Battle of Plassey (1757)
In 1756, the French encouraged
the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, to attack the East India Company’s base
at Calcutta. He captured the city, but was unable to keep control of it. In
1757, Robert Clive arrived with a force of EIC soldiers and defeated Nawab’s
troops in the Battle of Plassey. The Nawab’s body was found in a river after
the battle.
In this battle, Robert Clive had
3,000 troops, whereas Nawab had 50,000 troops with 40 cannons and 10 war
elephants. Unfortunately, Clive had bribed one of Nawab’s generals, Mir Jafar
and his victory had been made easy. A greater number of the Nawab’s soldiers
were bribed to throw away their weapons, surrender prematurely, and even turn
their arms against their own army.
The EIC rewarded Mir Jafar by
making him Nawab of Bengal. Mir Jafar was forced to give the company gifts of
land and money which helped make some of the EIC officials rich. As a result of
this battle, EIC controlled trade in Bengal and Clive was made Governor of
Bengal. The Battle of Plassey marked the first major military success for
British East India Company.
Battle of Buxar (1764)
In 1764, Mir Jafar’s son, Mir
Qasim joined forces with the Nawab of Oudh, Shuja-ud-Daulah, and the Mughal
Emperor, Shah Alam II, to drive the East India Company out of Bengal. The East
India Company’s troops were led by Hector Munro. In the Mughal force, there
were 40,000 men with 140 cannons, while EIC forces included 7,000 men with 30
cannons.
They were actually unsuccessful
and after their defeat in the battle, British influence actually increased. Almost
2,000 officers were killed from the Mughal’s side and 1,000 from the Company’s
side. After the war, Mir Qasim fled to the north-west and died there in 1777.
Shuja-ud-Daulah tried to defeat the British but was not successful. Shah Alam II
realigned himself with the British.
The major reason for their defeat
was the lack of coordination among the various Mughal forces. The EIC now took
control of the revenue collection in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, and also
extended its influence into Oudh.
Bengal Exploited
The East India Company had been
established to gain as much profit as possible, but its greed after Buxar
embarrassed the British Government. The Company made huge profits from its
monopoly of trade in Bengal and merchants became accustomed to receiving
personal gifts which increased their wealth. Whilst they made huge profits, the
local people were exploited and many died in a serious famine which hit Bengal.
The British Government was forced
to act to stop this misgovernment. In 1773, it passed an Act of Parliament
which required the East India Company to provide good government to stop the
anarchy.
Pitt’s India Act of 1784
The British government passed the
India Act of 1784, known as the Pitt’s India Act, and took direct control of
the Indian possessions under the East India Company. It appointed a
Governor-General, who would have control of the three presidencies. There would
also be provincial governors and a Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The
EIC continued to trade, but lost most of its administrative powers. To further
improve efficiency, a police force and a legal system re set up on the British
lines. A professional civil service was also introduced, but local people were
not given jobs in it. Only the British were considered suitable to help run
British India.
Third Anglo-Mysore War
(1790–1792)
In the Third Anglo-Mysore War,
Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore and an ally of France, invaded the nearby
state of Travancore in 1789 which was a British ally. British forces were
commanded by Governor-General Cornwallis himself. The resultant war lasted
three years and was a resounding defeat for Mysore. The war ended after the
1792 Siege of Seringapatam and the signing of the Treaty of Seringapatam,
according to which Tipu had to surrender half of his kingdom to the British
East India Company and its allies.
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1798–1799)
The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War saw
the death of Tipu Sultan and further reductions in Mysorean territory. Mysore's
alliance with the French was seen as a threat to the East India Company and
Mysore was attacked from all four sides. Tipu's army was outnumbered 4:1 in
this war. Mysore had 35,000 soldiers, whereas the British commanded 60,000
troops. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas launched an invasion from the
north. The British won a decisive victory at the Siege of Seringapatam (1799).
Tipu was killed during the defence of the city. Much of the remaining Mysorean
territory was annexed by the British, the Nizam and the Marathas.
Mughal Emperor accepts
British Protection (1803)
French Company also wanted to
expand their rule in India. Marathas already captured Mughal Empire in Delhi
and were ruling in it. French company made the plan that first they have to
defeat the Marathas. Then they can easily capture Mughal Empire. Before they took
any action, British entered Delhi. In 1803, the British entered Delhi, defeated
Marathas and forced the Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam, to accept that he was ruling
under ‘British Protection’.
Third Anglo-Maratha War
(1817–1818)
The Third Anglo-Maratha War was
the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company (EIC)
and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of
India. It began with an invasion of Maratha territory by British East India
Company troops, and although the British were outnumbered, the Maratha army was
decimated. The troops were led by Governor General Hastings, supported by a
force under General Thomas Hislop. Operations began against the Pindaris, a
band of Muslim mercenaries and Marathas from central India.
Peshwa Baji Rao II's forces,
supported by those of Mudhoji II Bhonsle of Nagpur and Malharrao Holkar III of
Indore, rose against the East India Company. British victories were swift,
resulting in the breakup of the Maratha Empire and the loss of Maratha
independence.
Titu Mir (1831)
Titu Mir, real name Syed Mir
Nasir, was a Bengali freedom fighter, who led the people against the oppression
of the zamindars and the British colonial system. He 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. He, along with many of
his followers, died after five days of fierce fighting. In his report, the
British commander praised the amazing bravery of Titu Mir and his men.
Annexation of Sindh (1843)
By the early nineteenth century,
the British were becoming increasingly concerned about the Russian Expansion.
They wanted to make sure that Afghanistan did not fall into Russian hands. They
agreed with the Sikh Ruler of the Punjab, that Afghanistan should remain
independent. They hoped that Ranjit Singh would help them install a pro-British
ruler in Kabul. He did not support them, so the British went ahead on their
own.
