COMPANY’S

STRUGGLE FOR
SUPREMACY
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPANY’S ANNEXATION
(1757-1857)

1. Political, Economic and Diplomatic: No direct military attack; extend influence

before annexing.

2. Appointment of Residents: After Battle of Buxar; serve and further Company’s

interests; influence succession and administration.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPANY’S ANNEXATION
(1757-1857)

3. Various Administrative Policies

• Subsidiary Alliance: Devised by Lord Wellesley (1798); terms and conditions:

• British Protection: Against external and internal threats.
• British Contingent: Stationed in ally’s territory; paid by ally.
• No Independent Armed Forces: For Indian rulers.
• No Agreements or Warfare: Without British permission.
• Penalty for Non-Payment: Loss of territory; e.g. Awadh, Hyderabad.
• Objective: Prevent French revival and expansion.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPANY’S ANNEXATION
(1757-1857)

3. Various Administrative Policies

• Policy of Ring-Fence: Introduced by Warren Hastings; aims and features:

• Buffer Zones: To defend Company’s frontiers; e.g. Awadh
• Military Assistance: Against external aggression; at ally’s expense
• Subsidiary Forces: Organised, equipped and commanded by Company’s officers;
paid by ally’s rulers
• War against Marathas and Mysore: To safeguard against Afghan and Maratha
threats.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPANY’S ANNEXATION
(1757-1857)

Doctrine of No Male Heir: Kingdom would lapse; become part of Company

Lapse: territory
Followed by
Lord Dalhousie
(1848-1856); Kingdoms Annexed: Satara, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur, Jhansi.
rule and
examples
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPANY’S ANNEXATION
(1757-1857)
MYSORE’S RESISTANCE TO THE COMPANY

Kingdom of Mysore: South of Hyderabad; Malabar coast trade; threats from

Marathas, Nizams and British.

Wodeyar Dynasty: Autonomous state from Vijayanagar Empire

Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan: Leaders of Mysore; increased strength and resistance.
FIRST ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1767-69)

A conflict between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore led by
Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan.

Cause of the war: The British feared Mysore’s alliance with the French and its control
over the Malabar Coast trade. They signed a deal with the Nizam of Hyderabad to get
the Northern Circars and promised to protect him from Mysore. They also allied with
the Marathas against Mysore.
FIRST ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1767-69)

Result of the war

• The war ended with the Treaty of Madras in 1769, which was humiliating for the
British.
• The treaty provided for the exchange of prisoners and territories, and the British
assurance to help Mysore against any other power.
SECOND ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1780-84)
SECOND ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1780-84)

The British violated the Treaty of Madras (1769) by not helping

Mysore against the Maratha attack in 1771.

Cause of the Haidar Ali relied on the French for military supplies and was
war angered by the British capture of Mahe, a French territory.

Haidar Ali formed a grand alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad

and the Marathas against the British in 1779.
SECOND ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1780-84)

Haidar Ali invaded the Carnatic and captured Arcot.

He defeated the British army under Colonel Baillie in 1781.

Course of the The British (under Sir Eyre Coote) broke the alliance of Mysore
war with the Nizam and the Marathas.
Haidar Ali was defeated at Porto Novo in 1781, but he regrouped
his forces and captured the British commander Braithwaite.
Haidar Ali died of cancer in 1782 and his son Tipu Sultan continued
the war for another year without any decisive outcome.
SECOND ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1780-84)

Result of the war

• The Treaty of Mangalore (1784) ended the war with mutual restoration of
conquests and prisoners.
THIRD ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1790-92)

Tipu Sultan wanted to eliminate the British from India and sought
the help of France and Turkey.
He also expanded his territories at the expense of his neighbours,
Cause of the especially the Raja of Travancore, who was an ally of the British.
war
He declared war on Travancore in 1790.

The British formed a tripartite alliance with the Nizam of

Hyderabad and the Marathas against Tipu Sultan in 1789.
THIRD ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1790-92)

The British, supporting Travancore, attacked Tipu Sultan.

In 1790, Tipu Sultan defeated the British under General Meadows.

