History · Modern History
Between 1757 and 1856, the British East India Company transformed from a trading enterprise into the paramount power of the Indian subcontinent through military conquest (Bengal, Mysore, Marathas, Sindh, Punjab), diplomatic mechanisms (Subsidiary Alliance, Ring-fence Policy) and administrative tools (Doctrine of Lapse). This topic traces that century-long process of territorial expansion alongside British relations with neighbouring states — Nepal, Burma, Tibet, Afghanistan — and the northwest frontier.
The British imperial history is periodised into two phases: the 'first empire' stretching across the Atlantic towards America and the West Indies, and the 'second empire' beginning around 1783 (Peace of Paris) and swinging towards Asia and Africa. The conquest of India was the centrepiece of this second empire.
Historians have debated whether this conquest was accidental or intentional. John Seeley argued it was made 'blindly, unintentionally and accidentally, in a fit of absent-mindedness' — that the English were unwillingly drawn into Indian political turmoil. The opposing school argues the British came with a clear imperial plan. Judith Brown takes a nuanced middle position: British motives varied by place and time; initially, territory was acquired to protect trade, but later governors worked on a conscious imperial design. B.L. Grover identifies 1798–1818 as the period of openly imperialistic intent under Wellesley and Hastings.
The political process of expansion took nearly a century (1757–1856) to complete — through war, diplomacy, and administrative manipulation.
Superior Arms and Military Strategy: English firearms (muskets and cannons) were superior in speed and range. Indian rulers who imported European arms and hired European officers could only imitate, never innovate. The absence of original military thinking was decisive.
Military and Civil Discipline + Merit-based Selection: English officers and troops received regular salaries and were subject to strict discipline. They were assigned charge on the basis of skill, not caste or heredity. Indian rulers depended on personal retinues, mercenaries and clan-based armies — susceptible to treachery, indiscipline and defection.
Brilliant Leadership with Strong Second Line: Clive, Warren Hastings, Elphinstone, Munro, Dalhousie provided rare strategic leadership. Behind them was a long list of able second-rung commanders (Eyre Coote, Lord Lake, Arthur Wellesley). Indian leaders like Haidar Ali, Tipu Sultan, Mahadji Sindhia and Yashwantrao Holkar were individually formidable but lacked coordinated second-line leadership and — crucially — often fought each other as much as the British.
Financial Strength: The Company's income paid shareholders dividends AND financed wars. England's global trade profits provided vast reserves of money, materials and men, accessible via sea power.
Nationalist Pride: A commercially motivated, nationally proud English people confronted a politically fragmented India with no unified nationalist consciousness — the concept of 'India' as a political unit simply did not exist among Indian rulers.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1757 | Battle of Plassey — British defeat Siraj-ud-daula |
| 1760 | Treaty of 1760 — Mir Kasim replaces Mir Jafar |
| 1764 | Battle of Buxar — British defeat Mir Kasim + Nawab of Awadh + Shah Alam II |
| 1765 | Treaty of Allahabad — Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa granted to EIC |
| 1765–72 | Dual Government in Bengal |
| 1767–69 | First Anglo-Mysore War; Treaty of Madras |
| 1775–82 | First Anglo-Maratha War; Treaty of Salbai (1782) |
| 1780–84 | Second Anglo-Mysore War; Treaty of Mangalore |
| 1790–92 | Third Anglo-Mysore War; Treaty of Seringapatam |
| 1798–1805 | Lord Wellesley as Governor-General; Subsidiary Alliance expanded |
| 1799 | Fourth Anglo-Mysore War; death of Tipu Sultan |
Bengal, the richest Mughal province, covered present-day Bangladesh, Bihar and Odisha. Nearly 60 per cent of British imports from Asia came from Bengal. The English had established factories at Balasore, Hooghly, Kasimbazar, Patna and Dacca from the 1630s; Calcutta was founded by the 1690s. The Company paid Rs 3,000 per annum to the Mughal emperor but exported goods worth over £50,000 annually.
Navabs who ruled Bengal after Murshid Quli Khan (1700–27): Shuja-ud-din (1727–39), Sarfaraz Khan (1739–40, killed by Alivardi Khan), and Alivardi Khan (1740–56), who stopped tribute to the Mughals and fought off the Marathas.
