British Expansion in India – British Rule in India

The British Raj ruled through the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947. The rule is additionally referred to as the Crown rule in India or direct rule in India.

The vicinity under British manage was once many times known as India in contemporaneous usage, and covered areas directly administered by means of the United Kingdom, which had been collectively referred to as British India, and areas ruled by means of indigenous rulers, but below British tutelage or paramount, called the princely states.

The place as a complete used to be never formally referred to as the Indian Empire.

Let us see in more depth under these subheadings:

• Carnatic Wars
• Conquest of Bengal
• Anglo- Mysore wars
• Anglo Maratha wars
• Regulating Act
• Pitt’s India Act

Carnatic Wars

The First Carnatic War

• This war was fought between the British and the French. The people involved were Joseph François Dupleix (French Governor-General), Major Stringer Lawrence (British), and Anwaruddin Khan (Nawab of the Carnatic). It was fought between 1746 to 1748 in the Carnatic region of Southern India.
• France and Britain have been on contrary facets of the camp at the War of Austrian Succession that had broken out in Europe in 1740.
• This Anglo-French competition prompted their exchanging organizations India competing with one another for matchless quality.
• The French Governor of Pondicherry Dupleix had raised an army of Indian sepoys underneath French officers in India.
• The French East India Company used to be nationalized in 1720 and France had imperialistic designs on India.
• In 1745, there used to be a naval attack on a French fleet by means of Britain in which even Pondicherry was in danger.
• Dupleix, alongside extra French troops from Mauritius, defended against this attack and captured Madras, which had been managed through the English.
• The English made every other assault on Pondicherry however rather confronted a heavy loss. The English looked for help from the Nawab of Carnatic (Arcot) Anwaruddin Khan.
• The Nawab requested that the French return Madras to the British.
• Dupleix took a stab at persuading the Nawab fruitlessly that Madras would be given over to him at a later stage.
• Then, the Nawab sent a big army to fight the French forces. This army was defeated by using the rather small quantity of French forces in Mylapore (in modern Chennai) in 1746.
• This uncovered the weak spot of the armies of the Indian rulers vis-à-vis the correctly skilled armies of the European powers.
• The battle ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle additionally referred to as the Treaty of Aachen.

Effects:

• Madras was given again to the English in trade for Louisburg in North America to France.
• Dupleix comprehended the predominance of the European militaries who utilized this preferred position to impact Indian rulers and set up French authority in South India.

The Second Carnatic War

• It was fought between –Different claimants to the posts of the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Nawab of the Carnatic; each claimant being supported either by the British or the French. The people involved were Muhammad Ali and
• Chanda Sahib (for the Nawabship of the Carnatic or Arcot); Muzaffar Jung and Nasir Jung (for the post of the Nizam of Hyderabad).-canot be rephrased It was fought during the period of 1749 to 1754 in Carnatic.
• The first Carnatic War tested the strength of the well-trained European army vis-à-vis the much less environment-friendly armies of the Indian princes.
• The French Governor-General Dupleix needed to exploit this and declare his impact on and authority over the Indian realms, in order to clear a path for a French Empire in India. In this way, he was looking to barge in on the inside vitality battles among Indian bosses.
• Even though England and France have been formally at peace with each other as there was once no battle in Europe, the political climate in Southern Indian at that time led their groups to fight in the subcontinent.
• The Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah I passed on in 1748 starting a quality fight between his grandson (through his little girl) Muzaffar Jung, and his child Nasir Jung.
• Anwaruddin Khan, the Nawab of the Carnatic bolstered Nasir Jung’s case to the seat of the Nizam.
• This drove Muzaffar Jung to induce struggle with French guide contrary to Anwaruddin, called the Battle of Ambur.
• Anwaruddin Khan had kicked the bucket in the Battle of Ambur in 1749.
• Presently there used to be a tussle for the Nawabship of Carnatic between Muhammad Ali (child of Anwaruddin) and Chanda Sahib (child in-law of Dost Ali Khan, a previous Nawab of the Carnatic).
• This prompted a tripartite thankfulness among various forces.
• After Anwaruddin Khan’s passing, his child Muhammad Ali fled to Trichy. At that point, Chanda Sahib has once declared the Nawab of the Carnatic.
• At that point, French powers walked on to the Deccan and battled and executed Nasir Jung.
• Subsequently, Muzaffar Jung used to be hooked up as the Nizam of Hyderabad.
• However, Muzaffar Jung used to be killed a couple of months later and the French established Salabat Jung (another son of Asaf Jah I) as the Nizam.
• In return, the French obtained from the Nizam 4 rich districts on the Coromandel Coast (Northern Circars).
• At this time, Trichy was once below the manager of Chanda Sahib and the French. But the Trichy Fort was held through Muhammad Ali.
• To undermine the developing French electricity in the region, the English determined to aid Muhammad Ali.
• Robert Clive (later Governor of Bengal) attacked Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, as a diversionary tactic. This is referred to as the Siege of Arcot, in which the British won.
• After this many battles have been fought and Chanda Sahib was once killed in one of them.
• Thus, Muhammad Ali used to be installed as the Nawab of the Carnatic.
• The combat ended with the Treaty of Pondicherry in 1754.

