India before colonization began India in 1707 – After the death of Aurangzeb.
Mughals after Aurangzeb
1707 – Aurangzeb dies.
– Battle of Jajau, between Aurangzeb’s two eldest sons – won by Bahadur Shah I.
1709 to February 1712 – Bahudur Shah I.
Originally known as Prince Muazzam.
Succeeded to the throne at 63 years of age, after a two-year-long war of
succession.
• Bahadur Shah I followed a policy of compromise, pardoning all nobles who had
supported his dead rivals and granting them appropriate postings.
• Forced to follow a policy of settlement with the Rajputs (especially the Raja
of Amber) and Jats (Raja Churaman Singh).
• Maratha prince – Shahu – was released from Mughal captivity.
• However, the Marathas kept fighting amongst themselves and against the Mughals
in the Deccan.
• Bahadur Shah attempted to make peace with the Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh.
• After his death, the Sikhs once again rose in revolt in Punjab under the
leadership of Banda Singh Bahadur.
In response, Bahadur Shah himself led a campaign against the rebels.
Practically the entire territory between the Sutlej and the Yamuna rivers (the
immediate vicinity of Delhi) was soon under Sikh control.
• The Sikh movement was an open challenge to Mughal royalty.
Banda adopted the title of Sacha Badshah (“True King”),
Started a new calendar, and Issued coins bearing the names of Guru Nanak and
Guru Gobind.
• The forces of Bahadur Shah I could not crush the Sikh movement.
• Only pushed the Sikhs from the plains, back to the Himalayan foothills.
Bahadur Shah I died in 1712.
March 1712 to February 1713 – Jahandar Shah.
Introduced the izara system to improve the financial condition of the Empire.
Abolished Jaziya tax on non-Muslims.
1713 to 1719 – Farrukhsiyar.
Killed Jahandar Shah with the help of the Sayyid brothers.
In 1715, Banda Bahadur and his followers were captured by the Mughal governor
of Punjab.
Executed in Delhi.
Ended the chance of an autonomous non-Mughal state in Punjab.
Farrukhsiyar convinced Aurangzeb’s top general Asaf Jah I to come out of
retirement.
Made Mughal Viceroy of the Deccan with the title of Nizam ul-Mulk (Regulator of
the Realm) Fateh Jung.
1717 – Farrukhsiyar gives farmans to the British mission led by John Surman.
Called Magna Carta of the East India Company.
IMPACT:
In Bengal – exemption of customs duties for the East India Company’s imports
and exports.
– Only an annual payment of ₹3000 to the Mughal Emperor.
– EIC permitted to issue dastaks (passes) to transport goods.
– EIC allowed to rent more lands around Calcutta.
In Hyderabad – EIC already had rights of free trade and that was continued
under the new farmans.
– EIC would pay the prevailing rent for Madras only.
In Surat – EIC to pay ₹10,000 annually.
– All other duties exempted.
Coins of the EIC were to be valid throughout Mughal territories.
Today, you can see them at Indian History Museum, Kolkata.
1719 – The Sayyid brothers removed Farrukhsiyar from the throne, with support
from Maratha Peshwa Balaji Viswanath.
– Later blinded and killed by the Sayyid brothers.
1719 – The kingmakers – Sayyid brothers – placed Rafi-udDarajat and
Rafi-ud-Daula (Shah Jahan II) on the throne for brief periods.
1719 to 1748 – Muhammad Shah ‘Rangeela’.
Killed the Sayyid brothers with the help of Nimaz-ulMulk.
1721 – Nizam-ul-Mulk made Grand Wazir, tries to reform the corrupt Mughal Court.
1723 – In order to curtail his growing power, Muhammad
Shah transfers him to Awadh, from the court of Delhi.
The Nizam rebels against the transfer order and marches towards the Deccan.
1724 – Battle of Sakhar-kheda.
– The Nizam defeats the Mughal forces.
– Title of Asaf Jah given by the Mughal Emperor.
– Nizam Asaf Jah I rules Hyderabad as a de facto independent state, but formal
independent state of Hyderabad not announced.
1728 – Battle of Palkhed.
– Nizam Asaf Jah I defeated by the Marathas under Baji Rao I.
1737 – Peshwa Baji Rao I invades Delhi with 500 cavalrymen.
The Marathas now completed their northwards expansion, and overran Malwa,
Gujarat, and Bundelkhand.
Mughal governors of Bengal, Awadh, and Punjab became practically independent
and refused to pay tribute to Delhi.
1738 – Emperor of Iran – Nader Shah invades India and conquers Lahore.
1739 – Battle of Karnal (110 km northwest of Delhi).
– A massive Mughal contingent (total 3 lakh war camp, 75k soldiers deployed in
battle) was led by Muhammad Shah – 25km in length and 3 km in width.
– The obsolete Mughal artillery was routed by Nader Shah’s modernized army.
– Mughal army defeated within 3 hours.
Battle of Karnal
• 30 thousand residents of Delhi were massacred by Nader Shah’s troops,
following the Battle.
• Huge plunder looted.
• Nader Shah took away the Peacock Throne with him to Iran (the legendary
Kohinoor diamond was embedded in the Peacock Throne). Nader Shah gained all
Mughal territories west of the Indus.
1747 to 1767 – Invasions of the Mughal Empire by Ahmed Shah Abdali (Durrani king
of Afghanistan, after Nader Shah’s death).
1748 to 1754 – Ahmed Shah became the Mughal ruler, after Muhammad Shah.
– Incompetent ruler.
– Affairs of the government run by Qibla-i-Alam or Queen Mother Udham Bai, along
with her eunuch lover Javid Khan.
1754 – Ghazi ud-din Khan Feroze Jung III (Imad ul-Mulk), the teenage grandson of
Nizam ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I, blinded, imprisoned and murdered Mughal Emperor Ahmed
Shah. **Feroze Jung III was also the Mughal subedar of Assam before this, and
was said to be allied with the Marathas.
1754 to 1758 – Alamgir II.
He was the son of Emperor Jahandar Shah.
After killing Ahmed Shah, Feroze Jung III made Alamgir II puppet Emperor.
1759 – Alamgir II killed on the orders of Feroze
The Marathas
• After the death of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s sons Sambhaji (executed by Aurangzeb)
and Rajaram, Rajaram’s widow Tarabai continued the resistance.
• Tarabai ruled in the name of her son Shivaji II.
• Shambhaji’sson Shahu had been captured at a young age by the Mughals.
Released by Bahadur Shah I in 1708, in hopes of sparking a conflict in throne
accession, in the Maratha ruling family.
The Royal House of Shivaji (Bhonsle Chhatrapatis) Descended Descent later from
claimed from Yadavas of Devagiri Ranas of Mewar Shahji Shambhaji Shivaji Takabai
Rulers of Tanjore
Continued…
Shivaji (died in 1680) Shambhaji I (died 1688) Yesubai Shahu Ji (Died 1749)
Tarabai Shivaji II Adoption RajaRam II Shahu II
Rulers of Satara
RajaRam (died 1700)
Rajasbai Shambhaji II
Rulers of Kolhapur
Marathas at the death of Chhatrapati Shivaji, 1680.