Siraj inherited multiple enemies at age twenty: cousin Shaukat Jang (Nawab of Purnea), hostile aunt Ghasiti Begum, rebellious commander Mir Jafar, and a court opposition group (Jagat Seth, Omichand, Rai Ballabh, Rai Durlabh). The Company's misuse of trade privileges drained his exchequer, they fortified Calcutta without permission, and gave asylum to political fugitive Krishna Das. When Siraj attacked and seized the English fort at Calcutta, open hostility began.
The famous 'Black Hole Tragedy' — 146 English imprisoned in a tiny room, 123 dying of suffocation — is contested by historians who either disbelieve it entirely or say the numbers were far smaller.
Robert Clive arrived from Madras and forged a secret conspiracy with Mir Jafar (who was to be made Nawab), Rai Durlabh, Jagat Seth and Omichand. The deal meant the battle was decided before it began. Siraj's 50,000-strong force was defeated by Clive's far smaller army through the conspiracy of the nawab's own officials. Siraj was captured and murdered on the orders of Mir Jafar's son, Miran.
Significance: Mir Jafar became Nawab and gave the Company large sums plus zamindari of 24 parganas. The battle laid the territorial foundation of the British Empire in India — French rivals were ousted, English military supremacy in Bengal was established, and Clive was posted as a Resident at the Nawab's court. However, no formal change in governance structure occurred yet.
Mir Jafar's increasingly irritated response to Company interference led him to conspire with the Dutch at Chinsura; the Dutch were defeated at Bedara (November 1759). Mir Kasim (Mir Jafar's son-in-law) replaced Mir Jafar via a treaty in 1760: he ceded Burdwan, Midnapur and Chittagong; paid arrears; and promised Rs 5 lakh for Company war costs in the south. Mir Kasim shifted the capital to Munger in Bihar to create distance from Calcutta and reorganised his army.
Conflict erupted over the misuse of dastak (trade pass): Company servants used duty-free privileges for private trade and even sold dastaks to Indian merchants, destroying fair competition. When Mir Kasim equalised duties (abolishing them for all), the British protested — demanding preferential treatment. The tussle led to wars in 1763.
Mir Kasim fled to Awadh and formed a confederacy with Nawab Shuja-ud-daula of Awadh and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. Their combined armies were defeated by Major Hector Munro at Buxar — a closely contested battle. This was more significant than Plassey because the Mughal Emperor himself was defeated, making the English contenders for supremacy over all of northern India.
Robert Clive concluded two treaties at Allahabad:
With Nawab Shuja-ud-daula of Awadh:
With Shah Alam II:
Clive deliberately kept Awadh intact as a buffer state against Afghan and Maratha threats. Shah Alam II became a useful 'rubber stamp' whose farman legalised the Company's political gains — a masterstroke of practical statecraft.
Clive introduced a system where both diwani (revenue collection) and nizamat (police and judicial) functions came under the Company's control, while the appearance of authority remained with the puppet Nawab. Deputy diwans: Mohammad Reza Khan (Bengal) and Raja Sitab Roy (Bihar). The Nawab was responsible for peace but had no real resources or forces — both were controlled by the Company.
The system led to administrative breakdown — neither party cared for governance. Warren Hastings abolished it in 1772.
After the Battle of Talikota (1565) destroyed Vijayanagara, the Wodeyar Hindu dynasty emerged in Mysore (1612). By the 1730s–40s, two brothers — Nanjaraj (sarvadhikari) and Devaraj (dulwai) — had reduced Chikka Krishnaraja Wodeyar II to a puppet.
Haidar Ali (born 1721), uneducated but possessing keen intellect and remarkable energy, started as a horseman in the Mysore army. He assessed India's military landscape accurately: Maratha mobility required swift cavalry; French-trained Nizami artillery demanded counter-artillery; Western arms needed to be matched with Western technology. He set up an arms factory at Dindigul (Tamil Nadu) with French help and introduced Western military training. By 1761, he had become the de facto ruler of Mysore.
He captured Dod Ballapur, Sera, Bednur and Hoskote (1761–63) and subdued the Poligars of South India. Despite defeats to the Marathas under Madhavrao (1764, 1766, 1771), he recovered all lost territory after Madhavrao's death (1772) and raided the Marathas successfully (1774–76).
