The coming of the Europeans in India was an event of great significance for the history of our land. The discovery of the sea routes particularly to India helped to establish political supremacy. India had maintained both land and sea trade with Rome and Europe since the early centuries of Christian era. In the 7th century the Arabs secured a monopoly of this trade when they conquered Egypt and Persia. During the middle ages, trade with Europe had increased considerably, but in the year 1453 this trade received a severe blow due to the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottaman Turks and this led to a new chapter in history called the Geographical Discovery. Among the Europeans, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the French came to India to establish their trading companies.
THE PORTUGUESE
Prince Hendry of Portugal was mainly
responsible for the discovery of sea routes. The Portuguese came to India with
the idea of proclaiming the good news and when they were in search of
Christians, they found that India was rich in spices, materials and perfumes
and therefore they decided to have trading routes with India. The Portuguese
also wanted to control the spice trade in Java and Malacca, since these islands
were main centers for cloves.
The Portuguese were able to settle down
because:
-
They
had superior ships
-
They
had superior arms
-
They
had great men like Alphonso de Albuquerque and Almeida.
THE DUTCH
The Dutch East India Company of Netherlands was
founded in 1602. They established their headquarters at Nagapathanam. They
could not last for a long time as they clashed with the British, but they remained
in India as a power of courtesy. The Dutch failed to establish their monopoly
in India as the Moghul and the rulers of Golkonda were powerful enough not to
allow them to establish their rule.
THE DORES AND SWEDISH
The Dores followed the footsteps of the
Portuguese and the Dutch and organized trading companies. The most important
trading company was at Serampore in 1755. But they had to surrender to the
British and leave India in 1845.
THE BRITISH *
The British came to India after the Portuguese
and the Dutch. William Hawkins a captain at sea was sent to the court of
Jehangir with a letter from King James I to secure permission to trade with
India. This mission failed and then the British sent Sir Thomas Roe as an
ambassador to the court of Jehangir and during his four years stay in India he
obtained from the Moghuls the trading rights.
THE GROWTH OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY *
The company had a very humble beginning in
India. Surat was the center of trade till 1687. By 1623, they established
factories at Surat, Ahmedabad, Agra, Baruch, Masulipatnam. They then acquired
Madras from the Raja of Chandragiri and this helped them to establish the first
British settlement. In 1640 they built a
fortress near Madras and named it as the fort of St. George. This fort was the
first step towards the establishment of the British domination in India. In
1662 the Portuguese gave the Island of Bombay as a part of dowry to Princess
Catherine of Braganza who married King Charles II of England.
THE FRENCH
The French East India Company was set up in
1664 in order to trade with India. The first French factory was established in
Surat in 1667. Frances Martin was appointed as a director general in 1672 and
he gave a new life to the French East India company in India.
INTERNAL ORGANISATION OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
The charter of 1600 A.D. gave the East India
Company the privilege of trading with the East to the Cape of Good Hope for 15
years. This company became the most important trading center for England. It
made huge profits. The East India Company had different types of traders and
the merchants that traded with Asia called themselves free merchants while the
company called them ‘interlopers. When William II came to power the old company
was replaced by the new company and the parliament gave them the monopoly to
trade with the east. Both the old and new company faced a lot of difficulties
and this ultimately resulted in another company known as limited company of
merchants of England. This came into existence in 1708.
THE ANGLO FRENCH CONFLICT IN INDIA
The French had established a company to trade
with the East but it could not function because of problems that took place
because of problems that took place between France and England.
Louie the fourteenth had established factories
at Surat, Masulipatnam, Pondicherry, Chandranagar and its aim was to establish
political power in India. After Aurangzeb’s death the Moghul Empire was
disintegrated, and the power rested in the hands of the weak and inefficient
governor. The country was in turmoil and the Indian princes were busy settling
disputes among themselves. The Europeans knew the situation in India and
therefore they turned their eyes towards this country to build up an empire. At
the same time the Anglo-French rivalry was going on in Europe and this extended
up to India. This rivalry is also known as the Karnatic Wars.
THE FIRST KARNATIC WAR (3 Marks) *
The English and the French fought their wars in
India and the first war broke out in 1740, the main cause being – trade with
India.
Europe faced another war between England and
France because of the Austrian successors and when this news reached India
these two trading companies once again clashed with each other.
The war between England and France came to an
end in 1748 when the famous treaty of Aux-la-Chappelle was concluded and by
this treaty Madras was given to England and this brought an end to the trade
rivalry between England and France.
THE SECOND KARNATIC WAR *
The British and the French found it difficult
to maintain vast armies and therefore they entered into negotiations with the
Princes of India that they could lend their armies and use their services. The
first to accept this proposal was the Raja of Tanjore. About the same time the
Nizam of Hyderabad had expired, and this led to civil war between the son and
the grandson of the Nizam. At this junction the French offered to lend their
armies to fight this war. On the other hand, the English too came on the scene
and this led to war between the English and the French. The French soldiers
suffered a defeat and the government of France asked Dupleix to return to
France. His departure set a big blow to the French Company in India.