• Maratha general – Senapati Dhanaji Jadhav was sent by Tarabai to attack Shahu,
accusing him to be a Mughal agent.
• Dhanaji sent his right-hand man – Balaji Vishwanath – to meet Shahu in secret
and verify his companions.
• Balaji persuaded Dhanaji to support the cause of Shahu.
• Instead of attacking Shahu, Dhanaji declared him to be the rightful heir to
the Maratha throne.
1711 – After the death of Dhanaji, his son Chandrasen defected to Tarabai, out
of jealousy for Balaji’s growing power.
• To counter this faction, Shahu made Balaji the Senakarte or organiser of
Maratha armies.
1712 – Balaji conspired and deposed Tarabai and her son Shivaji II from the
throne of Kolhapur.
– He brought Rajaram’s other widow Rajasbai to power, and installed her son
Shambhaji II on throne of Kolhapur.
– Kolhapur (a branch of the Bhonsle dynasty) brought under the subordination and
protection of Shahu.
The Angria clan maintained a fleet of warships near Kolaba.
Allied to the Marathas.
Their ships a threat to the Portuguese bases at Goa,
Bassein and Daman, and also the English.
• However, Tarabai’s ally – Maratha Admiral Kanhoji Angre rebelled against
Shahu, and marched towards his capital Satara.
Balaji managed to negotiate with Angre by appealing to his Maratha patriotism,
and convinced him to become Shahu’s Admiral (Sarkhel).
They combined forces to defeat the Muslim Siddis of Janjira.
Marathas captured most of the Konkan coast, as a result.
1713 – Following this success, Balaji Vishwanath appointed Peshwa by Shahu.
1713 to 1720 – Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath
6 th Maratha Peshwa, and first hereditary Peshwa of the Bhat family.
Belonged to a Konkanastha or Chitpavan Brahmin family.
1718 – Balaji negotiated the Mughal Maratha Treaty with the Sayyid brothers.
Mughals to pay chauth (1/4 th revenue) and sardesmukhi (+10% revenue) of the
old Mughal provinces in the Deccan, Gujarat and Khandesh.
Restoration of Shivaji’s conquests in Karnataka.
Shahu would acknowledge nominal overlordship of Mughals, and provide them with
a force of 15,000 cavalry.
Farrukhsiyar refused to ratify the treaty, as a result of which, the Sayyid
brothers (supported by Balaji and his guards) murdered him.
• The next Mughal Emperor – Rafi-ul-Darjat ratified the Maratha treaty.
• The Mughals recognized Shahu and his successors as the rightful heirs to
Chattrapati Shivaji.
**The Mughals became a puppet government of Marathas (in Deccan)
1720 to 1740 – Baji Rao I was appointed Peshwa after his father Balaji’s death.
Took the Marathas on the offensive in northern India.
1725 – Nizam Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad sent an army and cleared out Maratha chauth
collectors from the Carnatic region.
The Nizam invaded Pune and installed Sambhaji II on the throne, as a challenge
to Chhatrapati Shahu.
The Nizam plundered Loni, Pargaon, Patas, Supa and Baramati, using his
artillery.
1727 – Baji Rao began a retaliatory guerilla attack on the Nizam’s new
territories, with the help of Malhar Rao Holkar, Ranoji Shinde and the Pawar
brothers.
1728 – Battle of Palkhed (near Aurangabad).
– Maratha troops led by Baji Rao I defeated the Nizam.
Nizam forced to sign Treaty of Mungi Shevgaon.
Recognised Shahu as the Maratha king and his right to collect taxes in the
Deccan.
Baji Rao I now sent a large army under his brother Chimaji Appa, to wrest Malwa
from the Mughals.
Mughal forces defeated in the Battle of Amjhera (1728).
Marathas reached up to present day Rajasthan by 1729.
1730 – Baji Rao I saved Chhatrasal of Bundelkhand from the Mughal forces, and
drove Mughals out of Bundelkhand.
1730 – Maratha troops pressured the Mughal province of Gujarat, into paying
chauth.
1732 – Battle of Mandsaur
Maratha troops under Malhar Rao Holkar and Ranoji Scindia defeat Raja Jai Singh
II of Amber.
Marathas allowed to collect chauth from Malwa’s 28 parganas.
** Note that Raja Jai Singh II (Jaipur monarch) was appointed governor of Malwa
by the Mughal Emperor.
India in 1730
The Bhonsles of Nagpur gained de facto control over Orissa.
Bengal Nawabate extended up to Arakan province of Burma.
1733 to 1734 – Conflict between Marathas and Siddis of Janjira.
After battles with Chimaji’s troops, Siddis confined to Janjira, Gowalkot and
Anjanvel.
1736 – Baji Rao I visits Rajput courts in Mewar and Jaipur, to convince them to
pay chauth and secure their support to wrest Malwa from the Mughals.
1737 – Battle of Delhi.
– Marathas under Peshwa Baji Rao I invade Delhi in a quick strike, and then
retreat before the larger Mughal Army can arrive from Mathura.
1737 – Battle of Bhopal.
Muhammad Shah had called upon the Nizam to punish the returning Marathas.
Marathas cut off the river Tapi crossing, so that the Nizam’s son Nasir Jung
could not arrive with support.
Baji Rao’s forces besieged Bhopal, where the Nizam was stationed and cut off
all supplies.
1738 – Starving without food, the Nizam was forced to sign the peace treaty of
Doraha.
Malwa was ceded to the Marathas.
The Mughals agreed to pay the equivalent of ₹50,00,000 in reparations.
1739 – Battle of Bassein (Vasai).
Marathas gain Salsette from the Portuguese.
1740 to 1761 – Baji Rao I was succeeded by his son Balaji Baji Rao (a.k.a. Nana
Saheb) as the Peshwa.
During his tenure, the Maratha empire started transforming into a confederacy.
Individual chiefs — such as the Holkars of Indore, the Scindias of Gwalior,
Gaikwads of Baroda and the Bhonsles of Nagpur kingdom — became more powerful.
• During Balaji Baji Rao's tenure, the Maratha territory reached its peak.
• However, most of this expansion was brought about by the individual chiefs.
1741 to 1751 – Maratha invasions of Bengal.
– Annual raids by Bargi troops of Marathas to extract chauth (tribute) from
Bengal.
1751 – Peace treaty with Bengal.
– The Nawab of Bengal was to pay ₹12 lakh chauth to the Marathas, per year.
– ₹32 lakh chauth for as arrears for the preceding years.
– The chauth was paid annually till 1758, when the EIC took over.
– Orissa under de facto Maratha control, with a Maratha appointed governor.