Cornwallis took over the command in 1790 and captured
Course of the Bangalore in 1791.
war Coimbatore changed hands several times. The British, with the
help of the Nizam and the Marathas, besieged Seringapatam for
the second time in 1792.
Tipu Sultan agreed to sign the Treaty of Seringapatam with the
British.
THIRD ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1790-92)

Result of the war

• The Treaty of Seringapatam (1792) ended the war with a heavy loss for Mysore.
• Tipu Sultan had to give up half of his dominions to the victors.
• The British got Baramahal, Dindigul and Malabar.
• The Marathas got the regions around Tungabhadra.
• The Nizam got the areas from Krishna to beyond Pennar.
• Tipu Sultan had to pay a war indemnity of three crore rupees and surrender two
of his sons as hostages to the British.
• The treaty reduced Mysore’s power and increased the British influence in south
India.
FOURTH ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1799)

Tipu Sultan declared himself sultan after the death of the Hindu
ruler of the Wodeyar dynasty in 1796.

He wanted to avenge his defeat in the previous war and sought

the help of France and other countries.
Cause of the
war He corresponded with the French Revolutionary Government and
Napoleon and hoisted the French flag in Seringapatam.

Lord Wellesley, the new Governor General, was alarmed by Tipu’s

friendship with France and prepared for a war against Mysore.
FOURTH ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1799)

The war started on April 17, 1799 and ended on May 4, 1799 with
the fall of Seringapatam.

Course of the Tipu Sultan was defeated by the British generals Stuart and
war Harris, who were supported by the Marathas and the Nizam.

The Madras army, led by Arthur Wellesley, forced Tipu Sultan to

retreat to his capital Seringapatam.
FOURTH ANGLO-MYSORE WAR (1799)

Result of the war

• Tipu Sultan was killed defending his capital Seringapatam and the British won the
war.
• Mysore was placed under the Wodeyar dynasty and a subsidiary alliance was
imposed on the state.
• The British eliminated Mysore as a rival power and secured their supremacy in
south India.
ANGLO-MARATHA STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY

Mahadji Sindhia and Nana Phadnis were two famous Maratha soldiers and
statesmen of the late eighteenth century.

The Anglo-Maratha Wars occurred between the late 18th and

early 19th centuries as the English in Bombay sought to establish
their government.
The Anglo-
Maratha Wars The Marathas and the English clashed three times for political
supremacy, with the English ultimately emerging victorious.
FIRST ANGLO-MARATHA WAR (1775-82)

The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82) was caused by a succession dispute among
the Marathas and the interference of the British in their internal affairs.

The war involved various treaties between the British and the Marathas, such as
the Treaty of Surat, the Treaty of Purandhar, the Treaty of Wadgaon, and the Treaty
of Salbai.

The war ended with the Treaty of Salbai, which restored the status quo and
established British influence in Indian politics.

The treaty also enabled the British to ally with the Marathas against Mysore
and divide the Indian powers.
SECOND ANGLO-MARATHA WAR (1803-1805)

Caused by the British interference in the Maratha affairs and the defeat of Bajirao
II and Scindia by Holkar.

Bajirao II fled to Bassein and signed a treaty with the British, accepting the subsidiary
alliance.

The treaty provoked the other Maratha chiefs, who allied against the British.

The British, led by Arthur Wellesley and Gerard Lake, defeated the Marathas in
several battles and captured Delhi and Agra.

The war ended with the treaties of Surji-Anjangaon, Deogaon, and Rajpurghat, which
reduced the Maratha power and influence.
THIRD ANGLO-MARATHA WAR (1817-19)

It was caused by the conflict between the British and the Pindaris, the resentment
of the Marathas against the British interference and the Treaty of Bassein, and
the desire of the Marathas to retain their freedom.

The war involved various battles between the British and the Maratha chiefs, such as
the Battle of Poona, the Battle of Nagpur, the Battle of Mahidpur, and the Battle of
Koregaon.

The war ended with the surrender of Peshwa Baji Rao II and the dissolution of the
Maratha Confederacy. The peshwaship was abolished and most of India came under
British rule.

The war also involved various treaties between the British and the Marathas, such as
the Treaty of Poona, the Treaty of Gwalior, and the Treaty of Mandasor. These
treaties ceded large territories to the British and imposed many restrictions on the
Marathas.
Why were the Marathas Defeated?
Why were the Marathas Defeated?

