History notes

Babur (1526- 1530) B.H.Ak.J.S.A.B

Humayun (1530-1540) (1555-1556)
Akbar (1556 – 1605)
Jahangir (1605-1627)
Shah Jehan (1628-1658) Dara Shikoh
Aurangzeb (1658-1707)
Bahadur shah 1 (1707-1712)

(as soon as powerful ruler died (Aurangzeb), all his subahdars and zamindars started dividing because
now beneficial for them to make their own small kingdoms. Be like let’s get back to our own regional
places and establish rule there)
REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE 1707-1857:
1. Aurangzeb's religious policy
2.Incompetent successors of Aurangzeb
3. Absence of any definite law of succession
4. Local and foreign Invasions on Delhi also made the Mughals weak
5. The rise of British power could be seen as the main reason of the decline of the Mughals
Minor Reasons:
*Moral degeneration of the nobility
*Demoralization of the army
*Financial position of the Mughals

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Reasons for the arrival of the EIC in the Sub Continent:
1. The main thing that attracted the British was certainly trade + high profits
2.Wanted to spread Christianity. Churches and Chapels were established all over India and Christian
missionaries also arrived, trying to convert the people
3.Portugues and Dutch had their eyes on the East Indies and didn’t allow EIC to come over there, thus
provoked them to go to India
4.Russian Expansion in Central Asia.. It worried the British so much that they also had to make moves to
secure Afghanistan.

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Portuguese came to India before any other European traders
started in 1600 when English company acquired a charter from Elizabeth one allowing company to trade
freely with eastern countries…looked for places to buy goods and cheap prices and sell at high
Britain not alone …had competition
all these companies interested in the same products like fine cotton and silk, spices like pepper cloves…
had high demands in Europe. Plans were to sell them at higher prices and make huge profits
seeing this demand the Indian traders increased the price of goods…affecting the profit margin of the
traders
lead to fights amongst the European companies
from 1600-1700 sank each other’s ships , blocked routed, fortified their trading posts
LOCAL rulers getting angry at this….all this lead to European rulers fighting each other, local rulers
fighting them and in return traders fighting these rulers
English company had to start politics….kept on going till 1651 when decided to set up first factory at
Hugli….company persuaded merchants and traders to come
The emperor during this time was Aurangzeb…. Acquired a Farman i.e. a royal order for trade
permission including things like
-trade duty free

Company even had corrupt officials doing private trade on the side and not paying any tax
In 1707 Aurangzeb died….situation changed drastically
bahadur shah came. Not really powerful and influential…
All regional Nawab wanted to execute their power in their respective regions
EIC causing problems:
Not paying taxes
expanding fortification
disrespecting Nawabs administration

LEAD to the Battle of Plassey

asked company to stop interfering, stop fortification but didn’t listen
Siraj ud daulah captured fort William Calcutta
In 1757 Robert Clive lead army against Siraj …made agreement with Mir Jafar…promised to make
Nawab..English company won battle as Mir Jafar took away large part of Siraj’s army

Robert Clive made gov of Bengal in 1757…victory gave massive boost to company
Warren Hastings chosen as the resident of Bengal…he was one of the prisoners that was held by siraj
Mir Jafar made Nawab of Bengal. Puppet Nawab…when he protested he removed and made mir Qasim
the Nawab of Bengal…Even Mir Qasim complained
In 1764 EIC fought in the Battle of Buxar against Mir Qasim+Shuja ud daulah+ Shah Alam 2
due to lack of coordination of these 3 they lost the battle….