– However, Orissa was de jure part of Bengal, till 1752. Maratha controlled
territories in 1759
1749 – Tarabai returned after the death of Shahu, and installed an imposter
pretending to be her grandson – Rajaram II – as the Chhatrapati.
1750 – Tarabai rebelled against Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao, when he was away
fighting the Nizam, and had Rajaram II arrested in a dungeon.
1752 – Rebellion quelled, with Tarabai recognizing the superiority of the
Peshwa’s office.
• The Peshwa retained Rajaram II as the titular Chhatrapati.
• From here on, the Chhatrapati became a powerless figurehead.
• Real power lay with the Peshwa.
• The Wodeyars of Mysore (a.k.a. Wadiyar dynasty) were a tributary state of the
erstwhile Vijaynagar Empire.
• Became independent with the fall of Vijaynagar in 1565.
• The dynasty reached its peak under Chikka Devaraja (ruled 1673–1704).
Divided the administration into 18 departments (called Chavadis) and introduced
a coherent system of taxation.
Nawabs of Awadh
• Saadat Khan (Burhan-ul-Mulk), a Shia noble had helped Muhammad Shah in the
conspiracy against the Sayyid brothers.
He was awarded with an increased mansab in 1719, as a result.
1721 – Dismissed as Mughal governor of Agra, just after quelling a Jat
rebellion.
1722 – Appointed Nawab Wazir of Awadh.
Saadat Khan – the Burhan ul-Mulk
1739 – After arresting Muhammad Shah and plundering Delhi, Nader Shah made
Saadat Khan the waqil-i-mutaliq (regent who could act independently) of the
Mughal army.
– Died mysteriously, briefly afterwards.
1739 to 1754 – Safdar Jung, second Nawab Wazir of Awadh.
1754 to 1775 – Shuja-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Awadh.
The Nawabs of Bengal
1717 – Farrukhsiyar replaced the system of imperial Mughal viceroys, with
hereditary Nawabs in Bengal.
The Nawab of Bengal ruled as the de facto independent ruler of Bengal, Bihar,
and Orissa.
Issued coins in the name of the Mughal Emperor.
Murshid Quli Khan became the first Nawab (Nasiri dynasty).
Murshid Quli Khan (Nawab Nazim of Bengal) changed the jagirdari system to mal
jasmani.
This later gave birth to the zamindari system, in Bengal.
1740 to 1756 – Alivardi Khan (fourth Nawab of Bengal).
1740 – Battle of Giria: toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Bengal.
Came to power in a military coup financed and masterminded by the rich and
influential Jagat Seth bankers.
1747 – Battle of Burdwan (Bardhaman).
While the Maratha armies were invading from Orissa, the Nawab’s commander Mir
Jafar retreated to Bardhaman, without offering resistance.
Alivardi Khan dismissed Mir Jafar, took control of the Army, defended against
the Marathas and repelled them.
• Alivardi Khan ordered the digging of the “Maratha ditch” around Calcutta.
To protect the city from Maratha Bargi raids.
However, repeated Maratha attacks under Raghoji I Bhonsle of Nagpur, killed
around 4 lakh Muslim Bengalis in western Bengal and Bihar.
This made the Hooghly region Hindu majority, from then onwards.
1749 – Orissa lost to Marathas
1751 – Peace treaty with Marathas.
1757 – Siraj ud-Daula, 5 th Nawab of Bengal.
Alivardi Khan’s grandson.
All historians of the period – Persian, Bengali, Mughal, French, Dutch, or
English – describe him as megalomaniac psychopath, and a serial bisexual rapist.
Launched the Siege of Calcutta, to punish the EIC for their unauthorized
fortifications in Fort William.
EIC briefly driven out of Calcutta, Black Hole tragedy.
Entry of Europeans in India
• India has traded with Europe since the ancient times.
Evidence of trade with ancient Greece, via Persia and Mesopotamia since 1200
BC.
• Interaction with Greeks in pre Mauryan and Mauryan times.
Seen through description of ‘yavanas’ in the Mahabharata, philosopher Pyrrho of
Elis’ visit to India, Alexander’s invasion, and the development of Gandhara art.
• The Roman Empire traded heavily with India, too.
11th Century to 15th Century – Trade is carried on by Italian city states like
Venice, Genoa, Florence, Naples, Pisa, etc.
Like ancient Rome, the Italian city states traded with India, by sailing to the
ports in Levant (present day Israel,Lebanon and Syria), then held by the Eastern
Roman Empire
(capital = Constantinople).
Then they went overland through caravans till the Red Sea or Persian Gulf.
Again sailed to India.
The Mongols held the land caravan routes during this age.
Got rich by collecting tolls from the trade caravans.
The Mongols declined in 1340s, owing to the Black Death pandemic.
14th Century to 15th Century – The Medici bankers revolutionize banking in
Italy, by giving birth to the modern credit system.
This allowed Italian traders to become very rich, through their trade with
Asia.
14th Century – Spain and Portugal trade with western Africa (Mansa Musa of
Mali), after discovery of gold there, and slowly their revenue increases.
1440s – The economic bubble bursts, and global recession follows.
– Europe had little to give in return for expensive Indian spices, Chinese
fabric and SE Asian pottery (often traded through Indian ports).
– Leads to lopsided balance of payments and currency devaluation in Europe.
1453 – The Ottoman Turks put an end to the Eastern Roman Empire and annexed
Constantinople.
The Ottomans controlled the crucial trade routes thereafter.
Blocked Christian Europe from trading through their territories.
The rise of Muslim Ottomans led to panic among the conservative Catholic region
of Iberia.
The Italian city states, however, managed to continue their trade through Egypt
and the Red Sea route, and held geographical advantage on this route – compared
to the rest of Europe.
This gave rise to the Renaissance in Europe.
1487 – Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Dias sailed along the west coast of
Africaand rounded the Cape of Good Hope.
This gave rise to beliefs that an alternate trade route to India could be found
(that would skip the Middle East).
1492 – Christopher Colombus sails westward from Spain,to find an alternate sea
route to India.
– Ends up in the Caribbean instead.
Italian cartographers established (in Europe) the Earth is spherical and not
flat.
1494 – Treaty of Tordesillas.
– Spain and Portugal divide trading in the non-Christian world among themselves.
– Spain was to control everything west of the line.
– Portugal to take the east.
1497 – Portuguese ships under Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon.
– Aim to reach India by sailing along the African coast.
– Vasco takes Gujarati sailors captive from Mombasa, Kenya, and force them to
show him the way to India.
May 1498 – The fleet reaches Calicut (Kozhikode), in Kerala.
– Vasco meets the Hindu ruler Zamorin (Samuthiri), to establish trade relations.
– Rivalry with Arab sailors, who held the tradewith Malabar coast.
– Conflict after Vasco tries to establish Portuguese trade monopoly.
• Earlier, Europe had to buy Indian spices through Arab middlemen.
Hence, more expensive.