Lack of capable leadership: The Maratha leaders were inefficient and selfish, while
the British leaders were skilled and determined.

Defective nature of Maratha state: The Maratha state was based on a weak religio-
national movement and had no unification of the people.

Loose political set-up: The Maratha empire was a loose confederation of rival chiefs
who did not cooperate with each other.

Inferior military system: The Marathas were inferior to the British in the
organisation, weapons, discipline, and leadership of their forces. They also faced
treachery and neglect of artillery.
Why were the Marathas Defeated?

Unstable economic policy: The Maratha leadership failed to develop a stable and
prosperous economy based on industries or foreign trade.

Superior English diplomacy and espionage: The British had better diplomatic skills
to win allies and isolate enemies. They also had a well-knit spy system to gather
information about their enemies.

Progressive English outlook: The British were influenced by the Renaissance and
modern ideas, while the Marathas insisted on maintaining a traditional social
hierarchy based on the priestly class.
CONQUEST OF SINDH (1843)

Sindh is a region in south-eastern Pakistan near the western coast of India. It has
been an important centre of trade and commerce since ancient times.

Sindh has been invaded by various powers due to its location at the confluence of
two great civilisations: the South Asian and the Middle Eastern. It was first annexed
by the Persian Empire under Darius Stapes around 519 or 518 BC.
In the early 19th century, the English showed an interest in Sindh and enjoyed
some trade privileges authorised by a farman of the Mughal Emperor in 1630.

Sindh’s last annexation took place in 1843, at the hands of the British East India
Company under the command of Sir Charles Napier.
CONQUEST OF PUNJAB

The weakening of Mughal authority and the decline of Afghan power in Northern
India created an opportunity for the Sikhs to consolidate their base in Punjab.

From 1765 onwards, Sikh political power steadily grew, leading to the establishment
of an autonomous Sikh state in the early 19th century. Ranjit Singh, leader of the
Sukerchakia Misl, emerged as the most powerful Sikh chief, bringing unity among the
Sikhs.
SUKARCHAKIYA/ SUKERCHAKIA MISL AND RANJIT SINGH

Sukarchakiya/ Sukerchakia Misl: One of the 12 Sikh confederacies or Misls that

emerged in the 18th century
Ranjit Singh: The son and successor of Mahan Singh, the leader of the Sukarchakiya
misl.

Misl is an Arabic word which means equal or alike. Another meaning of Misl is State.
Rise of Ranjit Singh

Ranjit Singh emerged during the late 18th century when the misls in Punjab were
disintegrating.

Taking advantage of the turmoil in Afghanistan, he implemented a ruthless policy to

establish his kingdom in central Punjab.

In 1799, he became the governor of Lahore under Zaman Shah of Afghanistan.

By 1805, he expanded his territories to include Jammu and Amritsar, making Lahore
the political capital and Amritsar the religious capital of Punjab.

Ranjit Singh fostered alliances with the Dogras and Nepalese, enlisting them in his
army.
Ranjit Singh and the English

The relations between the Sikh ruler and the British were influenced by
the Afghan and French threats.
In 1807, Charles Metcalfe failed to secure an alliance with Ranjit Singh, who wanted
to control the cis-Sutlej areas (the states south of the Sutlej river).
In 1809, Treaty of Amritsar was signed, limiting Ranjit Singh’s expansion to the north
of the Sutlej river
In 1838, Tripartite Treaty was signed, but Ranjit Singh refused to allow the British
army to pass through his territory to attack Dost Mohammad, the Afghan Amir
Ranjit Singh died in 1839, leaving a weak succession.
Political and Economic Conditions in Punjab After
Ranjit Singh

Rani Jindal and Daleep

The Sikh kingdom faced
Ranjit Singh’s successors Singh became the regent
political instability and
were either incompetent and the Maharaja
economic disruption
or assassinated by court respectively, but faced
after the death of Ranjit
factions. opposition from other
Singh in 1839.
claimants.