Effects:

• Although the French gained the Northern Circars, Dupleix was criticized through the French authorities because of heavy losses to the French company.
• Dupleix was referred to as back to France. He was changed via Charles-Robert Godeheu who signed the Treaty of Pondicherry.
• As per the treaty, the English and the French had been to indulge solely in industrial activities in India and not intervene in sub-continental political affairs.

The Third Carnatic War

• It was fought between – The French and the British. The people involved were Count de Lally (French General) and British Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote. It was fought during the period of 1758 to 1763 in Carnatic.
• The Seven Years War broke out in Europe and as soon as once more England and France had been pitted against one another.
• After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, British forces wrested Chandannagar (in Bengal) from the French.
• The French, below Count de Lally, captured Fort St. George and attacked the English to accumulate Madras.
• But he was once defeated through English forces under Sir Eyre Coote in the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760.
• The French lost their Indian possessions which include Pondicherry, Mahe, Gingee, and Karaikal to the British.
• The war ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
• As per the Treaty, Chandannagar and Pondicherry have been again to France however they have been barred from fortifying them or having troops in them. They should solely have buying and selling activities.

Effects:

• French any desires for building a domain in India were totally run.
• This set up Britain as the foremost European force in India. The way was clear for the foundation of a British frontier rule in India.

Conquest of Bengal

• The thriving Bengal area pulled in numerous European Companies comprehensive of English East India Company.
• In 1717, the English East India Company acquired Farman from the Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar. This Farman conceded English East India Company opportunity to fare and import their items in Bengal barring paying taxes.
• It used to be a supply of struggle between the Company and the Nawab of Bengal due to the fact it intended less income for the Bengal government.
• This Farman along with other elements like levying heavy responsibility on Indian goods getting into Calcutta and building fortifications by way of Britishers led to bitter contention between the British and the Nawab of Bengal.
• The English in order to defeat the Nawab of Bengal (Siraj-ud-daula) be a part of palms with countless men of the Nawab’s court. Prominent among these have been Mir Jafar (Mir Bakshi), Manik Chand (Officer-in-charge of Calcutta),
• Amirchand (a wealthy banker of Bengal), and Khadim Khan (one of the Commanders of the Nawab).
• Finally, the two sides fought in the battle of Plassey in 1757. The most important part of the navy led by Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh took no section in the fighting.
• In this warfare, Siraj was once captured and killed. Mir Jafar was awarded the aid of his guide to the English and was made the Nawab of Bengal.
• Mir Jafar used to be deposed in 1760 as he was now not being able to fulfill the ever-growing needs of the English. In his location Mir Qasim, son-in-law of Mir Jafar, used to be made the Nawab of Bengal.

Effects:
Apart from the British getting political strength of Northern India but solely after Nawabs, there had been various other consequences in many types that came out as a result of the Battle of Plassey. They can be labeled as:
1. Political Effects
2. Economic Effects

Political Effects

• The Battle of Plassey resulted in the quit of the French forces.
• Mir Jafar used to be crowned as the Nawab of Bengal
• Mir Jafar used to be unhappy with the function and instigated the Dutch to assault the British in order to consolidate his foundation.
• The Battle of Chinsura was fought between the Dutch and British forces on November 25, 1759.
• The British installed Mir Qasim as the Nawab of Bengal.
• The British grew to be the paramount European strength in Bengal.
• Robert Clive used to be titled “Lord Clive”, Baron of Plassey, and also got a seat in the British House of Commons.

Economic Effects

• The financial system of India used to be affected severely.
• Post the victory, the British started out imposing extreme regulations and rules on the inhabitants of Bengal in the title of tax collection.

