POLITICAL CHANGES IN THE 18TH CENTURY CE

CLASS-VII
HISTORY
STUDY MATERIAL
SESSION-2022-23

Political Changes in the Indian subcontinent in the 18th Century

• The Mughal Empire declined rapidly.
• Many semi-independent states rose to power.
• There was a growth of regional culture.
• The British Empire in India was established.
• Medieval period in India came to an end.

The Later Mughals

• Names of some important later Mughal Rulers-

Shah Alam
Jahandar Shah
Farrukhsiyar
Muhammad Shah
Ahmad Shah
Alamgir II
Shah Alam II
Akbar II
Bahadur Shah Zafar II

Sayyid brothers

• They became powerful during Jahandar Shah’s reign.

• They were a part of a group of nobles who became powerful enough to put the people of
their choice on the Mughal throne and remove the ones they didn’t like, thus becoming
known as kingmakers.
• They killed Jahandar Shah and put Farrukhsiyar on the throne.
• Their power came to an end during the rule of Muhammad shah.
Persian Invasion

Nadir Shah-

• He was the ruler of Persia

• He invaded India in 1739 C.E

• He plundered Delhi and took away with him numerous valuables like the Peacock Throne
and the Kohinoor Diamond.

The Peacock Throne

Third Battle of Panipat:

• In 1761 C.E this battle occurred between Ahmad shah Abdali (Nadir Shah’s successor
and the Marathas.
• He defeated the Marathas and captured Punjab.

Causes of Decline of the Mughal Empire

• Due to Aurangzeb’s policies the Rajputs, Jats, Sikhs and the Marathas all became
enemies of the Mughals.
 • The treasury was depleted due to Aurangzeb’s frequent wars and thus the army could not
be paid on time.
• As the troops were fighting too many wars at different fronts at the same time they were
unable to stop the rise of independent kingdoms and meet the challenge of foreign
invasions.
• Revenue stopped coming from semi-independent provinces and also from provinces still
under Mughal control.
• The later Mughals were not competent enough and were mostly controlled by powerful
nobles,
• There were numerous bloody wars of succession as the dynasty did not have clear rules
of succession
.
The Rise of Regional kingdoms and Provinces:

• The Mughal Empire broke up into different regions as a result of the many popular
uprisings that took place in different parts of the country. These regions can be classified
as-
• Regions that were originally under the Mughals. Example- Awadh, Hyderabad and
Bengal.
• Independent regions. Example- The Rajputs of Amber, Mewar and Marwar; and
• New States that were formed by powerful regional groups. Example- The Jats, the Sikhs
and the Marathas.

The Independent regions or the watan jagirs of the Rajputs:

Relationship with the Mughals during Akbar’s rule-

• Akbar realized the importance of maintaining friendly relationship with the Rajputs.
• He therefore made many Rajput rulers governors of provinces and jagirs.
• Rajputs enjoyed a certain amount of freedom during his time.
• Raja Sawai jai Singh of Amber was made the governor of Malwa. He later founded his
new capital at Jaipur.
 Raja Sawai Jai Singh

Relationship with the Mughals during Aurangzeb’s rule:

• The relationship between the Rajputs and the Mughals deteriorated during his time. The
Rajputs fought against the Mughals to safeguard their homeland or watan.
• Raja Jaswant Singh of Marwar was the governor of Deccan after Raja Jai Singh of
Amber, however when Jaswant Singh died in 1678, the good relationship between
Jodhpur and Aurangzeb fell through.
• Aurangzeb sent an army which defeated and destroyed the state along with its town and
villages.
• During the same time Raja Jai Singh of Mewar also revolted against Aurangzeb.
• Though Aurangzeb settled for peace with Mewar, Marwar continued to be a problem.
• Thus, Aurangzeb was forced to maintain troops near Rajasthan to safeguard the Empire
from the Rajputs- troops which could have been used to fight the Marathas.

Relationship with the Mughals during the Later Mughal period:

• The Sayyid Brothers made Raja Ajit Singh of Marwar (Jodhpur) the governor of Ajmer
and Gujarat.
• They also appointed Jai Singh II as the governor of Agra.

New Power Groups:

Among the Various new power groups that arose two major ones were the Sikhs and the
Marathas.

The Sikhs:
The Khalsa-
• Guru Govind Singh the last Sikh Guru transformed the Sikhs into a militant sect called
the khalsa in 1699 C.E.

• This was formed in response to the execution of the ninth Sikh guru, Guru Teg Bahadur
by Aurangzeb.
• During the Rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh the Sikh kingdom reached the height of its
glory. It extended from the river Indus to the Yamuna, with Lahore as its capital.

The Marathas:

They belonged to the Maharashtra region (present- day Mumbai, Khandesh, Konkan, Berar and
parts of Madhya Pradesh.)
Shivaji

• It was under him that the Marathas became a major threat to the Mughal Empire.

Early Life-

• He was born in 1627 C.E. His father was Shahji Bhosle, a powerful noble in the service
of the Sultan of Bijapur and his mother was Jijabai. His Guru was Samartha Ramdas a
Bhakti Saint. His guru taught him to take pride in the Maratha culture and to fight for
freedom against the Mughal rule.