The Lahore government

The British took
allowed the British troops
advantage of the Sikh
to pass through Punjab
weakness and launched
during the First Anglo-
two Anglo-Sikh Wars to
Afghan War, causing
annex Punjab.
unrest and damage.
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46)

Caused by the Sikh power struggle, the British expansion, and the Sikh army crossing
the Sutlej river.

The British, led by Sir Hugh Gough, defeated the Sikhs in five battles and
captured Lahore.

The Sikhs had to sign the Treaty of Lahore in 1846, which imposed a heavy war
indemnity, annexed the Jalandhar Doab, reduced the Sikh army, and placed a British
resident at Lahore.
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46)

The Sikhs could not pay the full indemnity, so they had to cede Kashmir to Gulab
Singh, a Dogra chief and an ally of the British.

The Sikhs rebelled against the treaty, but were suppressed by the British and forced
to sign the Treaty of Bhairowal in 1846.

The treaty removed Rani Jindan as the regent and established a council of regency
under the British resident.
Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49)

Caused by the Sikh resentment against the British interference and the revolt
of Mulraj in Multan.

The British, led by Lord Dalhousie, defeated the Sikhs in five battles and annexed
Punjab.

Punjab was governed by a board of three members, including the Lawrence

brothers and Charles Mansel.

The board was replaced by a chief commissioner in 1853, with John Lawrence as the
first one.

The war resulted in a mutual respect between the Sikhs and the British, and the
Sikhs fought loyally for the British in later wars.
Thank you
Economic Condition During
British Rule
 Economic History of Modern India
• It helps in understanding the present day economic problems in India
• 3 stages of Capitalism in India
• Drain of wealth
• Deindustrialization
• Commercialization of Agriculture
 Three Stages of Capitalism
• Capitalism-System in which the means of production is in the hands of an individual.
• 3 stages of Capitalism in India : Given by R. Palme Dutt (the Marxist Historian)
• Mercantile Phase of Capitalism (1757-1813):
➢ Started with the establishment of British dual rule in 1757.
➢ Also known as the Period of Monopoly Trade & Direct Appropriation.
 Objectives
• To acquire monopoly of trade in India (against both European & Indian merchants)
 Strategy
• By eliminating the rival European powers as well as native rule present in India.
• Securing & strengthening trade rights through charters & acts by the British Government.
 Characteristic Feature of this Period
• No basic changes were introduced in administration, judicial system, transport &
communication, etc.
• No major changes made in education or intellectual field, culture or social organisation.
• Large scale drain of wealth from India which constituted 2-3 % of Britain’s national income
at the time. (This wealth helped in industrial revolution in England)
 Continued…
• No large scale import of British manufactures into India, rather, an increase in export of
Indian textiles, etc.
• However, weavers were ruined at this stage by the Company’s monopoly & exploitation.
 Industrial Phase of Capitalism (1813-1860)
Also termed as Colonialism of Free Trade.
• Emergence of New Capitalist Class:
❖ Industrial revolution led to the birth of industrial capitalism.
❖ The newly emerging industrial capitalists began to criticize the East India Company & its
exploitation.
❖ Demanded that colonial administration & policy in India should now serve British
capitalist interests.
 Changes in Approach
• Setting up of new politico-administrative approach with an objective of fulfilment of free
trade.
 Dominant Features of this Period
• India’s colonial economy was integrated with the British & world capitalist economy with
the introduction of free trade.
• All import duties in India were either totally removed or drastically reduced to nominal
rates.
• Government gave active State help to British capitalists to develop tea, coffee & indigo
plantations, trade, transport, mining & modern industries in India.
 Continued…
• To transform traditional agrarian structure into a capitalist one, Ryotwari system were
introduced.
• Administration was made more comprehensive to make the transportation of British
goods & agricultural products to & fro from the interior & remotest parts.
• Modern education was introduced to provide cheap manpower to the vastly expanded
administration.
• The taxation & the burden on peasant rose sharply due to economic transformation &
costly administration
 Financial Phase of Capitalism (1860-1947)
• Often described as the Era of Foreign Investments & International Competition for
Colonies.
 Changes in the World Economy During this Period