Background: After Bengal, the English made a treaty with the Nizam (1766) securing Northern Circars in exchange for promising to protect him from Haidar Ali.
Course: The Nizam, Marathas and English allied against Haidar. Haidar paid the Marathas to neutralise them and converted the Nizam into an ally with promises of territory. Haidar and the Nizam then attacked the Nawab of Arcot. After inconclusive fighting, Haidar suddenly appeared before Madras, causing complete panic.
Result: Humiliating Treaty of Madras (April 4, 1769) — exchange of prisoners, mutual restitution of conquests; English promised military aid to Haidar if attacked by any other power.
Background: The English broke their Treaty of Madras promise when Haidar was attacked by the Marathas in 1771. Haidar found the French more useful than the British for military supplies (guns, saltpetre, lead) through their Malabar port of Mahe. When the American War of Independence broke out (French allied against English), Haidar's French friendship alarmed the English, who tried to capture Mahe — which Haidar regarded as under his protection.
Course: Haidar forged an anti-English alliance with the Marathas and Nizam, attacked the Carnatic, captured Arcot, and defeated Colonel Baillie (1781). Sir Eyre Coote detached the Marathas and Nizam from Haidar's side; Haidar then suffered defeat at Porto Novo (November 1781) but regrouped and captured English commander Braithwaite.
Haidar Ali died of cancer on December 7, 1782. His son Tipu Sultan continued the war without decisive outcome.
Result: Treaty of Mangalore (March 1784) — mutual restoration of territories.
Background: Tipu declared war against Travancore after it purchased Jalkottal and Cannanore from the Dutch in Cochin — Cochin being Tipu's feudatory, Tipu regarded this as violation of his sovereign rights. The English sided with Travancore.
Course: Tipu defeated General Meadows (1790). Cornwallis took command (1791), marched through Ambur and Vellore to Bangalore (captured March 1791), then to Seringapatam. With Maratha and Nizam support, the English besieged Seringapatam a second time.
Treaty of Seringapatam (1792): Half of Mysorean territory taken — Baramahal, Dindigul and Malabar to the English; Maratha territories near Tungabhadra; Nizam got areas from Krishna to Pennar. War indemnity of 3 crore rupees — half immediately, rest in instalments for which Tipu's two sons were held as hostages. Cornwallis's comment: 'We have crippled our enemy effectively without making our friends too formidable.'
Background: In 1798, Lord Wellesley became Governor-General. He was alarmed by Tipu's growing French connections. The chargesheet against Tipu: plotting with Nizam and Marathas; sending emissaries to Arabia, Afghanistan, Kabul, Mauritius and Versailles. Wellesley aimed to annihilate Tipu's independent existence through Subsidiary Alliance.
Course: War began April 17, 1799; ended May 4, 1799 with the fall of Seringapatam. Tipu was defeated by General Stuart and General Harris; Arthur Wellesley (Lord Wellesley's brother) also participated. Tipu died fighting bravely; his family was interned at Vellore, treasures confiscated.
Mysore After Tipu: Wellesley offered Soonda and Harponelly to the Marathas (they refused); Nizam got Gooty and Gurramkonda; English took Kanara, Wynad, Coimbatore, Dwaraporam and Seringapatam. The Wodeyar dynasty was restored — minor ruler Krishnaraja III accepted Subsidiary Alliance. In 1831, Bentinck took control on grounds of misgovernance; in 1881, Lord Ripon restored it.
Born November 1750 to Haidar Ali and Fatima. Educated in Arabic, Persian, Kanarese and Urdu. Known as 'Tiger of Mysore'. Organised army on European model with Persian words of command. Pioneer of rocket technology in India — wrote a military manual on rockets. Introduced sericulture to Mysore. Set up Board of Admiralty (1796), planned 22 battleships and 20 frigates; three dockyards at Mangalore, Wajedabad and Molidabad — plans never materialised. Supported the Jacobin Club at Seringapatam (1797), planted the Tree of Liberty, called himself 'Citizen Tipu'. Funded repair of Sringeri Temple after Maratha raid. Mohibbul Hasan argued Tipu fought to preserve his own power, not Indian nationalism — projecting modern nationalism onto the past is historically incorrect.