Anglo- Mysore Wars

The First Anglo- Mysore war

• Hyder Ali used to be a main personality in the Mysore wars.
• He commenced his career as a soldier in the Mysore Army.
• Soon rose to prominence in the navy owing to his military skills.
• He was once made the Dalavayi (commander-in-chief), and later the Chief Minister of the Mysore state under Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, ruler of Mysore.
• Through his administrative prowess and army skills, he grew to be the de-facto ruler of Mysore with the real king reduced to a titular head only.
• He set up a current army and trained them alongside European lines.
• Hyder Ali built a strong military and annexed many regions in the South including Bidnur, Canara, Sera, Malabar, and Sunda.
• He also took French support in coaching his army.
• This alarmed the British.
• The British, along with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad declared battle on Mysore.
• Hyder Ali was able to carry the Marathas and the Nizam to his side with skillful diplomacy.
• He paid the Marathas to flip them neutral.
• War continued for a year-and-a-half without any conclusion.
• Haidar modified his approach and unexpectedly regarded it before the gates of Madras.

Result:

• Following total mayhem and frenzy at Madras, English was constrained to close a mortifying deal with Haidar on April 4, 1769—Treaty of Madras which added a conclusion to the war.
• The conquered territories have been restored to each other
• It was once also agreed that they would assist every different in case of a foreign attack

The Second Anglo- Mysore War

• The Marathas attacked Mysore in 1771. But the British refused to honor the Treaty of Madras and did not now provide assistance to Hyder Ali.
• As a result, Hyder Ali’s territories had been taken by using the Marathas. He had to purchase peace with the Marathas for a sum of Rs.36 lakh and any other annual tribute.
• This angered Hyder Ali who commenced hating the British.
• When the English attacked Mahe, a French possession under Hyder Ali’s dominion, he declared struggle on the English in 1780.
• Hyder Ali cast an alliance with the Nizam and the Marathas and defeated the British forces in Arcot.
• Hyder Ali died in 1782 and the conflict persisted through his son Tipu Sultan.
• Sir Eyre Coote, who had in the past defeated Hyder Ali many times, ended the battle inconclusively with the Treaty of Mangalore.

Result:

• As per the Treaty of Mangalore (11 March 1784), both parties agreed to return the captured territories and prisoners to each other.

The Third Anglo-Mysore War

• The British commenced enhancing their relationship with the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas.
• Tipu Sultan, who assumed control of Mysore after Hyder Ali’s death, had French assist in bettering his navy resources.
• He additionally refused to free the English prisoners taken throughout the 2nd Anglo-Mysore fighting as per the Treaty of Mangalore.
• Tipu declared battle on Travancore in 1789. Travancore used to be a friendly state of the British.
• In 1790, the Governor-General of Bengal, Lord Cornwallis declared combat on Tipu.
• Tipu was defeated in the first phase of the hostilities and his forces had to retreat.
• Later the English superior towards Tipu’s capital of Seringapatam and Tipu had to deal with peace.

Result:

• The war ended with the Treaty of Seringapatam in 1792.
• As per the treaty, Tipu had to cede 1/2 of his kingdom to the English which includes the areas of Malabar, Dindigul, Coorg, and Baramahal.
• He additionally had to pay Rs.3 Crore as war indemnity to the British.
• Tipu additionally had to capitulate two of his sons as surety to the British till he paid his due.

The Fourth Anglo- Mysore War

• The Treaty of Seringapatam failed to convey peace between Tipu and English.
• Tipu additionally refused to accept the Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley.
• Tipu aligned with the French which the British noticed as a threat.
• Mysore was assaulted from every one of the four sides.
• The Marathas and the Nizam attacked from the North.
• Tipu’s soldiers have been dwarfed 4:1.
• The British made sure about a conclusive triumph at the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799.
• Tipu kicked the bucket while guarding the city.

Result:

• Tipu’s areas had been secluded between the British and the Nizam of Hyderabad.
• The inside domain around Seringapatam and Mysore was restored to the Wodeyar organization who had been overseeing Mysore sooner than Hyder Ali formed to transform into the acknowledged ruler.
• Mysore went into a Subsidiary Alliance with the British and a British tenant was set at the Mysore Court.
• The Kingdom of Mysore remained a princely nation now not immediately under the British until 1947 when it was selected to be a part of the Indian Union.