With direct access established by Vasco, the prices came down by almost 10
times.
1500 – Portuguese trader Pedro Alvarez Cabral negotiates with the Zamorin and
establishes a factory at Calicut.
– Locals attack the factory, killing many Portuguese.
In the retaliatory attack, Cabral bombarded Calicut with his ships.
Hijacked Arab merchant ships in the Calicut harbour, and killed hundreds of
their crew.
Results in more advantageous treaties for Cabral, with Calicut and Cannanore
(Kannur).
• Portuguese trade with India was an economic threat to Venice.
• Many Venetian statesmen feared that Venice will have to “go back to fishing”
if they lost the trade with India.
Envoys sent by Venice to Muslim Egypt (Mamluk Sultanate) to discuss joint
operations against the Portuguese.
Even visualized the digging of a canal through to the Red Sea (the Suez canal
was constructed centuries later).
1501 – Vasco da Gama’s second voyage to India.
– Zamorin initially refuses to exclude the Arabs from trading with the Malabar.
– Rules out a monopoly in favour of the Portuguese.
– Vasco retaliates ferociously, by attacking Arab ships across the seas. On one
occasion Vasco da Gama himself captured a ship filled with hundreds of Muslims
returning to India after going on pilgrimage to Mecca.
Ignoring the desperately generous offers of those on board to pay a ransom, he
ordered the ship to be set on fire in an act so grotesque that one observer
avowed, ‘I will remember what happened every single day of my life.’ Women
held up their jewellery to beg for mercy from the flames or from the water,
while others held up their infants to try to protect them. Da Gama watched
impassively, ‘cruelly and without any
pity’ as every last passenger and crew member drowned before his eyes.
Portuguese India
• After eliminating his Arab rivals, Vasco da Gama set up a trading factory at
Cannanore.
Calicut, Cannanore and Cochin became important trade centres of the Portuguese.
Obtained permission to build Portuguese forts at these locations on the excuse
of protecting these trade centres.
1505 – Francisco de Almeida appointed Portuguese governor to India.
– Supplied with a military force by the Portuguese king.
– Portuguese attacks on Arab ports of Jeddah, Mecca, Muscat,Qalhat, mosques
burnt to the ground.
• Mamluk Sultans of Egypt in alliance with Venice, try to launch a naval
fightback to stop the Portuguese.
1507 – Combined navies of Mamluk Egypt and the Sultanate of Gujarat defeat the
Portuguese at Diu.
– Almeida’s son killed.
1509 – Battle of Diu.
– Mamluk Egypt + Gujarat Sultanate + Zamorin of Calicut (with outside support
from Venice + Ottomans) versus Potuguese.
Almeida led Portuguese crushed the Asian fleet, marking the beginning of
European dominance in Asian seas.
• Almeida’s vision was to build a network of bases in the Indian Ocean,
connecting back to Lisbon.
Known as Blue Water Policy (cartaze system).
• Alfonso de Albuquerque succeeded Almeida as thePortuguese governor in India.
Completed Almeida’s vision and secured Portuguese strategic control over the
Indian Ocean.
Bases in the mouth of the Red Sea, Socotra (Yemeni island), Ormuz (Persian
Gulf), Malabar, and Malacca (Malaysia).
• Albuquerque introduced a permit system for other ships passing through the
region and extracted tolls from them.
• Also gained control over major ship-building centres in the region.
• The lack of wood in the desert regions of the Middle East, prevented the Arabs
from competing with the Portuguese in rapid shipbuilding.
1510 – Albuquerque acquires Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur.
– Encouraged Portuguese traders in India to take local Goan wives.
– Crafts and factories of coconut coir set up in Goa and Cochin.
– Tobacco, cashewnut and coconut plantations.
– Irrigation networks and roads built.
– Sati abolished.
1526 – Mangalore captured by Portuguese.
Islands off the coast of Udupi renamed to O Padrão de Santa Maria.
Later came to be known as St. Mary's Islands.
1529 – Nino da Cunha appointed governor.
1530 – Portuguese capital in India shifted from Cochin to Goa.
1534 – Treaty of Bassein, signed on Portuguese warship Sao Mateus.
– Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat ceded Bassein island (present day Vasai-Virar,
Palghar district of Maharashtra) to the Portuguese.
– The Bombay islands were to be ruled by the Portuguese.
– Also allowed the Portuguese to build a factory at Diu.
– In return, the Portuguese would support Sultan BahadurShah in his fight
against Mughal Emperor Humayun.
1535 – Instead of a factory, the Portuguese built a fort at Diu.
1536 – Humayun forced to withdraw from Gujarat.
– Sultan Bahadur Shah regains control.
– Relations between Sultan Bahadur Shah and the Portuguese deteriorate.
1537 – Sultan Bahadur Shah tries to negotiate with the Portuguese Army to leave
Diu.
– The Sultan is invited to the Portuguese viceroy’s ship (docked in Diu) for
negotiations, and murdered.
1538 – Siege of Diu.
– Permanent Portuguese occupation since then till 1961.
1546 – Jesuit priest St. Francis Xavier starts the Inquisition in Goa.
– Non-Christians persecuted officially.From 1579 onwards, Numerous Christian
missions were sent to the Mughal court in hopes of converting Emperor Akbar.
• Nino da Cunha tried to gain Portuguese influence in Bengal, by asking many
Portuguese traders to settle at Port Hooghly (Bandel).
1559 – The Portuguese capture Daman.
The Portuguese played a role in the politics of the Deccan, and influenced
battles between:
i) Vijaynagar vs Deccan sultans
ii) Mughals vs Marathas.
1565 – Fall of Vijaynagar.
1570 – Non aggression treaty between Portuguese and Deccan Sultans.
1579 – Mughal imperial farman allows Portuguese trading base at Hooghly in
Bengal (near Satgaon).
Soon new buildings and bases came up in Port Hooghly.
Portuguese monopoly on salt manufacturing.
Duty imposed on trade of tobacco.
Portuguese start slave trading in Bengal, by capturing Hindu and Muslim
children and bringing them up as Christians.
Mughal port of Saptagram (Satgaon) declined because ofPortuguese trafficking.
Mughal port Portuguese held Port Hooghly (Bandel-Chinsurah)
The two ports were only 4.5 km apart Modern day Adisaptagram (former Mughal
port)
1632 – Two maids of Mughal Queen Mumtaz Mahal captured by the Portuguese.
– Shah Jahan lays Mughal siege on Hooghly for 3 months.
– Hooghly captured by the Mughals.
– While the Portuguese were fleeing from the Mughal Army, one of their boats
(which was carrying a statue of Mother Mary) drowned.
– Later, Portuguese priests appealed to Shah Jahan to allow them to reestablish
the drowned idols.
– Shah Jahan granted them a plot of land, where the Bandel Church was built and
the statues established.
– Mughal favours to the Portuguese ended forever, who shifted alliances to the
English now.