Bajirao I (1720–40) — considered the greatest Peshwa — created the Maratha confederacy: five prominent families assigned spheres of influence in Shahu's name: (i) Gaekwad of Baroda; (ii) Bhonsle of Nagpur; (iii) Holkars of Indore; (iv) Sindhias of Gwalior; (v) Peshwa of Poona. After the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and the death of Peshwa Madhavrao I (1772), the confederacy's cohesion weakened — chiefs fought each other as often as the British.
Background: After Peshwa Madhavrao's death (1772), his uncle Raghunathrao had nephew Narayanrao assassinated and seized the Peshwaship. The legal heir was the posthumous infant son 'Sawai' Madhavrao, represented by Nana Phadnavis and the Barabhai (twelve Maratha chiefs as regents).
Treaty of Surat (1775): Raghunathrao signed with the Bombay English, ceding Salsette and Bassein for 2,500 English soldiers. The Calcutta Council condemned this and sent Colonel Upton to conclude the Treaty of Purandhar (1776) — renouncing Raghunath and giving him a pension. Bombay rejected this, and war followed.
Course: Maratha general Mahadji Sindhia lured the English into the ghats near Talegaon, trapped them, cut off supplies at Khopali, and applied a scorched-earth policy. The English surrendered at Wadgaon (mid-January 1779) — Treaty of Wadgaon forced Bombay to relinquish all territories acquired since 1775.
Warren Hastings rejected Wadgaon. Colonel Goddard captured Ahmedabad (February 1779) and Bassein (December 1780). Captain Popham captured Gwalior (August 1780). General Camac defeated Sindhia at Sipri (February 1781).
Treaty of Salbai (May 1782, ratified 1782–83): Peace for twenty years. Salsette retained by English; territories since Purandhar (including Bassein) restored to Marathas; Fateh Singh Gaekwad's Gujarat position confirmed; English to give no further support to Raghunathrao; Haidar Ali to return English/Arcot territories; Peshwa not to support any other European nation; Mahadji Sindhia as mutual guarantor.
Background: After Peshwa Madhavrao Narayan's suicide (1795), Bajirao II (worthless son of Raghunathrao) became Peshwa. Nana Phadnavis was his bitter enemy. After Phadnavis's death (1800), the British gained added leverage. On April 1, 1801, Bajirao had Vithuji (brother of Jaswantrao Holkar) brutally murdered. Jaswantrao routed the combined forces of Peshwa and Sindhia at Hadapsar (October 25, 1802). Bajirao fled to Bassein.
Treaty of Bassein (December 31, 1802): Bajirao agreed to: permanently station 6,000+ Company troops in his territories; cede territories yielding Rs 26 lakh revenue; surrender Surat; give up chauth claims on Nizam's dominions; accept Company arbitration with Nizam and Gaekwad; not employ Europeans at war with the English; subject relations with other states to the Company's control. This was acceptance of the Subsidiary Alliance by the Peshwa.
Reduced to Vassalage: Arthur Wellesley defeated the combined armies of Sindhia and Bhonsle. Separate subsidiary treaties: Bhonsle (Treaty of Devgaon, December 17, 1803); Sindhia (Treaty of Surajianjangaon, December 30, 1803); Holkar (Treaty of Rajpurghat, 1806). Jaswantrao Holkar's 1804 attempt to form an all-India coalition failed.
Significance of Treaty of Bassein: The English now had permanent troops in Mysore, Hyderabad, Lucknow AND Poona — giving them strategic coverage across the entire subcontinent.
Background: Lord Hastings sought British paramountcy. The Pindaris (mercenaries attached to Maratha armies) began plundering Company territories when Maratha power weakened; English charged Marathas with sheltering them. Bajirao II made a last bid, rallying the confederacy.
Course: The Peshwa attacked the British Residency at Poona; Appa Sahib of Nagpur attacked Nagpur Residency; Holkar prepared for war. But the Marathas had lost all elements needed for sustained resistance — political confusion, weak leadership (Tulsi Bai, Holkar's favourite, influenced by Balram Seth and Amir Khan), weakened Bhonsle and Sindhia.
