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  • Class 8, History Study Material - From Traders To Rulers - Part 1

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    Parthiv
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    The document summarizes the rise of British power in Bengal in the 18th century. It describes how the British East India Company established trade settlements initially but then took advantage of the weakening Mughal Empire to establish political power. The key event was the Battle of Plassey in 1757, where the British defeated Siraj-ud-daulah with the help of Mir Jafar. This transformed the British from traders to rulers of Bengal and its vast resources. The Treaty of Allahabad in 1765 further consolidated British control after their victory over other Indian rulers and powers.

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    Class 8, History Study Material _ From Traders to Rulers- Part 1 (1)

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    The document summarizes the rise of British power in Bengal in the 18th century. It describes how the British East India Company established trade settlements initially but then took advantage of the weakening Mughal Empire to establish political power. The key event was the Battle of Plassey in 1757, where the British defeated Siraj-ud-daulah with the help of Mir Jafar. This transformed the British from traders to rulers of Bengal and its vast resources. The Treaty of Allahabad in 1765 further consolidated British control after their victory over other Indian rulers and powers.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    1K views6 pages

    Class 8, History Study Material - From Traders To Rulers - Part 1

    Uploaded by

    Parthiv
    The document summarizes the rise of British power in Bengal in the 18th century. It describes how the British East India Company established trade settlements initially but then took advantage of the weakening Mughal Empire to establish political power. The key event was the Battle of Plassey in 1757, where the British defeated Siraj-ud-daulah with the help of Mir Jafar. This transformed the British from traders to rulers of Bengal and its vast resources. The Treaty of Allahabad in 1765 further consolidated British control after their victory over other Indian rulers and powers.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 6

    FROM TRADERS TO RULERS – PART 1

    By the middle of the 17​th​ century several European trading companies had settled in
    India and were trading in Indian goods like spices, textiles, precious stones etc. These
    goods were very popular in the West and fetched them large profits.​ The Mughal rulers
    encouraged these European traders as trade with them brought revenue for the empire.
    The Portuguese were the first to come to India followed by the Dutch, the Danes, the
    English and the French. Taking permission from the Mughals they set up trading posts
    in different parts of India.

    By the 18​th​ century the English had established trade settlements in Calcutta, Madras
    and Bombay​ while the​ French had settlements in Chandannagar, Pondicherry, Mahe
    and Karaikal.​ The Portuguese, the Dutch and the Danish companies gradually lost their
    monopoly over Indian trade.
    As the Mughal Empire became weak, and started to disintegrate, political instability set
    in. Taking advantage of the situation, both the English and the French were determined
    to establish their trade monopoly in India. An intense competition followed.​ The
    commercial rivalry between the French and the British in India was aggravated by the
    fact that these two countries were political rivals in Europe as well. ​Between 1744 and
    1763, the British and the French were involved in two wars in Europe. ​This intensified
    their trade rivalry in India and led to three major wars in India, called the Carnatic Wars.
    Carnatic was the name given to the Coromandel Coast and its hinterland. The British
    came out victorious in the end due to the following reasons:

    ➢ T
    ​ he British Government was progressive and it gave full support to

    the British Company in India.


    ➢ ​The British were financially stronger and they had larger and better

    fortified settlements in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.


    ➢ They had the strongest army in the world which enabled them to
    send supplies and reinforcements wherever needed.
    ➢ ​They had efficient generals with excellent leadership qualities like

    Robert Clive.
    ➢ The conquest of the prosperous province of Bengal in 1757 provided
    the British with an additional source of wealth and helped them win
    against the French.

    A Map showing the Carnatic region where the Anglo- French rivalry took place
    RISE OF BRITISH POWER IN BENGAL

    In the 18​th​ century, Bengal was the richest and most fertile province in India.
    There were several reasons for this:

    ● Bengal had a flourishing trade with China and the Far East.
    ​

    ● Bengal had not torn apart by revolts that frequently occurred


    in different parts of North India.
    ● ​The early nawabs of Bengal like Murshid Quli Khan and
    Alivardi Khan were extremely efficient and powerful and they
    kept a strict control over the British Company.

    In 1756, Alivardi Khan was succeeded by Siraj-ud-daulah. He resented


    the wealth and growing power of the British in Bengal so he ordered them
    to pay taxes like other Indian merchants​. ( ​It must be mentioned here that
    the Mughal emperor in 1717, had granted the English East India
    Company, the right to import and export goods from Bengal without paying
    taxes, in exchange of a large sum of money​.) So , the British refused to
    follow the orders of Siraj. In fact, they went against the Nawab’s orders
    and began to extend their fortifications at Fort William. Siraj marched to
    Calcutta and drove out the British. But Robert Clive soon took charge of
    the Company’s forces in Bengal and recaptured Calcutta.