Bandel Church
1661 – Bombay ceded to Britain, as part of the Portuguese Princess Catherine of
Braganza's dowry to Charles II of England.
1739 – Battle of Bassein.
– Bassein and other territories lost to the Marathas.
1779 – Dadra and Nagar Haveli annexed by Portuguese.
1799 to 1813 – Goa occupied by British East India Company.
1843 – Capital shifted from Velha Goa to Nova Goa (Panjim). Portuguese India
The Dutch
1594 – The Dutch Company of Distant Lands – Compagnie van Verre is established.
– Aimed to break Portugal’s monopoly on pepper trade. Admiral Jacob Corneliszoon
van Neck of the Dutch Compagnie Van Verre returned from Indonesia with a vast
cargo of spices –
800 tons of pepper, 200 tons of cloves and Vast quantities of cinnamon and
nutmeg.The voyage made an unprecedented 400% profit.
1602 – United East India Company – Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) is
established.
– The company’s model was the precursor to the modern corporate firm.
– The Company is allowed by the Dutch government to wage war, sign treaties,
hold foreign territory, and constructforts.
VOC merchant Ships
1605 – First Dutch factory at Masulipatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
1609 – Factory at Pulicat.
1616 – Factory at Surat.
1640 – Obtained the port of Galle, Sri Lanka.
1641 – Factory at Bimlipatam.
1645 – Factory at Karaikal.
1653 – Factory at Chinsurah.
1658 – Factories at Baranagar, Kasimbazar (Murshidabad), Balasore,
Patna, and Nagapatnam.
Dutch posts **Chuchura is Bengali for Chinsurah.
Located besideBandel.
VOC factory at Chinsurah, Hooghly.
• The Dutch carried on profitable trade through Mughal Bengal.
• Silver and copper from Japan was used to trade with Mughal India and Qing
China, for spices, textiles and porcelain.
• The Dutch posed a threat to the Portuguese, and captured Nagapatnam from them.
• They expelled the Portuguese from the coastal regions, by 1659.
This secured Dutch monopoly over cinnamon.
The VOC went on to conquer the entire Malabar Coast from the Portuguese,
driving them from the west coast of India.
1663 – Treaty of Hague.
– Peace agreement between Portugal and the Netherlands.
– At this point, Goa was the only remaining Portuguese city on the west coast.
1663 – Factory at Cochin.
1669 – VOC became the richest private company in world history till then.
– VOC then had over 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees, a private
army of 10,000 soldiers, and a dividend payment of 40% on the original
investment.
1672 to 1674 – Third Anglo Dutch War.
– Dutch victory.
– EIC ships returning to Britain from India, are captured by the Dutch.
However, this war temporarily disrupted VOC’s Asian trade.
Caused the British EIC to enter the India trade more aggressively.
French Compagnie des Indes Orientales also enters the competition.
1710 – Treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut, giving the VOC monopoly in the
Malabar spice trade, and expelling other European traders.
1715 – EIC convinces the Zamorin to renounce the treaty.
– Trade resumes with other European countries.
– Upsurge in English and French traffic.
1721 – VOC decides to scale down strategic control of the Malabar, owing to the
costs.
– Gives up the trade monopoly.
– Advantage British East India Company.
1741 – Travancore Dutch War.
– Travancore Maharaja Marthanda Varma had captured the small Malabar city states
(like Kollam), with whom the Dutch had trade contracts.
– VOC defeated in the Battle of Colachel.
In the peace treaty, the VOC was made to pay duty on trade in Travancore.
VOC would also help to modernise Travancore army and support them in wars
against the Nawab of Carnatic.
VOC surrenders to the Maharaja Travancore.
1759 – Battle of Chinsurah.
– VOC arrived to attack the British EIC, on being invited by MirJafar (the Nawab
of Bengal).
– VOC defeated and forced to withdraw.
1780 to 1784 – Fourth Anglo Dutch War.
– VOC financially ruined.
1799 – VOC dissolved.
– Most of the former territories of the VOC occupied by the British during the
Napoleonic Wars.
– The nationalised Dutch company focused on trade in Indonesia and pulled out of
India
The British in India
• The Portuguese and the Dutch dominated the spice trade with Asia in the 16th
Century.
• Britain was a relatively poor European nation back then.
1553 – The Muscovy Company (a.k.a. the company of Merchant Adventurers to New
Lands) is established.
– Aimed to find a sea route to India via the Arctic and Russia, in order to be
free from Portuguese rivalry.
– Became world’s first joint stock company.
– Idea derived from medieval merchant guilds that pooled resources together,
instead of a single owner.
– Soon realized that no northern sea route existed.
1560s onwards – British pirates (buccaneers) like Sir Francis Drake make huge
profits by raiding Spanish and Portuguese trade ships.
1577 to 1580 – Drake circumnavigates the globe.
– Sets the tone for British exploration.
1591 – Sir James Lancaster undertakes first British sea voyage to the Indian
Ocean, by sailing round the African coast.
1593 – Crossed Kanyakumari in India, and finally reached Malaysia.
1600 – Royal Charter granted to the ‘Governor and Company of Merchants of London
trading to the East Indies’.
Later known as East India Company (EIC).
Freedom from all customs duties for their first six voyages,
The Company also had a British monopoly for 15 years over ‘trade to the East
Indies’.
This vaguely defined term (area) was soon taken to include all trade and
traffic between the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Magellan (southern tip
of South America).
East India House, London
• The ambiguous wording gave the EIC semi-sovereign privileges to rule
territories and raise armies.
This also allowed future generations of EIC officials to:
claim jurisdiction over all English subjects in Asia, mint money, raise
fortifications, make laws, wage war, conduct an independent foreign policy,
hold courts, issue punishment,
imprison English subjects and plant English settlements.
• In the initial years, owing to the competition, the British company did not
have much success, compared to the Dutch.
1609 – British monopoly for the EIC extended indefinitely.
– Dutch start focusing on spice trade in Indonesia.
– The EIC now looks to establish textiles trade with India.
1609 – Sir William Hawkins at the court of Jahangir.
– Fails to get permit for a factory at Surat, owing to Portuguese influence in
the Mughal court.
1611 – Trading post at Masulipatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
1612 – Battle of SUVALI/SWALLY
The EIC’s fleet led by Captain Thomas Best defeats the Portuguese, off the coast
of Surat.
1613 – Jahangir grants permit for a factory at Surat.
1615 to 1619 – Sir Thomas Roe ambassador for Britain at Jahangir’s court.
– Gained permission for factories at Agra, Ahmedabad and Broach (Bharuch).
1616 – Factory at Masulipatnam.
• The EIC directors realized that they could not fight the natives, like the
Spanish had done with the Aztecs, or the Dutch in Malaysia.
1632 – Mughal armies routed the Portuguese at Port Hooghly, on accusations of
building unauthorized forts, religious conversions and slave trading.
