CHAPTER - 02 FROM TRADE TO TERRITORY

 FROM TRADE TO TERRITORY     VIDEO LINK


NOTES

Auranangzeb was the last powerful Mughal ruler. After the death of Auranagzeb the later rulers proved to be inefficient and foreign powers got opportunity to establish their  rule in India.

East India Company comes East:

  1. In 1600 royal charter granted to East India Company granting the sole right to trade with the East.
  2. East India Company bought goods at a cheap price and sold them at higher price in Europe.
  3. Cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe.
  4. Pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon were in great demand.
  5. East India company and its officials accumulated wealth by the trade of India and caught attention of other european powers.
  6. English east India company had to compete with other europian companies such as Franch, Dutch and Portugese.
  7. Because of the powerfull naval force British won over other european powers and became the champiion of struggle of monotony of trade.

East India Company begins Trade in Bengal:

  1. In 1651, the first English factory was set up on the banks of river Hugli and first english factory was opened up  at Surat in 1608.
  2. Aurangzeb issued a farman granting the company the right to trade duty free.
  3. The company tried to press for more concessions and manipulate existing privileges. 
  4. For trading purpose the passes were issued to company officials but they misused these passes for private trade and accumulate wealth on the name of company.
  5. Soon because of private trade company suffered and went into loses. To cure this anamoly British government made strict rules.

How did Trade Lead to Battles:

  1. After the death of Aurangzeb, the Bengal Nawabs asserted their power and autonomy.
  2. The Nawabs of Bengal refused to grant the company concessions as it was making the  revenue from Bengal trade less profitable.
  3. The British wanted the duties to be abolished but Bengal nawabs refused.
  4. British official knew the condition of administration in Bengal and tried their autonomy by use of force.

The Battle of Plassey:

  1. As a result of denial of trading rights, on 23rd June 1757, Battle of Plassey was fought and it was the first major victory of English in India.
  2. Alivardi Khan died in 1756 and Sirajuddaulah became the Nawab of Bengal.
  3. In 1757, Robert Clive led the Company’s army against Sirajuddaulah at Plassey.
  4. Main reason for defeat of the Nawab was that the forces led by Mir Jafar, one of Sirajuddaulah’s commanders, betrayed sirajuddaula and never fought the battle.
  5. Mir Jafar was promised by Clive to be made Nawab after crushing Sirajuddaulah.
  6. As par the deal Mir Jafar became the nawab of Bengal after the defeat and death of Sirajuddaula. But he was the nominal head of Bengal and actual power remained in the hands of British.

The Battle of Buxar:

  1. After the defeat at Plassey, Sirajuddaulah was assassinated and Mir Jafar was made the Nawab.
  2. Mir Jafar was just a puppet in the hands of Britishers.
  3. In 1764, the battle of Buxar was fought between Britishers and Mir Qasim, when  Mir Qasim denied  the privilages given to Britishers.
  4. Mir Qasim abolished the trade duty for everyone and transfered his capital from Murshidabad to Mungair. But this was against the interest of British and they declared war.
  5. In this battle Mir  Qasim,the nawab of Bengal; Shujauddaula, the nawab of Awadh and Shah Alam the Mughal King fought against British and British forces were led by Hector Munro. 
  6. In this battle British become victorious and they decided to control the territory by there own.
  7. In 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the company as the Diwan of the provinces of Bengal and they also got the diwani rights of Bihar and Odisha.

Company Officals became ‘Nabobs’:

  1. In 1764, Robert Clive was appointed Governor of Bengal. 
  2. ‘Nabobs’-an anglicized version of the Indian word Nawab as British were leading a levish life similar to nawabs and everyone was on the mercy of British.

Company Rule Expands:

  1. The process of annexation of Indian states by the East India Company from 1757 to 1857 brought forth some key aspects like the company rarely launched a direct military attack on as unknown territory.
  2. After battle of Buxar, the company appointed residents in Indian states.
  3. The company forced the states into a ‘subsidiary alliance’ and the king had to put an army of British. 
  4. In the case of non payment to army the nawab or the  king had to give some part of its territory.
  5. The Nawab of Awadh and the Nizam of Hyderabad were forced to cede territories and accept the subsidiary alliances.