Results: Peshwa defeated at Khirki; Bhonsle at Sitabuldi; Holkar at Mahidpur.
In June 1818, Peshwa surrendered — Maratha confederacy dissolved; Peshwaship abolished. Bajirao II became a British pensioner at Bithur near Kanpur. Pratap Singh (lineal descendant of Shivaji) was made ruler of a small principality, Satara.
Seven causes: (i) Inept Leadership — Bajirao II, Daulatrao Sindhia and Jaswantrao Holkar were no match for Elphinstone, John Malcolm and Arthur Wellesley. (ii) Defective Nature of Maratha State — cohesion was artificial, not organic; no sustained programme of education or social unification. (iii) Loose Political Set-up — irreconcilable hostility among the five confederate chiefs; each carved out semi-independent kingdoms; Peshwa's authority was nominal. (iv) Inferior Military System — despite personal valour, the Marathas were inferior in organisation, weapons, discipline and effective command; treachery within weakened further. (v) Unstable Economic Policy — no industries or foreign trade, no stable economic base for sustained military power. (vi) Superior English Diplomacy and Espionage — English isolated enemies, maintained a well-knit spy system; Marathas had no comparable intelligence network. (vii) Progressive English Outlook — English were products of the Renaissance and industrial revolution; Marathas remained medievalist, dominated by priestly caste orthodoxy.
Rise of Talpuras Amirs: In 1783, the Baluch Talpuras tribe, under Mir Fath (Fatah) Ali Khan, established hold over Sindh and exiled the Kallora rulers. After Mir Fath's death (1800), his brothers ('Char Yar') divided the kingdom — calling themselves Amirs (Lords) of Sindh.
Treaty of Eternal Friendship (1809): After the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) between Napoleon and Russia threatened India via land route, Lord Minto sent Nicholas Smith to Sindh. Both sides agreed to exclude the French from Sindh and exchange agents. Renewed in 1820 with exclusion of Americans added.
Treaty of 1832: Under Bentinck, Colonel Pottinger secured: free passage for English traders through Sindh; use of Indus for trade (no warships); no permanent English settlement; alterable tariffs; no military tolls.
Subsidiary Alliance (1839): Under Ellenborough, the Amirs were compelled to station British troops at Shikarpur and Bukkar for Rs 3 lakh annually; debarred from foreign negotiations without Company knowledge; provide storage at Karachi for military supplies; abolish Indus tolls; furnish troops for Afghan war if required.
Annexation (1843): The First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) was fought partly on Sindh soil. The Amirs (who cooperated and paid) were then accused of 'treasonable activities'. Governor-General Ellenborough sent Napier who engineered a war when the Amirs revolted. Sindh was annexed in 1843; Charles Napier became its first governor.
Elphinstone's famous comment on the annexation of Sindh after the Afghan debacle: 'Coming from Afghanistan it put one in mind of a bully who has been knocked in the street and went home to beat his wife in revenge.' Napier himself acknowledged with characteristic candour: 'We have no right to seize Sindh, yet we shall do so, and a very advantageous, useful, humane piece of rascality it will be.'
After Banda Bahadur's defeat and death (1716), the Sikhs reorganised into 12 misls — military brotherhoods with democratic structure. Misl is Arabic for 'equal/alike' or 'state'. The misls ruled Punjab from Saharanpur to Attock (1763–1773). Central administration was based on Gurumatta Sangh — a political, social and economic system. The 12 misls were: Ahluwaliya, Bhangi, Dallewalia, Faizullapuria, Kanhaiya, Krorasinghia, Nakkai, Nishaniya, Phulakiya, Ramgarhiya, Sukarchakiya and Shaheed.
Ranjit Singh (born November 2, 1780) was the son of Mahan Singh of the Sukarchakiya misl. Mahan Singh died when Ranjit was 12. In 1799, Zaman Shah (Afghanistan's ruler) appointed Ranjit Singh as governor of Lahore. By 1805 he had acquired Jammu and Amritsar — political and religious capitals of Punjab. He followed a policy of 'blood and iron' and carved a kingdom in central Punjab.