Dual system of administration under Clive…under this system administration divided between company
and Nawab, however power still lied with company Company officials had visions of living like Nawabs
Robert Clive:
Company had acquired power in BENGAL,BOMBAY AND MADRAS ,each ruled by a governor
territories divided into administrative units called presidencies…
all governors would report to gov general …Warren Hastings was the first gov gen in 1773
Hastings formed the judicial plan in 1772
-Areas of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa divided into districts..each having 2 courts i.e criminal and civil courts
-Each of these districts had an English collector as its head
the idea behind the plan was to create a fair justice system for the local people as under the dual
administration system there was no thing as justice that was observed
This plan had a big defect..
1. Too much power was given to one person i.e. the collector
2.interpretation of Indian law as relying on these qazis and pundits used to give interpretations of law
that were biased towards a certain section of the community..which again created a divide
-1773, Supreme court established at Fort William, Calcutta
-British came up with the Regulating Act of 1773 + Warren Hastings made Gov General of British India
and Governor of Bengal
-Acquiring Mysore would prove lucrative for the company and thus fought wars with the Mysore
kingdom i.e. Anglo-Mysore wars
-1st war…1767-69
-2nd War..1780-84 under leadership of Tipu Sultan
company lost the 2nd battle
3rd…1790-92…against Tipu as well but this time the French were an ally to him
4th in 1799…Tipu Sultan died …British asked for help from Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad

Lord Cornwallis became Gov Gen 1786-93

Lord Wellesley 1798-1805

Company fought wars with the Marathas as well…these people wanted to rule India from Delhi just like
the Mughals
they were under the radar of the company
After the end of the 3rd Battle of Panipat in 1761(Marathas defeated by Ahmed Shah Abdali)…British had
their eyes on the Maratha Empire
WHO WERE THE MARATHAS?:
-The Maratha empire was the last great Hindu superpower in the subcontinent (1674-1818)
-before the rise of Marathas, india dominated by the Mughal Empire(1526-1857)
-the Mughal empire had become extremely discriminatory of its Hindu population…and by later 17 th
century higher positions in the empire excluded Hindus and the jizya tax was imposed on them to pay
for the Mughal wars
-Maratha general Shahaji, fought for all major powers in the region in order to ensure the autonomy of
his territory….his son Shivaji established the Maratha Empire in 1674…following the death of Shivaji,
Aurangzeb dedicated the next 26 years of his life waging a brutal war against the Marathas
-Marathas effectively used cavalry and infantry to ambush much larger Mughal armies and chose to
make final last stands at the numerous fortresses that they had under their possession
-After Aurangzeb death, the empire had plunged into internal rebellion…moreover they had a plan that
backfired
-They released Shivaji’s grandson Shahu so that he might destabilize the Marathas…this lead to a short
civil war which Shahu won
-Under the peshwa(Prime Minister) Baji Rao, the Mughals and allies were defeated at the Battles of
Delhi and Bhopal and the Mughal capital was sacked
-the Mughals tried to make peace by giving large territories to the Marathas and paying massive war
reparations
-In 1757 Marathas conquered Delhi, establishing the Mughal Emperor as a puppet ruler. That same year
the EIC had established direct rule in Bengal defeating the Nawab of Bengal and his French Allies
-3rd Battle of Panipat between the Afghan Durrani empire and Marathas…both empires lost 10”s of
1000’s of their best troops
-Believing the Maratha empire to be unstable the EIC fought to place their favorite claimant on the
Maratha throne(in 1775)…Marathas victorious and British made peace
-After a 2nd war b/w the 2 a peace treaty made in which British made territorial gains
-In 3rd war ,British disestablished the empire in 1818
-The legacy of the Maratha empire is quite exceptional in India History
*Social mobility and religious tolerance were 2 pillars that gave the state exceptional internal unity…
moreover it largely did not adhere to the cast system and merit was prized above all…people of all
casts were found in the highest military and civilian positions.

Fought the Anglo Maratha Wars…

-1st war(1775-82) stated with the treaty of Surat and ended with the treaty of Saibai
-2nd war(1803-05)…ended with British acquiring Odisha(took place under the leadership of Richard
Wellesley)
-3rd war(1817-18) …crushed the Maratha Power(Francis Hastings was Gov Gen.)
-Doctrine of subsidiary alliance framed(1799) by Richard Wellesly….to add the Indian states came up
with this…according to it
*Indian rulers not allowed to have independent armies
*Were to be protected by the British forces
*In Return had to pay for the subsidiary forces…if failed to make payment part of their territory taken
away

In the late 1830s British became worried of the Russians…might expand and enter india from west
British fought war against Afghanistan….
-1st Anglo-Afghan war(1838-42)… won war and established indirect rule there
-Sindh taken over in 1843
-next Punjab. But presence of Ranjit Singh held back the company