THE THIRD KARNATIC WAR *
The second Karnatic war failed to solve the
problems of the Anglo French rivalry in India. Although both the armies were in
India, the position of the British after the second karnatic war was stronger
than earlier. In the Battle of Wandiwash the French suffered a further defeat
and they had to surrender Pondicherry and this sealed the fate of the French
forever in India.
BATTLE OF PLASSEY ***
Aurangzebs death in 1707 gave a blow to the
Moghul Empire and this gave rise to a number of independent states. The central
government had no control over the independent kingdoms. Mushid Ali Khan was
appointed the Governor of Bengal and he declared himself as the independent
Nawab of Bengal. He was well succeeded by his son in law Siraj Ul Daulah and
then he was succeeded by his son Nawab Surfaraj Khan.
DUPLIEX***
Dupliex was appointed as the governor of
Pondicherry and his appointment was considered as a turning point in the
history of the French Company. He was a statesman of genius imagination. He was
responsible for changing the entire attitude of the French company i.e. from a
trader to a ruler who had acquired political power and territory in India.
THE ENGLISH IN BENGAL
The East India Company had first established a
factory in Bengal. It had developed the presidency in Bengal which became an
important center for trade. The ruler of Bengal at that time was Ali Vardi Khan
who was an able ruler and was constantly struggling with the Marathas
SIRAJ UD DAULAH
Siraj-ud-Daulah was alarmed at the growing
prosperity of the English. In June 1756 he ceased the English factory at the
Kasil Bazar and then marched to Calcutta. The English then abandoned Calcutta
and thereby they surrendered to Siraj ud Daulah. This event is mostly
remembered as the incident known as the black hole of Calcutta.
The English prisoners who were about 190 in
number were imprisoned in a small room for the night. The next morning most of
them were dead. According to some historians, this accident might have been
accidental but the English magnified this incident as atrocity and when this
news reached Madras, Robert Clive immediately started for Calcutta along with
admiral Watson who was incharge of the English Fleet. Clive immediately took back
Calcutta from Siraj ud Daulah.
EFFECTS OF THE BATTLE OF PLASSEY
-
Mir
Jaffer was installed as the Nawab of Bengal for which he had to pay a very
heavy price to Clive
-
He
had to give to the company the zamindars of the 24 Parganas and about 10
million compensation
-
Clive
was made the first governor of Bengal
-
The
British became the paramount power in Bengal and this paved the way for the
conquest of the entire country of India.
THE BATTLE OF BUXAR ***
-
The
misuse of Dastaks – Mir Kasim began to interfere in the companies trade and
this caused a loss to the Nawab’s revenue. To check this evil, the Nawab
abolished the trade duties altogether and due to this the British grew hostile
towards the Nawab.
-
British
interference in the administration of the Nawab – Mir Kasim was given Bengal to
the British not to interfere in administration. Many subordinate British
officers acted as if the Nawab was subordinate to them. Mir Kasim complained
against them but no body payed attention to it.
-
The
British asked the Nawab to impose trade duty which he had already abolished but
on the contrary they had secretly opened negotiations with Mir Jaffer and Mir
Kasim and replaced the former as Nawab
-
The
final trial of strength took place at Buxar which is situated on the banks of ganges
and it was fought on 23rd October 1764. The British took hardly
three hours to occupy Benares and Allahabad. The nawab had to surrender to the
British.
RESULTS OF THE BATTLE OF BUXAR ***
The battle of Buxar had more significant
results than that of Plassey
-
The
battle of Buxar strengthened the British hold on the entire Oudh states besides
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
-
British
became powerful and the Moghul empire was in the hands of the British
-
They
shared a joint rule with the Nawab of Bengal.
DUAL SYSTEM IN BENGAL BY CLIVE
The East India Company became the real master
in the year 1765. Clive the governor general of Bengal introduced the dual
system. Theoretically the internal administration was in the hands of the
British. The company collected the revenue and paid a fixed amount of 32 lakhs
for the expense. This arrangement is known as dual or double government.
According to dual government the British had power without the responsibility
where as the Nawab had the administrative responsibility without the power.
The result was that the poor people were being
crushed between the two masters. In this way the company drained the wealth
from Bengal. They purchased goods at a lower rate and sold them abroad at a
higher rate and this led to a deficit in the Indian markets. Bengal the land of
gold rich and prosperous became a land of the poor. Thus the dual system proved
a curse for the Indians.
In 1770 Bengal suffered from a terrible famine.
It was one of the worst famines in the history of India and its effects were
heightened by the company’s policies and the company paid no attention to it.
LORD WELLESLEY
In order to make the company the permanent
power in India Lord Wellesley adopted the policy of subsidiary alliance. This
system meant that the Indian state was on a subsidized rate. Under this
alliance the native rulers had to agree to the following terms
-
To
accept British supremacy in India
-
Not
to employ any Europeans in services without the permission of the English.
-
To
keep an English army in the empire and pay for its maintenance
-
The
Indian ruler had to house a British resident in the state
-
If
the ruler had a dispute with any other rulers he would not be able to negotiate
without consulting the British.
