Chapter 5

East India Company

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire began to disintegrate. Many Mughal governors and big zamindars declared themselves independent. Many regional kingdoms such as Hyderabad, Awadh and Bengal became independent of the Mughal rule. As a result of new centers of power, the importance of Delhi began to decline. As there was no political unity among the Indian states, the British began to expand their power in the country.

Formation and Arrival of the East India Company to India

The East India Company was formed in 1600. By a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth, the Company got the sole right to trade with the East. Thus, no other group in England could compete with the East India Company in India.
Although the Company had no rival in Britain, it had to face competition from the other East India Companies such as the Portuguese East India Company, the Dutch East India Company and the French East India Company.
India at this time was famous for its cotton, silk and spices such as pepper, cloves and cardamom. All the Companies wanted to purchase these commodities which led to an increase in the prices of goods. There were fierce battles among these Companies to capture the Indian markets.
The various East India Companies also began to fortify their settlements. This brought them in conflict with the local rulers.

East India Company in Bengal

The Company set up its first factory on the banks of the river Hugli in 1651. The factory was not a production unit but a warehouse where the goods for export were stored. The Company convinced the traders and merchants to settle near their factories.
By 1696, it began building a fort around the settlement. Later, it took the zamindari rights of three villages. One of the villages was Kalikata, which later grew into Calcutta (Kolkata). The Company also forced Aurangzeb to issue a ‘firman’ granting the Company the right to trade duty-free.
The officials of the Company who carried on private trade refused to pay the duty to the Government which resulted in huge loss of revenues.

Battle of Plassey

The Company wanted a puppet ruler for Bengal who would allow officials to trade duty-free in Bengal. When Sirajuddaulah asked the Company to stop fortifications and pay the revenues, the Company refused to accept his demands.
The Nawab locked the warehouse, disarmed the Englishmen and marched to Calcutta and established control over the Company’s fort.
The Company sent reinforcements from Madras under the command of Robert Clive. The Battle of Plassey was fought in 1757. Mir Jaffar, one of the commanders of the Nawab, betrayed the Nawab by not participating in the war.
Sirajuddaulah realising that he has been betrayed by his commander, lost his nerves, and fled from the battlefield.

Results

The battle was won by the British. Sirajuddaulah was killed in the battle and Mir Jafar was made the puppet Nawab of Bengal.
The battle marked the first major victory for the Company. It was now able to trade duty-free in Bengal. The profits earned from the trade were used by the British to increase their military power.

The Battle of Buxar

When Mir Jafar protested against the exploitative policies of the Company, he was deposed, and Mir Qasim was made the Nawab. Mir Qassim also protested against the exploitative policies of the Company.
The Battle of Buxar was fought between the Nawab and the Company’s forces. The Nawab and his allies were defeated in the battle.
Mir Jafar was again made the Nawab of Bengal. He had to pay Rs 5,00,000 every month.
The Battle later paved the way to the granting of the Diwani (revenue-collecting) rights of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the Company.
This made the British the master of Bengal. They were now able to finance their trading activities by Indian revenues. Besides, the expenses to fight wars to annex Indian territories were financed by Indian revenues.

Expansion of the British Rule

The British formulated various policies to annex Indian states. One of the methods was to appoint British residents in Indian states who constantly interfered in the internal affairs of the states. The Subsidiary Alliance System and the Doctrine of Lapse were two such plans of the Company which aimed to subjugate the Indian states.

Subsidiary Alliance System

Indian states entering subsidiary alliance were protected by the Company’s forces but had to pay for the maintenance of British troops.
Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces.
If Indian rulers failed to make payments to the British, part of their kingdom was taken away as penalty.
Hyderabad, Mysore, Awadh and Tanjore were some states which entered the subsidiary alliance system with the British.

Tipu Sultan

Mysore had become powerful under the rule of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.
The Malabar Coast was controlled by Mysore from where the Company used to purchase pepper and cardamom.
In 1785, the export of sandalwood, pepper and cardamom was stopped by Tipu Sultan, and he banned local merchants to trade with the British.
He also strengthened and modernised his armies with the help of the French in India.

This antagonised the British. As a result, four Anglo–Mysore wars were fought between the British and Mysore. Tipu Sultan was killed in the fourth war at Seringapatam.
Mysore was placed under the previous dynasty of the Wodeyars, and the subsidiary alliance system was imposed on them.

War with the Marathas

The Marathas had become powerful under the leadership of Shivaji. Their defeat in the Third battle of Panipat in 1761 considerably reduced their power.
They were divided into different states under different chiefs. Sindhias, Holkars, Gaikwads and Bhonsles were major Maratha chiefs who were under the confederacy of the Peshwa who was based at Pune.
The defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo–Maratha war crushed the power of the Marathas. The Peshwa was removed and was pensioned off to Bithur near Kanpur.

The British were fearful of the Russian annexation of India. To secure the northwestern borders of the country, they fought wars with Afghanistan and brought it under the control of the Company. Punjab was completely annexed in 1849 after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Also Read :- Class 6th Science Notes

The Doctrine of Lapse

The Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie.
According to this doctrine, if any Indian ruler dies without leaving a male heir, his kingdom would automatically pass over to the British.
Satara, Sambhalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur and Jhansi were some states which were annexed by the Company under this doctrine.

The state of Awadh was annexed by the Company in 1856 on the charges of misgovernment by the Nawab of Awadh.

Administration of the Company

The Company laid down a sound administrative system in India. Three cities of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta were the main administrative centers of the Company. Each presidency was under the charge of a governor. The Governor General was the head of the administration. Warren Hastings was the first Governor General of India. He introduced many administrative reforms in the country.

Administrative Set Up of the Judiciary

A new judicial system was established in 1772.
Each district had two courts-a criminal court (faujdari Adalat) and a civil court (diwani Adalat).
European collectors presided over the civil courts. Pandits and maulvis interpreted the Indian laws for them.
Criminal courts were presided over by a ‘Qazi’ and a ‘mufti’. Their work was supervised by the collectors.
A detailed Hindu law and Muslim law were compiled for the benefit of European judges.
In 1773, under the Regulating Act of India, a Supreme Court of India was established.
A court of appeal-Sadar Nizamat Adalat-was also set up at Calcutta.

Organisation of Army

The Mughal army was composed of cavalry and infantry, and the former was an important part of the army.
In the eighteenth century, states such as Awadh and Banaras began to recruit peasants into the army and trained them in the art of warfare.
During the 1820s, the importance of the cavalry declined, and the infantry became popular.
Soldiers were trained on the western lines and discipline was strictly enforced in the army.
Problems began to arise when soldiers were trained together without taking into account their caste and religious affiliations.