-1st Anglo-Sikh war (1845-46) Sikh empire and EIC …resulted in partial domination of EIC in the Sikh
kingdom (Henry Hardinge, the Gove Gen during this
-2nd Anglo Sikh War ( 1848-49) resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh empire and annexation of
Punjab(Lord Dalhousie the gov gen during this time)
-soon after the 2nd war, Dalhousie introduced the policy of Doctrine of Lapse
-this was an upgraded version of Subsidiary Alliance Policy
-According to this new policy : If an Indian ruler died with no male successor, his kingdom would lapse…
and would become part of company’s territory…e.g. Satara district in Maharashtra was took over in
1848..then Sambalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur, Jhansi
-Rani Lakshmi Bai was forced to leave her palace because her son was adopted and not her biological
son…so EIC using this policy took over her states
-In 1856 took over the state of Awadh…said it was due to the misgovernance of the ruler so to free
people from him they had to take control of the state
-Wajid Ali Shah last Nawab of Awadh…British humiliated the Nawab …he was removed and sent to
Calcutta…this enraged the people of Awadh

-1857 The Great India Revolt (the sepoy mutiny) ( India’s first struggle for independence)
-The revolt say the end of EIC rule in India
-on August 2nd 1858 British Gov passed the Government Act
*under this act, the company was formally dissolved and its ruling powers were transferred to the
British Crown…from here own the Era of the new British Raj started which lasted till the partition of
India in 1947.

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*From 1600-1857 subcontinent was ruled by EIC

*after 1857-1947 subcontinent came under the direct rule of the British crown
This period referred to as the British Raj

The 1857 Revolt:

-multiple reasons for it happening
*EIC started interfering with India’s political, Social, Religious systems
*between 1757-1800 EIC gradually increased its political and military activities
*By end of 18th Century ,carried out an aggressive policy of territorial expansion
*After 1800 intro’d the idea of Paramountcy (created many laws and institutions)…saw it as exploitation
of Indian culture
MAIN CAUSES BEHIND THE 1857 REVOLT:
1. Abolition of Sati 1829
2. Intro of English Education
3.Spreading of Christianity through missionaries
4.Doctrine of Lapse 1848
5.Religious Disabilities Act
6.Hindu Widow Remarriage Act
7.General Service Enlistment Act
8.Indian soldiers paid low salaries as compared to British
9.British policy of economically exploiting india through high revenue demands and district revenue
collection policy
10.Royal Enfield rifle cartridges were greased with fat of cow and pig. Were forced to chew of the fat
11.Bahadur Shah Zafar was disrespected by British

*Mutiny began in Meerut but spread rapidly to places like Delhi, Agra, Jhansi, Lucknow
*this revolt went on for 1-1.5 years
*June 20, 1858 Gwalior fort captured by British and mutiny comes to end

WHY ABLE TO CONTROL THE REVOLT:

1.LACK OF LEADERSHIP
2.PRINCELY STATES SUPPORTED THE BRITISH…WERE GIVEN MANY DEALS BY THE BRITISH

-Gov of India Act 1858…EIC dissolved. Ruling powers transferred to British crown
-at this time Lord Viscount Canning Gov Gen/Viceroy of India
-Charter Act 1833 –Made gov gen of Bengal, the gov gen of india and vested in him all the civil and
military powers
-LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK became first gov gen of India after 1833