    BATTLE OF PLASSEY (1757)

    Robert Clive now began to hatch a plot with some of the influential men in
    the Nawab’s court to overthrow Siraj. He promised to make Mir Jafar, the
    commander-in –chief of the Siraj’s army, the next Nawab of Bengal in
    return for a large sum of money and trading privileges. Then ​the British
    met Siraj in the Battle at Plassey near Murshidabad on 23​rd​ June, 1757.
    Though Siraj had a larger army, part of it was led by Mir Jafar who was
    already allied with the British. So, this section did not fight and Siraj was
    defeated. He tried to escape but was captured and killed.

    Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah
    Robert Clive

    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BATTLE OF PLASSEY

    ➔ It marked the beginning of British rule in India.


    ​

    ➔ ​It transformed a mere trading company into a political


    power in Bengal.
    ➔ It placed the vast resources of Bengal in the hands of
    the British and enabled them to win the Carnatic Wars.
    ➔ It exposed the hollowness of the Indian political system.

    Mir Jafar was made the Nawab of Bengal and for this he had to
    give the following to the Company:

    ● A large sum of money.


    ​

    ● Zamindari of Twenty-four Parganas.


    ● Rights to free trade.

    Mir Jafar’s conspiracy proved to be disastrous for the country. The British
    now began to vigorously interfere in the affairs of Bengal. ​Mir Jafar was
    reduced to a puppet ruler​ and when he could not meet the heavy
    monetary demands of Company, ​he was deposed and his son-in-law Mir
    Qasim was made the new Nawab.

    In return, Mir Qasim gave to the Company the Zamindari rights of


    Burdwan, Midnapore and Chittagong. But Mir refused to be a puppet in
    the Company’s hands.
    In fact, he was the last Nawab of Bengal to assert his authority. He did it
    by taking the following steps:

    ★ H
    ​ e shifted his capital from Murshidabad (which was

    close to Calcutta)to Munger in Bihar.


    ★ He removed all officials who had close connection with
    the British.
    ★ He hired other Europeans to train his soldiers.
    ★ ​He built an ammunition factory.

    ★ ​He placed limits on the trading privileges of the

    Company.

    All these made the Company furious and it declared war on Mir
    Qasim and defeated him in 1763 and Mir Jafar was restored as the
    Nawab of Bengal. But Mir Qasim did not give up. ​He entered into
    an alliance with Nawab Shuja-ud-daulah of Awadh and Emperor
    Shah Alam II who was living in Awadh then. Their combined forces
    were badly defeated by the Company in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar
    and Mir Qasim was killed.

    Robert Clive had returned to India as the Governor of Bengal at this


    time. In 1765 he signed the Treaty of Allahabad with
    Shuja-ud-daulah and Shah Alam II.

    TREATY OF ALLAHABAD (1765) -

    According to the terms of this Treaty:

    ❏ A
    ​ wadh was returned to Shuja-ud-daulah but the

    districts of Kora and Allahabad were taken away from


    him.
    ❏ ​He had to pay a war indemnity of 50 lakh rupees to
    the Company.
    ❏ The British agreed to defend Shuja-ud-daulah against
    his enemies but the Nawab would have to pay for the
    British troops stationed at Awadh. ​Awadh was thus
    turned into a buffer (neutral) state between the British
    in Bengal and the Marathas.
    ❏ The British gave Shah Alam II, the districts of Kora
    and Allahabad and an annual pension of 26 lakh
    rupees.
    ❏ In return Shah Alam II had to grant to the Company,
    the ‘Diwani’ (the right to collect taxes) of Bengal, Bihar
    and Orissa.

    Clive introduced a system of ​Dual Government in Bengal​ in which the


    British would have full control over revenue collection and military
    administration while the Nawab would be responsible for general
    administration and maintenance of law and order. In other words,​ ​the
    Company enjoyed power without any responsibility, while the Nawab had
    the responsibility of running the administration without the required
    resources. ​The people of Bengal suffered under this evil system till 1772
    and Bengal’s economy was ruined while the Company went on
    prospering.

    ______ x _____ x ______x ______x ______ x _____ x _____x _____x ____

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