The British thereafter decided to pursue a policy of acquiring trade permits
from the Mughals and other Indian kingdoms.
1632 – ‘Golden Farman’ from the Sultan of Golconda.
– Free trade in the ports of the Golconda Sultanate, for an annual fee of 500
pagodas (gold coins).
1633 – Factories at Balasore and the Mahanadi Delta.
1638 – Factory at Hooghly, Bengal.
1639 – Ruler of Chandragiri grants permission to build a fortified factory at
Madras.
– Later known as Fort St. George.
– It replaced Masulipatnam as the headquarters of the British settlements in
south India.
1651 – Permit for free trade in Bengal, on an annual fee of ₹3,000.
Fort St. George
• More factories slowly came up at Hooghly, Kasimbazar,Patna and Rajmahal.
However, despite the free trade permit, Mughal customs officers extracted tolls
and bribes from the Company’s trade.
To ensure ease of business, the EIC now developed a policy of building forts in
Hooghly, in order to raise forces.
1662 – Portugal hands over Bombay as dowry for Princess Catherine, to King
Charles II of Britain.
– Mutual non-aggression between Portuguese and British.
1668 – Bombay leased to the EIC, for an annual rent of £10.
1687 – Bombay replaces Surat as the as the headquarters of the Western
presidency.
1682 – William Hedges, first governor of the EIC in Bengal.
– Obtained ‘farman’ from Aurangzeb, to do business forever in Bengal.
– Massive British investment in Bengal.
– Bengal separated from the Madras Residency.
– Fortifications in Bengal, and first British soldiers on the soil of Bengal.
Led to conflict with the local zamindars and chiefs.
1686 – Hooghly sacked by the Mughals.
1686 to 1689 – Series of battles between the EIC and Mughals.
EIC wanted to build fortifications, to “protect” their factories in Bengal.
Wanted to maintain their own force, in order to ensure ease of doing business,
and enforce monopolies.
Mughals saw the forces and fortifications as threat, and attacked and destroyed
the Company’s forts and factories in this period.
1689 – Mughal Navy under Admiral Sidi Yukub attacked Bombay.
1690 – EIC forced to surrender and beg for pardon from Aurangzeb.
The Siddis werebased at Janjira fort
EIC’s bargaining chips:
Mughals were losing revenue from lack of British trade.
With control of the seas, the British were disrupting the Haj pilgrimage to
Mecca.
1690 – Treaty with the Mughals.
– EIC allowed to regain Bombay, after paying a huge fine.
– EIC agent Job Charnock gains permission for the EIC to set up factory at
Sutanuti in Bengal.
1691 – Permit for free trade in Bengal, in return for ₹3000 annual fees.
EIC soldiers apologizing to Aurangzeb “In 1693, less than a century after its
foundation, the Company was discovered to be using its own shares for buying the
favours of parliamentarians, as it
annually shelled out £1,200 a year to prominent MPs and ministers.
The bribery, it turned out, went as high as the Solicitor General, who received
£218, and the Attorney General, who received £545.
The parliamentary investigation into this, the world’s first corporate lobbying
scandal, found the EIC guilty of bribery and insider trading and led to the
impeachment of the Lord President of the Council
and the imprisonment of the Company’s Governor.”
1696 – Sutanati fortified, after conflict with the local zamindar.
1698 – EIC buys zamindari of the 3 villages of Sutanuti, Gobindpur, and Kalikata
(Kalighat), for ₹1200.
– These three villages later became modern Calcutta.
1700 to 1701 – Fort William built at Sutanuti.
– Named after King William III of England.
1701 to 1708 – The British Parliament allows another company to trade in India,
in order to curb the EIC’s monopoly.
However, the other company could not compete, and failed soon.
It was then amalgamated with the EIC, to form the ‘United Company of Merchants
of England Trading to the East Indies.’
1717 – Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar gives farmans to the British mission led by
John Surman.
Called Magna Carta of the East India Company.
IMPACT:
In Bengal – exemption of customs duties for the East India Company’s imports
and exports.
– Only an annual payment of ₹3000 to the Mughal Emperor.
– EIC permitted to issue dastaks (passes) for the transport of goods.
– EIC allowed to rent more lands around Calcutta.
In Hyderabad – EIC already had rights of free trade and that was continued
under the new farmans.
– EIC would pay the prevailing rent for Madras only.
In Surat – EIC to pay ₹10,000 annually.
– All other duties exempted.
Coins of the EIC were to be valid throughout Mughal territories.
In 1750, the EIC only had 3000 troops in India.
1763 = 26,000 troops.
1778 = 67,000 troops.
The EIC’s Navy at Bombay was called Bombay Marines.
The French
1664 – A French company for trading in India – Compagniedes Indes Orientales –
is established.
– Last among all Europeans to arrive in India.
1667 – 1st factory at Surat.
1669 – Factory at Masulipatnam.
1673 – Francis Martin founded Pondicherry.
– Pondicherry became headquarters of French possessions in India.
1673 – Permission from the Mughals to set up a township in Bengal –
Chandernagore.
1693 to 1697 – Brief Dutch occupation of Pondicherry.
The French Company was government run.
Wars in Europe weakened the Company.
1720 – Revived as the ‘Perpetual Company of the Indies.
1740s – Joseph Francis Dupleix becomes Governor General of Pondicherry.
Why did the French fail to compete with the EIC?
• EIC enjoyed support from the British Parliament.
• The relationship between EIC and Westminster grew throughout the 18th century
and became symbiotic.
• Returned EIC officers like Clive used their wealth to buy both MPs and
parliamentary seats – the famous Rotten Boroughs.
• In turn, Parliament backed the Company with state power: the ships and
soldiers that were needed when the French and British East
India Companies trained their guns on eachother.
The Danes
1620 – Established trade settlement in India.
Important Danish settlement in India was Serampore in
Bengal – headquarters in India.
They failed to strengthen themselves in India.
1845 – Left after selling all their settlements to the British.
Serampore, erstwhile
Danish colony
Danish Tavern, at Srirampur today
The Carnatic Wars
A Brief Background
Carnatic = name given by Europeans to the Coromandel coast (Bay of Bengal coast
in South India), and its interior regions.
1740 – Nizam Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad busy in wars against the Marathas.
– The many successors and generals of the old Nizam were already plotting how to
achieve succession to the throne, upon the Nizam’s death.
Mysore (a successor state of the erstwhile Vijaynagar Empire) was to the south
of Hyderabad.
Cochin and Travancore ruled on the Malabar coast.
The Northern Circars were then a part of the Hyderabad Nizamate.
Kingdoms on the East coast:
Madura (Madurai)
Tanjore (a line of the Marathas)
Trichinopoly
Carnatic Sultanate – officially a tributary of the Hyderabad Nizam.
– Capital at Arcot (near Vellore).