Anglo- Maratha Wars

The First Anglo- Maratha War

• The third Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao died in 1761 due to shock after his defeat at the Third Battle of Panipat.
• His son Madhavrao succeeded him. Madhavrao was able to get better some of the Maratha power and territories which they had lost in the Battle of Panipat.
• The English have been aware of the growing Maratha power.
• When Madhavrao died, there was once a tussle for electricity in the Maratha camp.
• His brother Narayanrao grew to be the Peshwa however his uncle Raghunathrao desired to emerge as the Peshwa.
• For this, he sought the assistance of the English.
• In this way, the Treaty of Surat in 1775 was once marked by which Raghunathrao surrendered Salsette and Bassein to the English, and consequently, he was given 2500 officers.
• The British and military of Raghunathrao assaulted the Peshwa and won.
• The British Calcutta Council under Warren Hastings canceled this arrangement and another deal, the Treaty of
• Purandar was once marked in 1776 between the Calcutta Council and Nana Phadnavis, a Maratha servant.
• As needed, Raghunathrao used to be given an annuity just and Salsette used to be held by methods for the British.
• Be that as it may, the British foundation at Bombay disregarded this settlement and protected Raghunathrao.
• In 1777, Nana Phadnavis conflicted with his arrangement with the Calcutta Council and allowed a port on the west coast to the French.
• This drove the British to reinforce a power towards Pune. There were threats at Wadgaon close Pune in which the Marathas under Mahadji Shinde made sure about an unequivocal triumph over the English.
• The English were constrained to sign the Treaty of Wadgaon in 1779.
• There was a progression of fights toward the finish of which the Treaty of Salbai was marked in 1782. This finished the first Anglo-Maratha war.

Result:

• The East India Company retained Salsette and Broach.
• It additionally got a guarantee from the Marathas that they would retake their possessions in the Deccan from Hyder Ali of Mysore.
• The Marathas also promised that they would no longer provide any greater territories to the French.
• Raghunathrao was once to acquire a pension of Rs.3 lakh each and every year.
• All territories taken by the British after the Treaty of Purandar had been ceded back to the Marathas.
• The English accepted Madhavrao II (son of Narayanrao) as the Peshwa.

The Second Anglo- Maratha War

• After Tipu Sultan’s Mysore used to be captured by way of the British in 1799, the Marathas had been the only primary Indian power left outside of British domination.
• Around then, the Maratha Confederacy comprised five head bosses, the Peshwas at Pune, the Gaekwads at Baroda, the Holkars at Indore, the Scindias at Gwalior and the Bhonsle’s at Nagpur.
• There had been inside quarrels among themselves.
• Baji Rao II (child of Raghunathrao) was mounted as the Peshwa after the death toll of Madhavrao II.
• In the Battle of Poona in 1802, Yashwantrao Holkar, the head of the Holkars of Indore crushed the Peshwas and the Scindias.
• Baji Rao II looked for British wellbeing and marked the Treaty of Bassein with them.
• As per this treaty, he ceded territory to the British and agreed to the preservation of British troops there.
• The Scindias and the Bhonsle did not now be given this treaty and this triggered the 2nd Anglo-Maratha warfare in central India in 1803.
• The Holkars also joined the battle towards the English at a later stage.

Result:

• All the Maratha forces were defeated by using the British in these battles.
• The Scindias signed the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon in 1803 thru which the British bought the territories of Rohtak,
• Ganga-Yamuna Doab, Gurgaon, Delhi Agra region, Broach, some districts in Gujarat, parts of Bundelkhand and Ahmednagar fort.
• The Bhonsle’s signed the Treaty of Deogaon in 1803 as per which the English acquired Cuttack, Balasore, and vicinity west of Wardha River.
• The Holkars signed the Treaty of Rajghat in 1805 according to which they gave up Tonk, Bundi, and Rampura to the British.
• As a result of the war, massive parts of central India got here under British control.

The Third Anglo- Maratha War

• After the 2nd Anglo-Maratha war, the Marathas made one last strive to rebuild their historical prestige.
• They wanted to retake all their historic possessions from the English.
• They were also unhappy with the British residents’ interference in their inner matters.
• The chief purpose for this struggle used to be the British hostilities with the Pindaris whom the British suspected had been being blanketed with the aid of the Marathas.
• The Maratha chiefs Peshwa Bajirao II, Malharrao Holkar, and Mudhoji II Bhonsle solidified a united front in opposition to the English.
• Daulat Rao Shinde, the fourth principal Maratha chief was once pressured diplomatically to remain away.
  But the British victory was once swift.

