4.India on the Eve of British Conquest Flashcards
themes
- about land revenue systems
ex: Jagirdar,zamindar - Reasons(main & immediate) for important battles
ex: Ahamad shah abdali invaded why? - Battles -> participants,who won,who got killed,
ex: 3rd battle of panipat
ex. tipu got killed - Features of imp ruler
ex. Ranjit Singh set up modern foundries to manufacture cannons - how someone’s reign comes to end
ex. jahander shah’s reign came to early end - Rulers removed by britishers under what reasons -DONE
ex. removed on pretext of mis-governance
-Chronology of major battles
- War : Period (Match following) ->asked twice -DONE
ex. Anglo-maratha ; Anglo-burmese ; Mysore ; sikh - features of various systems
ex. subsidiary alliance
-chronology of annexation -DONE
about land revenue systems
- Zamindari system:
- hereditary owners of their lands
- known as rais, rajas, thakurs, khuts or deshmukhs.
- above people had important place in the empire because they helped in the collection of revenue and in local administration, for which they maintained soldiers.
-Mughals tried to curb the power of the zamindars and maintain direct
contact with the peasants, they had not wholly succeeded.
2.Jagirdars
The nobility comprised people who were either assigned large jagirs and mansabs or appointed subahdars -> played a central role in administering the empire -> were divided & used to quarrel on basis of religion,homeland & tribe.
Reasons(main & immediate) for important battles? WHY?
- Third battle of panipat : Ahmad shah abdali appointed, Najib-ud-Daula, as Mir Bakhshi -> Raghunath rao expelled him -> To take revenge
- In 1739, Nadir Shah defeated the Mughals in the Battle of Karnal and later imprisoned Muhammad Shah (Mughal emporer) and annexed areas west of the Indus into the Persian empire.
3.The Battle of Plassey,1757
-background : the Company made rampant misuse of its
trade privileges that adversely affected the nawab’s siraj-ud-daula’s finances. The English fortified Calcutta without the nawab’s permission
-Siraj attacked
and seized the English fort at Calcutta
-Black hole tragedy
-Clive forged a secret alliance with the traitors of the nawab—Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh, Jagat Seth (an
influential banker of Bengal) and Omichand. Under the deal, Mir Jafar was to be made the nawab
-English victory in the Battle of Plassey (June 23, 1757)
-Impact of battle : Mir Jafar became the Nawab of
Bengal. He gave large sums of money plus the zamindari
of 24 parganas to the English.
- Mir Kasim and the Treaty of 1760
- Son of mir jafar died -> war to become next king b/w mir kasim(son in law) & grandson of mir jafar -> kasim signed treaty -> agreed to cede to the Company the districts of Burdwan, Midnapur and Chittagong & other stuff.
- consequence : Mir Kasim shifted the capital from Murshidabad to Munger in Bihar ; reorganised army
5.Battle of Buxar
-reasons : Ram Narayan, the deputy governor of Bihar, defied kasim over submission of revenue accounts-> had british support
-misuse of trade permit by company
-Mir Kasim decided to abolish the duties altogether,
but the British protested against this and insisted upon having preferential treatment as against other traders.
-Mir kasim + Nawab
of Awadh, Shuja-ud-daulah, + the Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II
-impact : Treaty of allahabad
1)shuja-ud-daula : (i) surrender Allahabad and Kara to Emperor Shah
Alam II;
(ii) pay Rs 50 lakh
2)Shah Alam II
-reside at allahabad
-granted diwani of bengal,bihar & orrissa to british
- First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69)
- english given northern circars by nizam -> said we will protect you from hyder ali of mysore
- haider had dispute with Nawab of Arcot & marathas
- british created alliance with nizam & marathas
- hyder diplomatically turned marathas neutral & by promising to share conquered territories with the Nizam, converted the Nizam into his ally.
- Treaty of madras : english promised to help haider
7.Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84)
-haider ‘Madras treaty palat nahi british ; no help @ maratha attack’
-haider found french more helpful
-American war of independence -> french support rebel against british
-Under the circumstances, Haidar Ali’s friendship with the French caused
even more concern to the English.
-british attacked mahe -> Haidar considered it direct challenge to his authority.
-Treaty of mangalore : war was inconclusive ; haider died of cancer ; ekmekanchya territories parat kelya
- Third Anglo-Mysore War
- Travancore had purchased Jalkottal and Cannanore from the Dutch in the Cochin state. As Cochin was a feudatory of Tipu, he considered the act of Travancore as a violation of his sovereign rights.
- british supported travancore.