The Royal House of Shivaji (Bhonsle Chhatrapatis) Descended Descent later from
claimed from Yadavas of Devagiri Ranas of Mewar Jiyabai Shahji Sambhaji Shivaji
Takabai Rulers of Tanjore
Continued…
• Looking at Hyderabad’s decline, the EIC got ready to expand their territories.
• Tanjore being ruled by a Maratha dynasty, gave Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao and the
greater Maratha Confederacy an excuse to interfere in their politics.
1743 – Siege of Trichinopoly.
– 6 month long siege of Trichinopoly, by the Nizam’s armies.
– Marathas surrendered the fort.
– Nizam gains control over the Carnatic.
– Nizam restricts the activities of the EIC and the French, by limiting their
access to ports and trading.
The English French Rivalry
1740 to 1748 – War of Austrian Succession in Europe.
– France’s ruling Bourbon dynasty were related to the powerful Hapsburg’s of
Austria.
Britainand Hapsburgs of Austria
vs
France, German states (Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony), Spain
• The English and the French were competing with each other to establish their
supremacy in Europe.
Their struggles spilled over to the rest of the world and India.
• To gain superiority in India, both of them used the political turmoil in India
(as a result of the decline of the Mughal Empire) and indulged in internal
politics.
• The Anglo-French rivalry in India was manifested in the Carnatic region,
first.
First Carnatic War
Timeline = 1746 to 1748.
How did it begin?
English Navy captured French merchant ships, to provoke France in Asia (already
War of Austrian Succession was going on).
French were relatively weak in India.
• France led by their governor – Joseph Francis Dupleix – retaliated.
• La Bourdonnais (Governor of Mauritius) brought the French Navy to help.
• English asked for help from Anwaruddin, Nawab of Carnatic (Arcot).
• French asked for help from Chanda Sahib (Brother-in-law of Anwaruddin).
1746 – Battle of St. Thome or Battle of Adyar.
– France vs Nawab Anwaruddin.
– Small French force under Captain Paradise defeats the large army led by Mahfuz
Khan, on the banks of river Adyar.
– Madras captured by the French.
1748 – Treaty of Aix-La Chapelle.
– Madras handed back to the British.
– Britain hands over French territoties in North America.
This war proved:
• The superiority of modernized European armies over Indian troops.
• The importance of a navy, in wars in southern India.
Second Carnatic War
Timeline of the war: 1749 to 1754.
How did it begin?
1748 – Death of Nizam Asaf Jah I.
– Asaf Jah’s son Nasir Jung becomes the new Nizam of Hyderabad.
– Muzaffar Jang (Asaf Jah’s daughter’s son) challenges this accession, claiming
that he has been appointed the viceroy of Deccan by the Mughal Emperor.
1748 – Marathas release Chanda Sahib (brother-in-law of the Nawab of Carnatic)
from captivity, aiming a succession war among their rivals.
– Chanda Sahib challenges the authority of Nawab Anwaruddin of Carnatic.
The French supported Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jang.
The EIC supported Nawab Anwaruddin and Nasir Jung.
FRENCH English
DUPLEIX ROBERT CLIVE
ARCOT CHANDA SAHIB ANWARUDDIN,
Mohammed Ali
HYDERABAD MUZAFFAR JUNG NASIR JUNG
1749 – Battle of Ambur (near Vellore)
– Anwaruddin defeated and killed by the joint forces of the French, Chanda Sahib
and Muzaffar Jung.
– Nasir Jung murdered by a noble.
– French backed Nizam and Nawab succeeded –
Dupleix’s power at its height.
– Anwaruddin’s son Mohammad Ali seeks British support to capture throne of
Arcot.
– EIC loses areas near Pondicherry, areas on the Orissa coast, and Masulipatnam,
to the French.
1751 – Robert Clive captured Arcot in a daring attack, with only 210 men.
– Defended it for 53 days from Chanda Sahib’s 4000 strong army.
1752 – Mysore, Tanjore and Marathas come to support Clive, by attacking Chanda
Sahib and the French at Trichinoply and Kaveripakkam.
– Chanda Sahib defeated and killed at Tanjore.
– Mohammad Ali becomes Nawab of Arcot.
1754 – Dupleix recalled to France, by his bosses.
1754 – Treaty of Pondicherry.
– EIC and French agreed not to interfere in the affairs of the native princes.
– Both European powers will hold their own territories in India.
3rd Carnatic War
Timeline of the war: 1758 to 1763.
1756 to 1763 – Seven Years’ War in Europe.
– Britain and France against each other.
1758 – French Army captured EIC’s forts at Vizianagram and St. David.
– EIC retaliated by drowning French ships at Masulipatnam.
• EIC defeats French and expels them from Bengal
(Chandernagore, Kasimbazar, Balasore).
Chandernagore is bombarded and completely destroyed.
1759 – EIC capture Northern Circars from the Hyderabad Nizam (Masulipatanam).
1760 – Battle of Wandiwash (Vandavasi in TN).
– French defeated heavily.
1761 – EIC captures Pondicherry.
1763 – Treaty of Paris.
– French allowed to retain factories in Pondicherry and Chandernagore but no
military expansion further.
– French power demolished in India.
**Even after the wars, French tried to limit English dominance by helping
anti-company rulers like Tipu Sultan but they ultimately failed.
Causes of France’s failure
1. Commercial and naval superiority of the English.
2. Lack of support from the French government.
3. French had support from locals only in the Deccan but the English had a
strong base in Bengal.
4. English had three important ports – Calcutta, Bombay and Madras but French
had only Pondicherry.
5. Difference of opinion between the French Generals.
6. England’s victory in the European wars decided the destiny of the French in
India.
Importance
• Fighting on foreign soil
• Meddling in Internal affairs
plassy and buxar
• In the first half of the 18th Century, the East India Company was establishing
itself firmly in Bengal.
• Bengal was rich and fertile province, with a lot of riverine ports.
• EIC trade was especially profitable in Bengal.
1696 – Sutanati fortified, after conflict with the local zamindar.
1698 – EIC buys zamindari of the 3 villages of Sutanuti, Gobindpur, and Kalikata
(Kalighat), for ₹1200.
– These three villages later became modern Calcutta.
1700 to 1701 – Fort William built at Sutanuti.
– Named after King William III of England.
1717 – Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar gives farmans to the British mission led by
John Surman.
Called Magna Carta of the East India Company.
IMPACT:
In Bengal – exemption of customs duties for the East India Company’s imports
and exports.
– Only an annual payment of ₹3000 to the Mughal Emperor.
– EIC permitted to issue dastaks (passes) for the transport of goods.
– EIC allowed to rent more lands around Calcutta.
The Nawabs of Bengal
1717 – Farrukhsiyar replaced the system of imperial Mughal viceroys, with
hereditary Nawabs in Bengal.
The Nawab of Bengal ruled as the de facto independent ruler of Bengal, Bihar,
and Orissa.
Issued coins in the name of the Mughal Emperor.
1740s – Orissa de facto lost to Marathas.Bengal now extended from the frontier
of Awadh to Arakan in Burma.