Treaty of Amritsar (April 25, 1809): Lord Minto sent Charles Metcalfe to Lahore. Ranjit Singh signed the treaty accepting the River Sutlej as the boundary line — giving up his ambition of ruling all Sikhs. He then directed his energies west: captured Multan (1818), Kashmir (1819) and Peshawar (1834). In June 1838, he was compelled to sign the Tripartite Treaty with the English and Shah Shuja but refused passage to British forces through his territory to attack Dost Mohammad. Ranjit Singh died June 1839.
Kharak Singh (legitimate son and successor) was inefficient; died 1839. His son Prince Nav Nihal Singh died accidentally. Sher Singh (another son) was murdered in late 1843. Daleep Singh (minor son) became Maharaja with Rani Jindan as regent and Hira Singh Dogra as wazir. Hira Singh was murdered (1844). New wazir Jawahar Singh (Rani Jindan's brother) was deposed and killed (1845). Lal Singh (Rani Jindan's lover) became wazir; Teja Singh became commander.
Causes: Sikh army crossed the Sutlej (December 11, 1845) — attributed to anarchy in Lahore post-Ranjit Singh; suspicion of British expansionism (Gwalior 1841, Sindh 1843, Afghanistan 1842); growing British troop concentrations near the border.
Course: 20,000–30,000 British troops vs. ~50,000 Sikhs under Lal Singh. Treachery of Lal Singh and Teja Singh caused five successive Sikh defeats: Mudki (December 18, 1845), Ferozeshah (December 21–22, 1845), Buddelwal, Aliwal (January 28, 1846), Sobraon (February 10, 1846). Lahore fell without a fight (February 20, 1846).
Treaty of Lahore (March 8, 1846): War indemnity of 1 crore rupees; Jalandhar Doab (between Beas and Sutlej) annexed; British Resident at Lahore (Henry Lawrence); Sikh army reduced; Daleep Singh recognised as ruler under Rani Jindan. Since the indemnity could not be fully paid, Kashmir including Jammu was sold to Gulab Singh for Rs 75 lakh (Treaty of March 16, 1846).
Treaty of Bhairowal (December 1846): Rani Jindan removed as regent; council of regency of 8 Sikh sardars presided over by English Resident Henry Lawrence.
Causes: Humiliation of the first war; harsh treatment of Rani Jindan (sent to Benares as pensioner). Mulraj (governor of Multan) was replaced over revenue; he revolted and killed two English officers. Sher Singh joined Mulraj, triggering a mass uprising. Lord Dalhousie, a 'hardcore expansionist', used this pretext.
Course: Three key battles — Battle of Ramnagar (under Sir Hugh Gough); Battle of Chillhanwala (January 1849); Battle of Gujarat (February 21, 1849; Sikh army surrendered at Rawalpindi). (Note: Gujarat here is a small town on the banks of River Jhelum, not the state.)
Result: Punjab annexed; Dalhousie received parliamentary thanks and elevation to Marquess; Punjab governed by a three-member board comprising Henry Lawrence, John Lawrence and Charles Mansel. In 1853, the board was replaced and John Lawrence became the first Chief Commissioner of Punjab.
Warren Hastings faced the combined threat of the Marathas, Mysore and Hyderabad. His ring-fence policy aimed at creating buffer zones around Company territories — defending their neighbours' frontiers to safeguard their own. Allies under this system received military assistance against external aggression but at their own expense, maintaining subsidiary forces commanded by Company officers. Awadh was the primary ring-fence state — its defence was Bengal's defence.
The subsidiary alliance was the ring-fence brought to institutional perfection. Under it:
Origins: Dupleix first gave European troops on hire to Indian rulers. Awadh signed the first proto-subsidiary treaty in 1765. Cornwallis added the clause prohibiting foreign relations in the 1787 treaty with the Nawab of Carnatic. Wellesley made it a general system.
Four Stages of Evolution:
Effects on Indian rulers: Lost independence while buying security; lost revenue paying for British troops; became weak and irresponsible; subjects exploited; oppressive rulers protected from deposition by the British.
States which accepted the Subsidiary Alliance:
Sidney Owen's assessment: 'Wellesley converted the British Empire in India to the British Empire of India.'
The doctrine stated that if a ruler died without a natural male heir, the state 'lapsed' to the British — the adopted son could inherit private property but NOT the state. Though claimed to be based on Hindu law, the law was inconclusive on this point, and historical precedents were rare.