Battle of Plassey, (23 June 1757). Victory for the British East India Company in the Battle
of Plassey was the start of nearly two centuries of British rule in India. For an event with such
momentous consequences, it was a surprisingly unimpressive military encounter, the defeat of
the Nawab of Bengal owing much to betrayal.
In India, Britain was represented by the British East India Company, a venture that had been
given a royal charter in 1600 to pursue trade in the East Indies that included the right to form its
own army. The French East India Company had a similar remit. From 1746, the rival companies
fought the Carnatic Wars for advantage in India, where they maintained trading posts, and sought
influence over local rulers. In 1755, Siraj ud-Daulah became Nawab of Bengal and adopted a
pro-French policy. He overran British trading posts, including Calcutta, where British prisoners
were allegedly left to die in the infamous "black hole of Calcutta." Lieutenant Colonel Robert
Clive was sent from Madras to retake Calcutta and from there began plotting the overthrow of
the nawab. One of the nawab’s discontented followers, Mir Jafar, was bribed secretly with a
promise of the throne if he would back the British. Other Bengali generals were also suborned.
Clive advanced on the Bengali capital, Murshidabad, and was confronted by the nawab’s army at
Plassey (Palashi) by the Bhaghirathi River. The balance of forces seemed to make a British
victory impossible. The nawab’s army numbered 50,000, two-thirds infantry armed at best with
matchlock muskets. The French had sent artillerymen to bolster the Bengali cannon to more than
fifty guns. Facing this host, Clive arranged his force of 3,000, composed of European and Sepoy
troops and a much smaller force of artillery.
The French artillery opened fire first, followed by the Bengali guns. The British guns returned
fire. Due to the close proximity of the Bengali cavalry to the French guns, Clive’s bombardment
missed the artillery but caused damage to the cavalry, forcing the nawab to pull them back for
protection. When the nawab’s infantry advanced, Clive’s field guns opened fire with grapeshot
along with volleys of infantry musket fire, and the Bengali troops were held back. Mir Jafar, with
around one-third of the Bengali army, failed to join in the fighting, despite pleas from the nawab,
and remained isolated on one flank.
The battle appeared to be heading for a stalemate when it started to rain. Clive had brought
tarpaulins to keep his powder dry, but the Bengalis had no such protection. Thinking that the
British guns were rendered as ineffective as his own by damp powder, the nawab ordered his
cavalry to charge. However, the British guns opened fire and slaughtered many of the cavalry,
killing their commander Mir Madan Khan. The nawab panicked at the loss of this valued general
and ordered his forces to fall back, exposing the French artillery contingent. This was rushed by
the British and captured. With the French cannon taken, the British bombarded the nawab’s
positions without reply and the tide of the battle turned. The nawab fled the battlefield on a
camel, and Mir Jafar was duly installed in power as a British puppet. The victory had cost the
lives of only twenty-two soldiers on the British side, while achieving a major stride toward
British control of Bengal.

Battle of Buxar, Buxur also spelled Baksar, (22 October 1764), conflict at Buxar in
northeastern India between the forces of the British East India Company, commanded by Major
Hector Munro, and the combined army of an alliance of Indian states including Bengal, Awadh,
and the Mughal Empire. This decisive battle confirmed British power over Bengal
and Bihar after their initial success at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and marked the end of the
attempt to rule Bengal through a puppet nawab. Thenceforth the company took control. The
British victory at Buxar resulted in a large area of the Indian subcontinent coming under British
control.
After consolidating gains made at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British East India Company
assembled an army consisting mainly of Indian sepoys and Indian cavalry and sought to assert its
control of Bengal against the Mughal Empire. In October 1764, the combined Indian force
confronted the British near the town of Buxar. The British, under the command of Sir Hector
Munro, were divided into three sections. On the left flank, Major Stibbert commanded regular
troops; on the right were the Bengalese troops, commanded by Major Champion. Supporting
these in the center were the Bengal cavalry backed by four companies of sepoys. Champion
advanced first and attacked a small village close to the town. After a series of bloody encounters
the Indian forces were pushed back, allowing Champion to occupy the village. Meanwhile, the
main Indian force advanced to engage Stibbert’s regular troops. However, having secured the
village on the Indian left flank, Champion was able move out and outflank the Indian advance.
Despite their superiority in numbers, the Indians were encircled and took heavy casualties from
British musket volleys. A detachment of Durrani cavalry was unable to turn the battle and the
Indians retreated.

The battle resulted in the 1765 Treaty of Allahabad, in which the Mughal Emperor
surrendered sovereignty of Bengal to the British. Lord Robert Clive, the victor at the Plassey,
became the first governor of Bengal.

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Lord William Bentinck assumed the office of the Governor- General

in 1828. Born in 1774 he commenced his career as a soldier and later at the young
age of twenty two he became a Member of Parliament. He was appointed the
Governor of Madras in 1803. He supported Sir Thomas Munroe on revenue
administration. The Vellore Mutiny of 1806 had resulted in Bentinck’s recall.
However, his appointment again to the higher office as Governor-General shows his
real greatness. As Governor-General, Bentinck had initiated an era of progress and
reforms. He was undoubtedly the first Governor-General of British India who acted
on the dictum that “the welfare of the subject peoples was a main, perhaps the
primary, duty of the British in India.