Result:

• The Treaty of Gwalior was marked in 1817 among Shinde and the British, even despite the fact that he had not been worried in the war. According to this deal, Shinde surrendered Rajasthan to the British. The Rajas of Rajputana remained the Princely States until 1947 in the wake of tolerating British sway.
• The Treaty of Mandsaur was signed between the British and the Holkar chief in 1818. An infant used to be placed on the throne underneath British guardianship.
• The Peshwa surrendered in 1818. He was once dethroned and pensioned off to a small estate in Bithur (near Kanpur).
• Most parts of his territory became a section of the Bombay Presidency.
• His adopted son, Nana Saheb was one of the pioneers of the Revolt of 1857 at Kanpur.
• The territories annexed from the Pindaris became the Central Provinces beneath British India.
• This conflict led to the quit of the Maratha Empire. All the Maratha powers surrendered to the British.
• An obscure descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji was placed as the ceremonial head of the Maratha Confederacy at Satara.
• This used to be one of the ultimate important wars fought and gained by way of the British. With this, the British controlled most components of India barring Punjab and Sindh without delay or indirectly.

Regulating Act

Reasons:

• The East India Company used to be in severe financial disaster and had requested a loan of 1 million pounds from the British authorities in 1772.
• Allegations of corruption and nepotism were rampant towards enterprise officials.
• There was a horrible famine in Bengal the place a large populace perished.
• The Dual structure of administration instituted by means of Robert Clive used to be complicated and drawing a lot of complaints. According to this system, the corporation had Diwani rights (acquired after the Battle of Buxar) in Bengal and the Nawab had Nizamat rights (legal and policing rights) as made sure about from the Mughal Emperor. In reality, both powers had been vested with the company. The farmers and the time-honored population suffered as their enhancement was unnoticed and the organization used to be solely worried with maximizing revenue.
• Lawlessness accelerated in Bengal.
• The defeat of the organization against Mysore’s Hyder Ali in 1769.

Provisions:

• This act authorized the company to retain its territorial possessions in India however sought to adjust the things to do and functioning of the company. It did no longer take over power completely, subsequently called ‘regulating’.
• The act furnished the appointment of a Governor-General alongside four Councillors in the Presidency of Fort William (Calcutta), mutually known as the Governor-General in Council.
• As per this, Warren Hastings used to be appointed as the Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William.
• The Governors in Councils at Madras and Bombay have been brought under the manage of Bengal, particularly in matters of foreign policy. Now, they should not wage struggle towards Indian states barring Bengal’s approval.
• The agency directors were elected for a length of 5 years and one-fourth of them had been to retire each year. Also, they ought to now not be re-elected.
• The company administrators have been directed to make public all correspondence on revenue, civil and navy things with Indian authorities earlier than the British authorities.
• A Supreme Court of Judicature was installed at Calcutta with Sir Elijah Impey as the first Chief Justice. Judges had to come from England. It had civil and criminal jurisdiction over the British subjects and no longer Indian natives.

Pitt’s India Act

• For political matters, the Board of Control used to be created and for industrial affairs, the Court of Directors used to be appointed.
• The Board of Control took care of civil and army affairs. It comprised of 6 people:

1. Secretary of State (Board President)
2. Chancellor of the Exchequer
3. Four Privy Councillors

• In this twin system of control, the company was represented through the Court of Directors and the British government with the aid of the Board of Control.
• The act mandated that all civil and navy officers divulge their property in India and Britain inside two months of their joining.
• The Governor-General’s council’s power was decreased to three members. One of the three would be the Commander-in-Chief of the British Crown’s military in India.
• The Governor-General used to be given the right of veto.
• The Presidencies of Madras and Bombay got subordinate to the Bengal Presidency. In effect, Calcutta grew to become the capital of the British possessions in India.

Features:

• This act made a difference between the business and political activities of the East India Company.
• For the first time, the term ‘British possessions in India’ was used.
• This act gave the British government direct control over Indian administration.
• The Company became subordinate to the British authorities not like in the previous Regulating Act of 1773, where the government only sought to ‘regulate’ matters and not take over.
• This act set up the British Crown’s authority in the civil and military administration of its Indian territories. Commercial things to do were still a monopoly of the Company.

Conclusion

Both these acts had many drawbacks. The Regulatory Act had the following drawbacks,

The Governor-General had no veto power. It did not address the worries of the Indian population who had been paying revenue to the company. It did not end corruption among the organization officials. The Supreme Court’s powers had been no longer well-defined.

The parliamentary control that was sought in the things to do of the corporation proved to be ineffective as there was once no mechanism to find out about the reports dispatched through the Governor-General in Council.

The Pitt’s Act was deemed a failure due to the fact there used to be no clearness on the limits between the organization’s forces and the administration’s power. The Governor-General needed to serve two bosses for example the East India Company and the British Crown.

There have been no away from between the obligations of the Board of Control and the Court of Directors of the organization. The Governor-General needed to take on the spot decisions practicing his prudence.