Tipu Sultan-‘The Tiger of Mysore’:

  1. Tipu Sultan was the son of Haidar Ali, ruler of Mysore.
  2. Tipu Sultan ruled Mysore from 1782 to 1799.
  3. Tipu  Sultan took the help of French to modernise his army and sent foreign delegates to gether the foreign help against British.
  4. Four wars were fought between Britishers and Mysore and were known as the Anglo-Mysore wars(1767-1769, 1780-84, 1790-92 and 1799).
  5. In 1799, the Britishers won the battle of Seringapatam against Mysore.
  6. Tipu Sultan was killed defending his capital Seringapatam.

Anglo - Maratha wars:

  1. After the defeat of Maratha in battle of Panipat in 1761, they get divided in various small dynastied such as Sindhia, Holkars, Gaikwad and Bonsle.
  2. Three wars were fought between Marathas and British in 1782,1803-05 and 1817-19. The third war was the decisive war and after this peshwa was deposed and the sent to the Northern India on a pension.
  3. Now the company had control over the south of vindhiyas..

Claim to paramountacy:

  1. As British were proving themselves as the best power across the India, this enhanced their desire to rule whole territories and they started direct conquest under lord Hastings (1813-23).
  2. British also wanted to sercure North West front of their empire in India. For this they fought wars with Afganistan and Punjab and finally won  over its territories in 1843 and 1849 respectively.

Doctrine of Lapse:

  1. Under the reign of Lord Dalhousie (1848-56), they adopted the policy of Lapse .
  2. According to this policy, the rulers who does not have any legal heir could not pass on their property to the adopted son and it would be taken over by British.
  3. Satara (1848), Sambhalpur (1850), Jhansi (1854) were annexed by this policy.

Adminstration under British:

  1. In 1773, Warren Hastings become the Governor General of Bengal and controled the governors of other presidencies of Madras and Bombay.
  2. Separate civil and criminal courts were set up under the supervision of collector.
  3. New set of laws were compiled by muftis and Brahmins for the religious interpretation.

EXERCISE


1. Match the following:

Column AColumn B
(a) Diwani(1) Tipu Sultan
(b) Tiger of Mysore(2) Right to collect land revenue
(c) Fauzdari adalat(3) Sepoy
(d) Rani Channamma(4) Criminal court
(e) Sipahi(5) Led an anti-British movement in Kittoor

Ans.

Column AColumn B
(a) Diwani(2) Right to collect land revenue
(b) Tiger of Mysore(1) Tipu Sultan
(c) Fauzdari adalat(4) Criminal court
(d) Rani Channamma(5) Led an anti-British movement in Kittoor
(e) Sipahi(3) Sepoy

2. Fill in the blanks:
(a) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of ___________.
Ans. Plassey

(b) Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan were the rulers of ___________.
Ans. Mysore

(c) Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of ____________.
Ans. Lapse

(d) Maratha kingdoms were located mainly in the __________ part of India.
Ans. South-Western

3. State whether true or false:
(a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth century.
Ans. False

(b) The English East India Company was the only European company that traded with India.
Ans. False

(c) Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab.
Ans. True

(d) The British did not introduce administrative changes in the territories they conquered.
Ans. False

4. What attracted European trading companies to India?
Ans. European trading companies were attracted to India because of a number of reasons:

  1. Trading with India was highly profitable and fruitful to the businessmen in Europe.
  2. The European trading companies purchased goods at cheaper and sold them in Europe at the higher prices.
  3. In Europe, the fine qualities of silk and cotton produced in India had a big market in Europe.
  4. In Europe, Indian spices like - pepper, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon were in great demand.
  5. The intra fights between the Indian rulers helped the European trading companies, through Divide and Rule policy, established their power in India.