• Britain’s industrial supremacy was challenged by several countries of Europe, the United
States & Japan.
• Application of scientific knowledge to industry increased the pace of industrialization
sharply. For instance, use of petroleum as fuel for the internal combustion engine & the
use of electricity for industrial purposes.
• International transport unified the world economy.
 Change in Strategy
• Britain made strenuous efforts to consolidate its control over India.
• Liberal imperialist policies got replaced with reactionary imperialist policies, for example,
policies which were reflected in the viceroyalties of Lytton, Dufferin, Lansdowne & Curzon.
• Strengthening of colonial rule over India was meant to keep out the rivals as well as to
attract British capital to India & provide it security.
 Objective:
• Declared as permanent ‘trusteeship’ over the Indians. The Indians were declared to be
permanently immature—a ‘child’ people—needing British control & trusteeship.
• British thus tried to justify their rule over Indians for centuries to come—all in the name
of civilizing a barbaric people - “the White Man’s burden”.
 Outcome:
• A very large amount of British capital got invested in railways, loans (to the GOI), trade & ,
to a lesser extent, in plantations, coal mining, jute mills, shipping & banking in India.
• The kind of revolution which occurred in England never took off in India i.e. partial
industrialization took place in India.
• A large number of cottage industries were ruined by the colonial system.
 Continued…
• These industries were not replaced because the capitalists feared that if the industry in
India developed, the parallel industry in Britain would be forced to shut down.
• As a result, only few select capitalist were allowed to establish the industries & were also
not encouraged by the Government.
 Drain of Wealth…
• 1st man to write about the drain of wealth was Dadabhai Naoroji.

• He wrote about it in a paper called ‘The English debt to India’.

• He also wrote a book ‘Poverty & un-British rule in India’.

❑ Other people who wrote were:

➢ Govind Ranade

➢ R.C. Dutt made drain of wealth the subject of his ‘The Economic History of India’.

➢ R.P. Dutt
 Drain of Wealth…
• Dinshah Wacha
• S.N. Banerjee
• Prithwish Chandra Ray
• G Subramania Iyer supported the cause of India's freedom & used his newspaper ‘The
Hindu’ to protest British Imperialism.
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
• GV Joshi
• Bholanath Chandra
 Channels of Drain of Wealth
• Bribes taken by Robert Clive from the Nawabs of Bengal.

• Interest paid to English companies who invested in India.

• The English government in India borrowed money from English capitalists & they paid the

interest from India’s exchequer

 Home charges
• The salaries of Secretary of State
• Maintenance of the army & funds for waging wars even outside India
• Other expenses related to administration.
• Profits earned by British capitalists through illegal channels
• They used to pay less than the market value while purchasing Indian goods
• Support the India office in London.
• Salaries & pensions of British personnel engaged in India.
 Land Tenure System: British Legacy
• In the initial years, East India company faced following problems:
• Demand for British goods in India was negligible. (Because EIC was yet to destroy
handicraft & artisans)
• Under the Mercantilism policy of British: one country’s gain required another
country/colony’s loss. Therefore, British Government prohibited EIC from exporting gold &
silver from England to pay for Indian goods import.
• EIC needed money to maintain an army for defeating & subjugating native rulers.
 Company’s solution:
• Start collecting revenue from Indians
• Use that Revenue to buy Indian raw material & export to England.
• Import finished goods back to India & make profit.
• But it had a problem: the revenue system under Mughals & native rulers was too complex
for the British to understand.
• Lord Cornwallis comes with a novel idea: just ‘outsource’ the tax collection work to desi-
middlemen: Zamindars, Jagirdar, Inamdars, Lambardar etc.
 Permanent settlement 1793
• Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Eastern UP & Northern Tamil Nadu
• Revenue amount was fixed at the beginning & remained the same permanently.
• Lord Cornwallis , John Shore
• Company ‘outsourced’ the revenue collection work to Zamindars
• British designated zamindars (local tax collectors) as owners of the land in their district.
• This system was adopted in several other forms such as Jagirdari, Inamdari, etc.
• Dual Ownership
• Zamindars was also a owner of agricultural land, forest land ,fodder land etc.
• Peasant also had to pay tax on usage of forest, fodder for the 1st time.
• Zamindars were given freedom to decide how much to demand from the cultivators.
• Stiff penalties on defaulters.
• So Zamindar became very powerful in east & central India.