Though associated with Dalhousie, he was not its originator — the Company had applied similar logic in petty Cis-Sutlej states in 1820. Dalhousie differed from predecessors in principle: while earlier governors avoided annexation if possible, Dalhousie annexed if he could do so legitimately.
States annexed under Doctrine of Lapse:
In 8 years (1848–56), Dalhousie annexed ~quarter million square miles of Indian territory.
Annexation of Awadh (1856): The oldest surviving Subsidiary Alliance state. The people suffered heavy taxes, illegal exactions, and chronic bankruptcy from high British subsidiary troop charges. Dalhousie sent Resident Sleeman to inspect; his report and successor Outram's report described anarchical conditions. Dalhousie preferred permanent British administration with Nawab retaining titles, but the Court of Directors ordered full annexation (1856). Nawab Wajid Ali Shah refused to sign, was exiled to Calcutta. This was a political blunder — a major cause of the Revolt of 1857.
Bhutan raided Assam and Bengal; treated British envoy badly (1863–64). British took back passes and stopped Bhutan's allowance. In 1865, Bhutan surrendered passes in return for an annual subsidy — the surrendered district later became productive tea garden territory.
Gorkhas expanded southward from Nepal. The English annexed Gorakhpur (1801). Conflict arose over Gorkha capture of Butwal and Sheoraj (under Lord Hastings). The Treaty of Sagauli (1816) ended the Anglo-Nepalese War:
Benefits to British: empire reached the Himalayas; better trade access to Central Asia; hill stations like Shimla, Mussoorie and Nainital; Gorkha soldiers joined the British Indian Army in large numbers.
Three wars led to complete annexation of Burma by 1885:
First Burma War (1824–26): Burmese expansion westward (Arakan, Manipur) and threat to Assam triggered war. British occupied Rangoon (May 1824); reached within 72 km of capital Ava. Treaty of Yandabo (1826): Burma paid 1 crore rupees war compensation; ceded coastal provinces of Arakan and Tenasserim; abandoned claims on Assam, Cachar and Jaintia; recognised Manipur as independent; accepted British Resident at Ava.
Second Burma War (1852): Lord Dalhousie's commercial imperialism — British merchants wanted timber from upper Burma and deeper market access. British occupied Pegu (the only remaining coastal province).
Third Burma War (1885): Burmese king Thibaw hostile from the start; negotiating commercial treaties with France, Germany and Italy; French planned rail link from Mandalay. A humiliating fine was imposed on a British timber company. Dufferin ordered invasion and annexation of upper Burma in 1885. Burma was subsequently separated from India in 1935 to weaken Burmese-Indian nationalist cooperation. Burma became independent on January 4, 1948.
Tibet was under nominal Chinese suzerainty but real Russian influence at Lhasa was growing. Curzon (Viceroy, 1899–1905) sent Colonel Younghusband with a Gorkha contingent. Tibetans offered non-violent resistance; Younghusband pushed into Lhasa (August 1904) while the Dalai Lama fled.
Treaty of Lhasa (1904): Tibet to pay indemnity of Rs 75 lakh (one lakh/year); India to occupy Chumbi Valley for 75 years as security; Tibet to respect Sikkim frontier; trade marts at Yatung, Gyantse and Gartok; Tibet could grant no concessions (railways, roads, telegraphs) to foreign states without British oversight.
Revised on Secretary of State's insistence: indemnity reduced to Rs 25 lakh; Chumbi Valley evacuated after 3 years (actually January 1908). China ultimately benefited as the Anglo-Russian Convention (1907) required both powers to negotiate Tibet only through Chinese mediation.
Three distinct policy phases governed British Afghanistan relations:
1. Forward Policy of Auckland (1836–42): Concerned about Russian expansion after Treaty of Turkomanchai (1828), Auckland advocated direct intervention. Afghan Amir Dost Mohammed wanted British help to recover Peshawar from Sikhs — refused by British. Dost Mohammed turned to Russia and Persia. The Tripartite Treaty (1838) — between British, Sikhs and Shah Shuja (former Afghan ruler, living as British pensioner at Ludhiana) — aimed to replace Dost Mohammed with the more compliant Shah Shuja.