1740 to 1756 – Nawab Alivardi Khan.
– Support from the rich and influential Jagat Seth bankers.
1756 – Teenager Siraj ud-Daula became Nawab.
– Many enemies in family.
– Enemies among nobles and merchants, probably because of his own vices.
The Many Enemies of Siraj
• Faujdar of Purnea – Shaukat Jang (cousin)
• Ghasiti Begum (aunt)
• Bengal army’s commander – Mir Jafar (Alivardi Khan’s brother-inlaw)
• Jagat Seth
• Raj Ballabh
• Rai Durlabh
• Omnichand
Court nobles
To tackle the situation, Nawab Siraj ud-Daula:
Defeated and killed Shaukat Jang in battle.
Appointed Mohan Lal (a Kashmiri pandit) as administrator, who held powers of
the prime minister.
The East India Company’s position
• The EIC had been misusing its trade privileges.
• Company employees used dastaks to smuggle goods and evade taxes even in their
private trade.
Revenue losses for the Nawab.
1756 – Seven Year’s War began in Europe.
– Tensions between EIC and the French in India.
– EIC enhanced military fortifications at Fort William, Calcutta.
• Siraj ordered both – the French and the EIC – to halt their military
fortifications.
The French complied, but the EIC did not.
EIC dug a moat around Fort William.
EIC gave asylum to a political refugee – Krishna Das (son of Raj Ballabh), whom
Siraj wanted to capture and arrest.
Siraj developed deep distrust against the British.
June 1756 – Siraj sends troops to Calcutta, to punish the British for
constructing fortifications without permission.
– Siraj’s troops capture English factory at Kasimbazar.
– Black Hole of Calcutta.
– Colonial accounts say 123/146 died.
• In retaliation, EIC sent a force under Lieutenant Governor Robert Clive and
Admiral Charles Watson.
• The force recaptured Calcutta.
(January 1757)
• Set up a Council there.
• Siraj brought his army to Alinagar*
Treaty of Alinagar February 1757
–all old privileges confirmed again.
–Moat around Fort William allowed.
•Now Clive’s forces looked to eliminate French influence in Bengal.
1757 – Clive and Watson’s forces capture Chandernagore from the French.
– Siraj had sent reinforcements to Chandernagore, but EIC had bought the
governor of Hooghly, in order to prevent the help from Siraj reaching the
French.
• Clive expelled all French from their factories in Bengal (3rd Carnatic War
ongoing).
• Clive now conspired with the rivals of Siraj, to replace him.
Who sided with Clive?
• Mir Jafar - Mir Bakshi (Military commander).
• Manikchand - Officer in charge of Calcutta.
• Omichand - Rich merchant.
• Jagat Seths - Biggest bankers of Bengal.
• Khandim Khan - Commanded a large number of Siraj’s troops.
Who sided with Siraj?
• Mir Madan – disgraced army commander.
• Mohan Lal – administrator.
EIC and Nawab of Bengal prepared for battle at a field called Plassey in
Bengal’s Murshidabad district.
Murshidabad was the capital of the Bengal nawabs.
Siraj had a numerically superior force.
Battle of Plassey
• On 23 June 1757.
• Owing to the conspiracy, the commanders of Siraj refused to attack the EIC.
• Siraj was defeated and killed.
• Mir Jafar was made the new Nawab according to his deal with Clive.
• Clive became the Governor of Fort William/Bengal(1757-60).
1757 to 1760 – Mir Jafar – Nawab of Bengal.
The EIC was granted free trade rights in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
Personal trade restrictions removed too.
EIC received the Zamindari of 24 Parganas district near Calcutta.
₹2.2 crore paid as war indemnity to EIC.
All French factories handed to EIC.
Mir Jafarsoon found his treasury empty and realised he had struck a bad deal.
He protested by inviting the Dutch to attack EIC and was forced to abdicate in
favour of his son-in-law Mir Qasim.
1760 to 1763 – Mir Qasim.
He ceded Burdwan, Midnapore and Chittagong to EIC.
Shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Munger (Bihar), in order to escape EIC
influence on court.
Mir Qasim removed duties for internal trade thus bringing Indian traders at par
with EIC (which was already exempt from taxes)
He wanted to be independent while company wanted a puppet
1763 – Fought with company, defeated and fled to Awadh.
1763 to 1765 – Mir Jafar made Nawab again.
Battle of Buxar October 1764
In Awadh, a confederacy was formed with –
1. Shuja-ud-daulah, Nawab of Awadh
2. Shah Alam II, Mughal emperor
3. Mir Qasim , Nawab of Bengal*
• Their combined forces of 40,000 were defeated at Buxar by Hector Munroe,
leading only 7000 troops.
• This victory made EIC a great power in North India. Robert Clive was sent for
and arrived from England to negotiate a treaty with the mighty Nawabs of
Gangetic plains.
Treaty of Allahabad (August 1765) With Shuja ud daulah of Awadh
• Surrender Kara and Allahabad to Mughal emperor
• ₹50 lakh war indemnity to EIC
• Offensive and defensive alliance
• Free trade rights in Awadh With Shah Alam II of Delhi
• Allahabad and Kara given to emperor
• Reside in Allahabad fort – prisoner
• Diwani rights of Bengal Bihar and Orissa given to EIC in lieu of ₹26 lakh
pension
• Treaty of Allahabad was “a master stroke by Robert Clive.
• Awadh was made a buffer state against future Maratha invasions.
• Mughal authority was not outright uprooted – to prevent public reaction.
The Dual System in Bengal (1765 to 1772)
• Nizamat = Civil administration + criminal justice (law & order)
• Diwani = Revenue
British took over Diwani rights from Mughal but gave the Nizamat (Civil
administration) duties to Nawab of Bengal.
Military defence and foreign affairs of Bengal now lay with the EIC.
• For Revenue collection, EIC appointed 2 deputy Nawabs.
EIC got ALL the revenue but paid:
only ₹56 Lakhs annually for Public works and running administration of ENTIRE
Bengal to the Nawab’s administration.
Later reduced to ₹33 lakh.
Rationale behind the dual system
• Power without responsibilities.
• Open annexation may have resulted joint war from princely states.
• Evading Parliamentary oversight from Britain.
• Other European powers may not have recognized the authority of English in
India.
• EIC was more interested in financial & commercial gains rather than
territorial acquisitions at that time.
The fallout
• This system ruined Bengal and brought its people utter misery.
Indian traders paid up to 40% tax competing with EIC paying 0%.
• Farmers were taxed into misery as no one cared about their welfare
–neither the deputy Nawabs nor the company.
• Great famine in 1769-72 killed nearly 30% population of Bengal.
• EIC directors back in London were not happy either as their own officials
became highly corrupt – scandal in Parliament.
• In 1772 Warren Hastings, the newly appointed Governor General abolished the
dual system and EIC took Diwani in its own hands.