William Bentinck adopted a policy of non-intervention and non-aggression with

Indian states. If at all he interfered in the affairs of the Indian states, it was only to
end any form of misgovernment and never to annex any territory.
e.g. he annexed the state of Cachar at the wish of the people
he was first gov-gen to visualize a Russian threat to India so was eager to negotiate
friendly relations both with Ruler of Punjab Ranjit Singh and Amirs of Sindh. A
commercial treated was negotiated with Ranjit Singh and similar thing with Amirs
of Sindh.

Reforms of Lord William Bentinck

The advent of Lord William Bentinck ushered in a new era in the annals of India in
many ways. Although his tenure of office covered only a short span of seven years,
it saw a period of enduring reforms. They may be classified as financial,
administrative, social and educational.
 It became necessary on the part of the Governor-General to take effective steps to
improve the financial condition. To achieve this he adopted the following measures:
 He reduced the salaries and allowances of all officers and additional staff
were removed.
 In the military department, he abolished the system of double batta. (an
allowance to troops on active service.)
By these financial reforms at the time of his departure, he left the treasury with a
surplus of Rs.1.5 million.

In the judicial department he abolished the provincial courts of appeal established

by Cornwallis. They were largely responsible for the huge arrears of cases. Another
good measure of Bentinck was the introduction of local languages in the lower
courts and English in the higher courts in the place of Persian. Even in matters of
revenue Bentinck left his mark. He launched the revenue settlements of the North
West Province

The social reforms of William Bentinck made his name immortal in the history of
British India. These include the abolition of Sati, the suppression of Thugs and the
prevention of female infanticide.

The introduction of English Education was a significant event of Lord William

Bentinck’s administration. He appointed a committee headed by Lord Macaulay to
make recommendations for the promotion of education.
In his report, Macaulay emphasized the promotion of European literature and
science through English medium to the people of India. This recommendation was
wholeheartedly accepted by William Bentinck.
The Government Resolution in 1835 made English the official and literary language
of India. In the same year, William Bentinck laid foundation of the Calcutta
Medical College .

1. Bentinck was a “straightforward, honest, upright, benevolent, sensible man”.

2. His social reforms such as abolition of sati and prevention of child sacrifice
eradicated age old evils from Hindu society.
3. It is heartwarming to note that “Bentinck acted where others had talked”.
4. To enforce the regulations regarding the prohibition of sati, he was prepared
to risk his own position. Such courage and straightforwardness were seldom found
among the administrators of those days.
5. His educational reforms heralded a new age in India

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Annexation of PUNJAB:

Raja Ranjit Singh established an independent Sikh kingdom in Punjab. But after his
death in 1839, the political turmoil and instability that visited Lahore watered the British
appetite to expand into the Punjab. In the absence of any capable leadership, a
situation existed that was highly vulnerable to interference from outside. As a result, two
Anglo-Sikh wars were fought that sealed the fate of Sikh empire in the Punjab. Though
very patriotic but less disciplined Sikh army could not withstand the onslaught of the
British, the Punjab fell into the British hands and was annexed into the British empire in
India. This annexation was not an isolated event but a sequel in the long chain of events
following the death of Raja Ranjit Singh. It was, however, a demonstration of the
deliberate act of wanton aggression on part of the British in India.

