British Expansion & Indian Resistance before 1850 - 14 Marks Question

How far was Indian resistance to British expansion in the subcontinent successful before 1850?

By the midst of eighteenth century, the rising power of the British East India Company became apparent.

Expansion in Bengal was fast and resistance was rather poor. In 1756, the French encouraged Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah to attack the East India Company’s base at Calcutta. In 1757, Robert Clive arrived with a force of EIC soldiers and defeated Nawab’s troops in the Battle of Plassey. In 1764, new Nawab, Mir Qasim, joined forces with the Nawab of Oudh and the Mughal Emperor to drive the Company out of Bengal. They were unsuccessful and British influence actually increased.

At Mysore, Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan gave the British a tough time in initial two Anglo-Mysore Wars respectively matching British weapons with rockets, cannons and muskets. However, in the third Anglo-Mysore War (1790-92), Tipu suffered a resounding defeat from the British. The war ended after the signing of the Treaty of Seringapatam, according to which Tipu had to surrender half of his kingdom to the British. Following this, the fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1798-99) saw the death of Tipu Sultan and further expansion in British territory in Mysore.

Although the first Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82) was an embarrassing defeat for the British, the post-wars were vice versa. The second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-05) forced the Marathas to sign treaty with the British. The third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-18) left the Company in control of most of India. British victories were swift, resulting in the definite breakup of the Maratha Empire and British becoming absolutely dominant in the subcontinent.

In 1831, Titu Mir from Bengal proclaimed himself king and raised an army of 15,000 followers. He built a bamboo fort at Narkelbaria in October 1831 and defeated British forces sent to destroy it. As a result, the British sent an army including cavalry and cannon. Titu Mir’s forces could not withstand the power of the British modern weapons and died after five days of fierce fighting.

In 1843, the British had easily taken away Sindh from the Amirs after the Afghan rebellion in 1841. However, they were unable to annex Punjab before 1839 because of the treaty of perpetual friendship with Ranjit Singh. However, with his death, the treaty ended and new rulers knew that the British planned to annex their land. They attacked the British twice for resistance, first in 1845 and then in 1848, but failed critically, giving the whole area to the British.

Therefore, it can be displayed that Indian resistance to British expansion in the subcontinent before 1850 was mostly appalling. The local Indians were unable to match the British strength and, by 1850, British outmatched the Indians in all cases and became the representative force of India.