Establishment of power-
• He started conquering places from the age of 18, and within 11 years managed to lay the
foundation of the Maratha Empire by capturing Konkan completely.
• He built a fort at Raigarh and made it his capital.
• Guerilla warfare- This was a strategy followed by Shivaji and his followers where they
used the rocky and mountainous terrain of western Maharashtra to their advantage and
launched surprise attacks on their enemy. This kind of hidden warfare is called guerilla
warfare.
• Shivaji did not neglect the seaports like the Mughals. He built strong navy ports at
Suvarnadurg and other places in order to protect his territory from attacks through the sea
routes.

Suvarnadurg Fort

• He also learned modern warfare techniques from the Europeans.

• Both Aurangzeb (who became the Mughal emperor in 1658 C.E) and the Sultan of
Bijapur were alarmed at Shivaji’s growing power.
• 1664 C.E- Shivaji attacked the port of Surat and looted its wealth. This paralyzed trade in
Gujarat and the entire Mughal Empire.
• 1674 C.E- He crowned himself as ‘Chhatrapati” or sovereign ruler in Poona.
• He overran the ocean, capturing Gingee and Vellore in South India, and Kopal and
Bellary below Kaveri in Karnataka.
Administration:
• He was a good administrator who looked after his territory well.
• He ruled his kingdom with the help of a council of eight ministers called the
ashtapradhans.
• The most important of these eight were the peshwa or the Prime Minister and the senapati
or the commander of the army
 .

Revenue Administration:

• Land revenue was the main source of revenue

• He collected land tax (two-fifth of the lands produce) from the territories directly ruled by
him.
• The peasants who lived in territories administered by the Mughals or other rulers had to
pay two taxes to the Marathas- Chauth and Sardeshmukhi along with the tax they paid to
their own rulers.
• Chauth- One- fourth of the land revenue and was paid to ensure that the Marathas would
not raid the lands of these peasants.
• Sardeshmukhi-Additional one-tenth of the land revenue.

Military Administration:

• He had a compact and disciplined army.

• He paid his officers in cash, unlike the Mughal system of payment by jagirs.
• The army was trained in guerilla warfare and would swoop and attack the enemies with
lightning speed, cause extensive damage and then retreat with equal speed.
• Shivaji inspired his soldiers to be brave and daring with his patriotism.
The Peshwas:
• The Peshwa was the Prime Minister of the Martha ruler who used to help him in
administration.
• Important Peshwas- Balaji Vishwanath, Baji Rao I, Balaji Baji Rao.
• Marathas became weak after the Third Battle of Panipat (1761). They were defeated
badly by Ahmed Shah Abdali, Afghan invader from Afghanistan.

End of the Medieval Period:

• By 1750, the rule of the Mughals almost came to an end. They continued to rule till 1857
but in name.
• The Marathas became weak after the defeat in Panipat in 1761.
• These political changes allowed the English to strengthen their position in India.
(Model answers):

1. Who was the founder of Jaipur? (1)

Ans: Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber.

2. What do you know about Nadir Shah’s invasion of India? (3)

Ans:
• He was the ruler of Persia.
• He invaded India in 1739 C.E.
• He plundered Delhi and took away with him numerous valuables like the Peacock Throne
and the Kohinoor Diamond.

3. ‘Various reasons contributed towards the decline of the Mughal empire’- Discuss (5)

Ans: The various reasons that contributed towards the decline of the Mughal Empire are-
• Due to Aurangzeb’s policies the Rajputs, Jats, Sikhs and the Marathas all became
enemies of the Mughals.
• The treasury was depleted due to Aurangzeb’s frequent wars and thus the army could not
be paid on time.
• As the troops were fighting too many wars at different fronts at the same time they were
unable to stop the rise of independent kingdoms and meet the challenge of foreign
invasions.
• Revenue stopped coming from semi-independent provinces and also from provinces still
under Mughal control.
• The later Mughals were not competent enough and were mostly controlled by powerful
nobles,
• There were numerous bloody wars of succession as the dynasty did not have clear rules
of succession.
(Any five)
Assignment:

1. What were the various political changes that happened in India during the 18th century?
2. During whose reign did the Sayyid brothers come to power? How powerful were they?
Who put an end to their power?
3. ‘The popular uprising that developed against the Mughal empire in the 18th century led to
the breaking up of the empire into different regions.’- How can we classify them?
4. ‘Aurangzeb was forced to maintain troops near Rajasthan in order to safeguard his
empire.’- Which incidents led to the development of this situation?
5. What was the relationship between the Rajputs and the Mughals during the Later Mughal
period?
6. When and why was the Khalsa formed?
7. What do you know about Maharana Ranjit Singh?
8. When did Shivaji attack the port of Surat? Why is this incident important?
9. What is guerrilla warfare?
10. Why did Shivaji built strong navy ports?
11. ‘Shivaji was an excellent administrator’-Discuss
12. Who were the Peshwas? Name the three most important peshwas.
13. Akbar defeated the Rajput kings but did not humiliate them. He took them as equal
partners. Sources say, Aurangzeb had humiliated Shivaji by making him sit with
mansabdars of low rank. When he tried to leave the court he was put into prison. What
was the result of these two opposite policies on Mughal Empire? Which one strengthened
the empire and which one weakened it? [HOTS]

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