However, a rebellion in
Afghanistan in 1841 led to all British troops in the country being killed. The
British felt that their pride had been hurt by this loss in Afghanistan and
decided to turn on Sindh. This territory was ruled by a collection of Amirs who
had signed a treaty of friendship with the British in 1809. However, the
British wanted to regain their prestige and also to make sure that Sindh could
be a target for Sikh Expansion.
Ranjit Singh had been following a
policy of extending his kingdom and this had worried the British, so they
decided to annex Sindh. All they needed was an excuse. Sir Charles Napier, the
British general, provoked the Amirs of Sindh so much that they attacked the
British Residency in 1843. He now had his excuse for war. The Amirs were
defeated and Sindh was annexed by the British.
Annexation of Punjab and
North-West Frontier (1849)
Punjab was ruled by Ranjit Singh.
He had signed a treaty of perpetual friendship with the British in 1809 but,
after his death in 1839, rival chiefs argued amongst themselves over who should
be the king. The Sikhs were worried that the British would invade the Punjab
and launched an attack on the British.
The British defeated the Sikhs at
the Battle of Aliwal in January 1946, during the first Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846),
and forced them to sign the Treaty of Lahore. The Sikhs had to cede land to the
British and pay a huge indemnity. The Raja of Jammu, Ghulab Singh, who had
helped the British, was allowed to purchase Kashmir and was granted the title
“Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir”.
In the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–1849),
the Sikhs once more suffered defeat and the Sikh Empire came to an end. The
Punjab and what later became known as the North-West Frontier became part of
the British Empire on 30 March 1849. Hyderabad, Deccan, Oudh and the local
Nawabs had been forced to sign the treaties with the East India Company, which
gave their external affairs to British.
Doctrine of Lapse
The Doctrine of Lapse was a
British expansion policy which stated that when a ruler died without a natural
heir, the British would annex his lands. Governor General Dalhousie extended
British control applying this policy. The Company took over the princely states
of Satara (1848), Jaipur and Sambalpur (1849), Bhagat (1850), Udaipur (1852),
Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854), Tore and Arcot (1855) under the terms of this
policy. Oudh (1856) is widely believed to have been annexed under the Doctrine
of Lapse. However, it was annexed by Lord Dalhousie under the pretext of
misgovernance. Mostly claiming that the ruler was not ruling properly, the
Company added about four million pounds sterling to its annual revenue by
virtue of this doctrine.
Why were the British able
to conquer India?
Military Superiority:
The British were successful in
gaining control over India because of their military superiority. They fought a
series of bloody wars and defeated a number of strong local rulers like,
Siraj-ud-Daulah in the Battle of Plassey, Tipu Sultan in the Battle of Mysore,
the Marathas and the Sikhs. They had the latest warfare tools, efficient
communication for quick deployment of troops and sound financial resources for
fighting costly wars in the far-flung areas. They had a well-trained army and
good planners of war strategies. They were also experts in bribing and
conspiring with the key persons, like Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq.
Dealing Skills:
The British were very skilled
diplomatic experts. They gained the support of a number of local rulers. They
were shrewd in purchasing the loyalties of influential Indians. They signed
subsidiary alliances with local rulers under which the rulers were granted protection
by the British troops.
Indian Disunity:
Indians were not united as a
single nation. They were divided along religious, linguistic and ethnic lines.
Local rulers were interested only in their own territories. Some princely
states even supplied troops to the British when they were fighting against
their countrymen. It was very easy for the strong British army to conquer them
one after the other. Majority of the well-off Indians stayed away from the
wars. They were making profits by trading with the English merchants.
Pitt’s India Act of 1784:
The Pitt’s India Act made the
position of Governor General a royal appointment. Warren Hastings was appointed
to this position in 1784. A Board of Control replaced the East India Company’s
Board of Directors, changing it from a trading concern to a sovereign body in
which the Crown had direct control of Bengal. A police system was developed to
help in the administration of justice and maintaining law and order.
Permanent Settlement in India:
Lord Cornwallis introduced the
Permanent Settlement in 1793 making zamindars of Bengal landowners, subject to
their payment of a fixed sum to the British. In 1793, this amounted to some 10%
of the total sum collected by the zamindars. The Permanent Settlement secured
the financial interest of the East India Company and helped Bengal to become
the wealthiest province in India, allowing the British to extend their control.
Subsidiary Alliances:
Local rulers were persuaded to
sign subsidiary alliances by Lord Wellesley who became Governor General in
1798. According to it, the local ruler continued to run their affairs while
British soldiers offered protection. In return for this protection the ruler
paid towards the cost of the soldiers and accepted a British resident adviser.
This consolidated Britain’s power in India at little cost and extended British
control.
Doctrine of Lapse:
The doctrine of lapse, introduced
in 1852, was a land-grabbing law. If the ruler of a princely state would pass
away without having a direct heir, his kingdom would become property of the
British. A number of states were seized under this law.
British Successes:
The Battles of Plassey and Buxar
gave the British the riches of Bengal and favourable trading rights with the
local Nawabs. Hyderabad and Oudh accepted British protection with a subsidiary
alliance. Mysore, Oudh, Delhi and the Marathas came under British control by
the early nineteenth century, followed shortly afterwards by Sindh, the Punjab
and the NWF. This provided massive new resources, which the British could use
to consolidate control.
Improvement in Infrastructure:
The British built a huge network
of roads and later railways that meant that communication and transport links
between cities became better. Soldiers could travel much more easily from
trouble spot to trouble spot. It also benefited British trading links which in
turn produced more wealth.
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