Lord Wellesley signed his first subsidiary
treaty with the Nizam of Hyderabad.
EFFECTS OF THE SUBSIDARY ALLIANCE
-
Indian
rulers lost the right to self defence
-
The
subsidiary that was demanded from the native ruler was too much
-
The
Indian rulers lost their territories either of part of their subsidiary or
because they were forced to give part of the kingdom as compensation for their
heavy debts with the company.
LORD HASTINGS
Lord Hastings became the governor general in
1813. He criticized imperialistic qualities of Lord Wellesley when he was a
member of the British parliament but when he took over he adopted the same
policy.
THE FIRST ANGLO SIKH WAR
-
The
British were trying to lay their hands on Punjab and therefore they surrounded
the state with British armed forces
-
The
British took advantage of the disorder and chaos that prevailed in Punjab after
the death of Ranjit Singh
-
Major
Proudfoot was appointed and the British agent who declared that the territories
of the Sikhs on the banks of the river Sutlej were under the British
protection. This irritated the Sikhs and they felt that the war with the
British was inevitable.
THE SECOND ANGLO SIKH WAR
The second anglo sikh war was fought at the
time when Dalhousie was the governor general. They were forced to sign the
treaty of Lahore after the first anglo sikh war and this humiliated the Sikhs
with the result that they decided to restore their prestige. Lord Dalhousie
declared war on Punjab and in this way the English suffered heavily. In Jan
1849 the English captured Multan. The Sikhs received help from the Afghan
troops but they were defeated.
India was brought under the control of the
British.
LORD DALHOUSIE ***
Lord Dalhousie, the governor general of India
became the most ambitious ruler who wanted to establish a powerful British
empire in India. At that time there were a number of small states which he
decided to annex and therefore he adopted the policy of Doctrine of Lapse.
MEANING OF THE DOCTRINE OF LAPSE
According to this, when a ruler died without a
legal heir to the throne his empire was annexed by the British and thus it
became the Part of the British empire. On this basis, Dalhousie anneed the
states of Satara, Jaipur, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur and Jhansi.
Lord Dalhousie also refused to recognize the
title of many rulers. He refused to pay their pension. The annexations of the
princely states on the ground of the doctrine lapse created a lot of bitterness
and was responsible for the mutiny of 1857. Many rulers who lost their states
turned against Dalhousie. The soldier and the armies of the annexed states who
became unemployed also joined the mutiny. His rule caused turmoil among all
sections of the people.
FILL IN THE BLANKS
Portugal played an important part in the geographical
discoveries.
Battle of Buxar was fought in the Year
23rd October 1764
Dual system was started by Clive in Bengal
Lord Wellesley introduced the
subsidiary system
Divan Mulraj became the governor of Multan
The Europeans decided to find a new sea route
after the fall of Constantinople.
The war between France and England was known as
Karnatic
After the Battle of Plassey Mir Jaffar
became the Nawab of Bengal
Dual system came to an end when Warren Hastings
came to India.
After the first Sikh war, the Sikhs had to sign
the treaty of Lahore with the British.
In India, vAsco da Gama was received by King
Hinduraja of Zamorine
The Portuguese were the first to land in
India for trading purpose.
The Dutch came from Netherlands.
The British East India Company received
a charter from the Queen of England
The British in India established their
settlement in Surat in 1612.
The permanent land revenue system was
introduced by Lord Cornwallis
The Peshwa Bajirao II accepted the subsidiary
alliance in 1502
Lord Dalhousie followed the policy of Doctrine
of Lapse.
Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism.
Grant Saheb is the sacred book of the Sikhs
The first Afghan war took place in 1538
The Sikhs were defeated by the British in the second
sikh war
Malacca islands were the main center for cloves
The Portuguese came to India in search of Christians
and spices
Balasora was the English settlement in Calcutta
The peace treaty of Aux-la-Chappell was
signed between England and France.
The French East India company was established
at Surat in 1664.
TRUE OR FALSE
Sir Thomas Roe was sent as ambassador at the
court of Jehangir – TRUE
The island of Bombay was given by the British
to the Portuguese – FALSE
The first governor general of the East India
Company was Thomas Smyth – TRUE
The struggle for succession wars was fought
between Chandrasaheb and Mohammad Ali – TRUE
The Portuguese came in search of Christians and
spices to India – TRUE
GIVE ONE WORD FOR
BATABARE – New Sakarta
FORT OF ST GEORGE – first factory
CHARTER OF 1600 – gave the east india company
permission to trade with india
SEIGE OF ARCOT – Robert clive
AUX-LA-CHAPELE – treaty concluded between
France and England.
COLOMBUS – discovered America
DUPLIEX – Governor of Pondicherry
MATCH THE COLUMNS (ANSWERS MATCHED)
Vasco da Gama – discovered India
Treaty of Siganaly – signed with Nepal
Ranjit Singh – ruler of Bengal
Lord Dalhousie – doctrine of Lapse
Dupleix – French Governor
Gerald Aungur – real founder of Bombay
Jehangir – permission to start a factory at
Surat
Thomas Smyth – first English governor
Asaf Jha -Nizam of Hyderabad
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