Marathas influence in the Punjab diminished to a great extent with Ahmad Shah
Abdali’s invasions but those of Sikhs remained strong. Punjab comprised of 36 areas of
which 12 were the Sikh principalities known as Misl. Ranjit Singh united 22 under his
rule while the rest were recognized as the British protectorates. He concluded the
Treaty of Amritsar also known as the Treaty of Perpetual Friendship in 1809 with the
company accepting their right beyond Sutlej. However, after his death in 1839, the
political instability prevailed in the Punjab and rapid change of governments was
witnessed. Therefore, the British started looking across the river Sutlej irrespective of
the fact that they had signed the treaty accepting each other’s spheres.Ranjit Singh’s
successors proved incapable to handle the state affairs.
These unstable conditions encouraged the British to take advantage. They enhanced
their military presence on the other bank of Sutlej and also annexed Sind in 1843. As
the tension grew, their diplomatic relations were also broken. The company started
moving towards Ferozpur that was followed by Sikhs crossing the Sutlej in December
1845. An encounter took place at Ferozpur where the Sikh army was routed completely
though they demonstrated great courage and bravery. The treaty of Lahore was signed
in March 1846. The Sikh had to surrender huge territories
Henery Lawerence became the resident
was replaced by Sir Frederick Corrie. He adopted a stiff policy because of which the
relations turned quite strained. As a result, the second Anglo-Sikh war broke out.
Sikhs were utterly defeated and their power was razed to ground. On March 30, Daleep
Singh held his court for the last time at Lahore at which he signed away all claim to the
rule of the Punjab. In this way annexation of the Punjab was accomplished.
Nadir Shah(durrani) took over Afghanistan
Ahmed Khan also know as Ahmed Shah abdali(durani)

Nadir Shah captured Delhi after battle of Karnal

Made Ahmed Shah abdali the governor of Hyderabad Deccan
During this time the Nizam of Hyderabad saw Ahmed Shah and said that this man will one day become
king
Nadir Shah came to know of this
Hurt Ahmed Shah lil bit on ear when he brought back to Delhi
In 1747 Nadir Shah killed
Ahmed Shah abdali returned to Kandahar in Afghanistan
Ahmed Shah attacked Punjab

To avenge death of Syed Baba sabir Shah wali who had crowned him king
When come to Lahore , Shahnawaz fled to Delhi
From Delhi mughal prince and Ahmed Shah Bahadur came up against Abdali
Fought war and abdali lost and returned to Afghanistan
Later came back and won war again Mir Mano
Then once again at Lahore Ravi with Mano fought and won
Abdali came to capture Delhi now
Alamgir 2 wanted peace treaty
But Andali wanted 2 crore RS and daughter hand in marriage
Alamgir 2 didn't have money so Abdali captured Delhi
During this time Sikhs were getting powerful
After abdali left Hindustan, Marathas captured Lahore and Delhi
Shah walliullah wrote to abdali informing about threat of Marathas
Abdali went to India again to fight war at the 3rd battle of panipat
An army from rohailkhand was also under Abdali
Marathas army led by Sadashiv Rao Bhau
Turning point came when Sadashiv and Vishwas Rao killed
Marathas elephant out of control and stampede on own soldiers
Marathas surrendered
Abdali went back but continued coming back to India
Now most of his battles were with Sikhs and unkay baray sardaar Charat Singh say ho Ra tha
TIPU SULTAN
Mysore had a difficult geographic region
It's enemies were sitting on its border
From nowhere could tipu get help
Mysore was also one of the richest places in India
So in this case enemies wanted to take over Mysore
Tipu tried to make agreements but in the end had to fight wars
Took part in 2nd Anglo Mysore war .here Haider Ali died
Then British asked for peace agreement and tipu did that
British knew that they had to remove tipu if were to take over
Lord Cornwallis sent many people to find traitors from within Mysore
Cornwallis broke peace treaty and took over Bangalore
Tipu came but people from within informed Cornwallis and he was able to escape
The Marathas and Nizam were helping British here
Tipu Sultan allowed the British to go away
Then after big preparation the British and others attacked sirangapatam
Tipu gave up and asked for peace
Thus due to own people traitor and own mistake tipu Sultan power had diminished
Tipu wanted to get rid of British no matter what
Tipu had many sons but no son had ability to become good successor
Tipu was hoping for a miracle
So sent ambassador to French
Tipu had been surrounded by enemies and no help from France seemed to be coming
Lord Wellesley now gov general
British feared France help of Tipu
The traitors were with Wellesley now and in a way result of war was fixed
In 1799 British and allies attacked Mysore from all sides
Due to traitors going against tipu,he suffered heavy losses and retreated to a defensive position at
Saranga Patam
Then British laid siege to Saranga Patam
Tipu got out of fort,not allowed back in by own people
Fought till death

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