5. What were the areas of conflict between the Bengal Nawabs and the East India Company?
Ans. The areas of conflict between the Bengal nawabs and the East India Company are mentioned below:

  1. The Bengal nawabs asserted their power and autonomy and refused to grant the company concessions.
  2. They demanded large tributes for the Company’s right to trade.
  3. They denied the Company any right to mint coins and stopped the Company from extending its fortifications.
  4. Accusing the Company of deceit, they claimed that the Company was depriving the Bengal government of huge amounts of revenue and undermining the authority of the Nawab. It was refusing to pay taxes, writing disrespectful letters, and trying to humiliate the Nawab and his officials.
  5. The Company on its part declared that the unjust demands of the local officials were ruining the trade of the Company, and trade could flourish only if the duties were removed.

6. How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India Company?
Ans. In 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the Company as the Diwan of the provinces of Bengal. The Diwani right to the East India Company benefited it in several ways:

  1. The Diwani allowed the Company to use the vast revenue resources of Bengal.
  2. Trade was monopolised by the East India Company. The company began direct plunder of India’s wealth.
  3. The Company expenses were being financed from the Revenues of India. These revenues were used to purchase cotton and silk textiles in India, maintain Company troops, and meet the cost of building the Company fort and offices at Calcutta.
  4. To monopolize trade & dictate terms. The company used its political power. They could impose their own prices that had no relation to the costs of production.
  5. The company used revenue of Bengal to finance exports of Indian goods.

7. Explain the system of "subsidiary alliance".
Ans. After the battle of Plassey in 1757, the battle of Buxar in 1764 and gaining the Diwani of Bengal, the company began to expand its rule in many parts of India. For that it had devised several plans, one among them was the “Subsidiary Alliance”. Subsidiary Alliance system was means used by the Company to extend its control over the Indian states.
According to the terms of this alliance -

  1. The East India Company behaved as a guardian of the State.
  2. The State appointed an English Resident in its court, to check the activities of the king.
  3. Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces.
  4. The State could not give shelter to any other European other than English in its army.
  5. The Indian states entering into subsidiary alliance were protected by the Company’s forces but had to pay for the maintenance of the British troops. The Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces. If the Indian rulers failed to make payments to the British, part of their kingdom was taken away as penalty.

8. In what way was the administration of the Company different from that of Indian rulers?
Ans.

 British AdministrationIndian Administration
1.British territories were broadly divided into administrative units called Presidencies. There were three Presidencies like - Bengal, Madras & BombayUnder the Indian rulers administration was divided into four parts - District (Zila), Paragana, Tehsil and Villages.
2.Each administrative unit was ruled by a GovernorIndian Administrative unit was ruled by Zamndars and peasants.
3.The supreme head of the administration was the Governor-GeneralIndian Administrative system the supreme head was King or Nawab.
  • Warren Hastings introduced the new system of justice. Each district was to have two courts- Civil Court & Criminal Court.
  • The European District Collector presided over Civil Courts.
  • The Criminal Courts were still under a Qazi and a Mufti.
  • Under the Regulating Act of 1773, a new Supreme Court and a Court of Appeal were established in Calcutta.
  • The main figure in an Indian District was Collector.
  • According to his title Collector, his main job was to collect the revenue and the taxes and maintain law & order in his district with the help of judges, police officers and darogas.

9. Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the Company's army?
Ans. The changes that occurred in the composition of the Company’s army are described below:

  1. The Company began recruitment for its own army, which came to be known as the sepoy army.
  2. As the warfare technology changed from the 1820s, the cavalry recruitments of the Company’s army declined.
  3. The soldiers of the Company's army had to keep pace with changing military requirements and its infantry regiments now became more important.
  4. In the early 19th century the British began to develop a uniform military culture.
  5. Soldiers were increasingly subjected to European style training, drill, and discipline that regulated their life for more than before.
  6. Caste and community feelings were ignored.