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42): British entered Kabul triumphantly (August 1839). Most tribes bribed. Dost Mohammed surrendered (1840); Shah Shuja installed. But Shah Shuja was unacceptable to Afghans; as soon as British withdrew, Afghans rebelled and killed the garrison commander. British signed treaty (1841) agreeing to evacuate and restore Dost Mohammed. A new British expedition re-occupied Kabul (September 1842) but then evacuated, recognising Dost Mohammed as independent Amir. Cost: 1.5 crore rupees and ~20,000 men.
2. Masterly Inactivity (John Lawrence, 1864–69): Reaction to Afghan War disaster — self-reliance, self-restraint, defence not defiance, no interference. Even when Dost Mohammed died (1863), Lawrence did not interfere. He cultivated friendship with Sher Ali who established himself on the throne.
3. Proud Reserve (Lytton, 1876–80): Lytton (Conservative nominee, Benjamin Disraeli's viceroy from 1876) wanted 'scientific frontiers' and safeguarded 'spheres of influence'. Sher Ali wanted neutrality between Russia and Britain; refused British envoy at Kabul while having accepted a Russian one. Lytton invaded. Sher Ali fled; Treaty of Gandamak (May 1879) signed with Yakub Khan: Amir's foreign policy under Government of India advice; permanent British resident at Kabul; annual subsidy. Yakub abdicated under popular pressure; British re-occupied Kabul and Kandhar. Abdur Rahman became the new Amir. Ripon adopted a policy of Afghanistan as a buffer state.
Durand Agreement (1893): The British occupation of Hunza and Nagar in Gilgit (1891–92) alarmed Abdur Rahman. A compromise boundary — the Durand Line — was drawn between Afghan and British territories. Tribal uprisings continued. Curzon (1899–1905) withdrew British troops from advanced posts, replaced by tribal levies. He created the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) directly under Government of India (previously under Punjab lieutenant-governor). NWFP was constituted as a governor's province in 1932; has belonged to Pakistan since 1947.
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This chapter covers Background / Context, Causes of British Success in India, Chronology / Timeline, British Conquest of Bengal, Mysore's Resistance to the Company. It is organized as revision-ready notes followed by a linked practice quiz.
For Empire by Design: How the British Extended and Secured Their Indian Dominion, focus on definitions, dates, places, institutions, distinguishing features, and factual comparisons in the chapter. Then use the quiz to check recall and identify gaps.
Use the Empire by Design: How the British Extended and Secured Their Indian Dominion chapter headings to organize an answer framework. Connect causes, consequences, comparisons, examples, and evidence wherever the notes provide them instead of memorizing isolated facts.
| 1802 |
| Treaty of Bassein — Peshwa accepts Subsidiary Alliance |
| 1803–05 | Second Anglo-Maratha War |
| 1809 | Treaty of Amritsar — Ranjit Singh accepts Sutlej boundary |
| 1816 | Treaty of Sagauli — Anglo-Nepalese War settled |
| 1817–19 | Third Anglo-Maratha War; Maratha confederacy dissolved |
| 1824–26 | First Anglo-Burmese War; Treaty of Yandabo |
| 1838 | Sindh becomes British protectorate |
| 1839 | Sindh accepts Subsidiary Alliance |
| 1839–42 | First Anglo-Afghan War |
| 1843 | Conquest and annexation of Sindh under Ellenborough |
| 1845–46 | First Anglo-Sikh War; Treaty of Lahore + Treaty of Bhairowal |
| 1848–56 | Lord Dalhousie — Doctrine of Lapse applied; 8 states annexed |
| 1848–49 | Second Anglo-Sikh War; annexation of Punjab |
| 1852 | Second Anglo-Burmese War |
| 1856 | Annexation of Awadh on grounds of misgovernment |
| 1865 | Bhutan surrenders passes; receives annual subsidy |
| 1879 | Treaty of Gandamak after Second Anglo-Afghan War |
| 1885 | Third Anglo-Burmese War; Burma annexed |
| 1893 | Durand Agreement — boundary between British India and Afghanistan |
| 1904 | Treaty of Lhasa — Anglo-Tibetan relations settled |