- british + nizam + marathas attacked srirangpattnam -> treaty with same name -> 3 crores taken from tipu & his 2 son kept hostage - Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
- wellesely became governor -> imperialist -> hated tipu french relation
- the chargesheet against Tipu mentioned that he was plotting against the English with the Nizam and the Marathas and that he had sent diplomats to various places with treasonable intent
- Marathas supported british,they were offered half of conqured territory ; nizam was under the Subsidiary Alliance
- tipu died - First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82)
- Background : Peshwa madhavrao death -> brother narayanrao succeded -> his uncle raghunathrao had him killed (kaka mala vachva episode) & became peshwa -> narayanrao’s widow gave birth to sawai madhavrao -> twelve chiefs(barabhai) led by nana phadnavis supported sawai madhavrao
- Raghunathrao asks british help -> Treaty of surat -> give 2500 troops->calcutta british council denied treaty -> new treaty of purandhar ->denied raghunathrao rights & telling him to go on pension -> nana phadnavis gave port to french i.e. violation of treaty -> english sent force to pune
-course of war : Mahadaji shinde defeated british @ talegoan -> Treaty of vadgaon -> refused by british -> new treaty of salbai -> english won’t offer support to raghunathrao -> english got trade previlege -> peshwa not to support other european -> peace for 20 years
11.Second Anglo Maratha War (1803-1805)
Peshwa Madhavrao Narayan(i.e. sawai madhavrao) suicide (1795), Bajirao II, s.o. Raghunathrao-> Peshwa. Nana Phadnavis, opposer of raghunathrao & also his son ->chief minister.-> Nana died 1800
-war course : peshwa murdered brother of yashwantrao holkar,vithuji -> holkar defeated peshwa ->make amritrao peshwa -> previous peshwa goes to bassein to british -> accepted subsidiary alliance i.e.treaty of bassein -> gave up territories worth 26 lakh ; surat ; right of chauth on nizam area etc ;The
provision of keeping English troops permanently in Maratha territory ;treaty “gave the English the key to India,”-> Sindhia and Bhonsle attempted to save Maratha independence -> made to sign separate subsidiary alliance -> 1804, Jashwantrao Holkar made an attempt to form a coalition of Indian rulers
12.Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-19)
Background : Lord Hastings->imperialist ; charter act 1813 ended company monopoly on chinese trade(except tea) ->needed more market
- Pindaris -> in maratha army -> now unemployed -> started to loot company area -> English charged the Marathas with giving shelter to the Pindaris
- some maratha leaders saw treaty of bassein absolute surrender of independence.
- action against pindaris seen as a transgression of the sovereignty of the Marathas
- Bajirao 2 organised all maratha chiefs for last try
Course of War : peshwa attacks poona ; appa attacked nagpur ->After Jaswantrao Holkar, Tulsi Bai, the Holkar’s favourite mistress, came to power in Poona -> bad administration ->total misgovernance in other areas as well
-Treaty of poona ; treaty of gwalior ; treaty of mandasor -> maratha confederacy dissolved
13.Conquest of Sindh
Background
-Baluch tribe called Talpuras, descended
from the hills and settled in the plains of Sindh -> Became influential -> Mir fath usurped throne ->after him his brothers(char yaar) divided kingdoms -> AKA Amirs or Lords of sindh
-18th century belief : Nepolean will attack india ->to couneract Lord wellesley tried to establish trade relations with sindh
-June 1807, the alliance of Tilsit with Alexander I of Russia was joined by Napoleon Bonaparte -> vision of combined invasion of india -> British wanted to create a barrier between Russia and British India -> delegation sent to amir -> amirs agreed to treaty -> (i)Free passage through Sindh would be allowed to the English traders and travellers ; britishers won’t settle in sindh
- English view was that they had to consolidate their position in Sindh as a necessary first step for their plans on Afghanistan.
- Ranjit Singh captured a frontier town of Sindh -> The treaty offered protection to the Amirs on the condition that the Company troops would be kept in the capital
- Tripartite Treaty of 1838 with ranjit singh -> agreeing to British mediation in his disputes with the Amirs
- Sindh Accepts Subsidiary Alliance (1839)
- Amirs were debarred from having any negotiations with foreign states without telling company
- The first Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42), fought on the soil of Sindh -> amirs were neither thanked not appreciated -> were charged with treasonable activities -> made to sign new treaty -> cede imp provinces ->Amirs rose in revolt -> british won
14.Punjab
-Treaty of Amritsar,1809 -> accepting the river Sutlej as the boundary line for his dominions.
-June 1838, Ranjit Singh was compelled to sign the Tripartite Treaty -> dies 1839
-successor, Kharak Singh, was not efficient -> died ->son died returning from his funeral
-able generals already dead
-discontent in army over irregular payment
-appointment of unworthy officers led to indiscipline
-Lahore government permitted the British troops to pass through its territory -> marches resulted in commotion and economic dislocation in Punjab
-Daleep Singh, a minor son of Ranjit Singh made king ->with Rani Jindan as regent and
Hira Singh Dogra as wazir -> wazir killed -> Lal Singh, a lover of Rani Jindan, won over the army became wazir
14.First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46)
Background
-sikhs crossed sutluj -> seen as attack
-struggle for domination between the court at Lahore with army
-(ii) suspicions amongst the Sikh army arising from English military campaigns -> shikhanna vatala ata apalya var attack honar
-(iii)the increase in the number of English troops being stationed near the border
- Course of war
1. treachery of Lal Singh and Teja Singh caused five successive defeats to the Sikhs
2. treaty of lahore -> war indenmity -> 1 crore ; The Jalandhar Doab (between the Beas and the Sutlej) given to company -> kashmir sold to gulab singh as sikhs do not had enough money to pay british -> sikhs unsatisfied with treaty
3. new treaty -> Treaty of Bhairowal ->Rani jindan removed as regent -> a council of regency for Punjab was set up,had 8 sikh sarkars
15.Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49)
Background
-Humiliating treaties after 1st war
-bad treatment to rani jindan
-Mulraj, the governor of Multan, was replaced -> revolted and murdered two English officers -> Sher Singh was sent to
suppress the revolt, but he himself joined Mulraj -> mass uprising in multan
Result
- surrender of the Sikh army and Sher Singh in 1849.
- a three-member board to govern Punjab
16.First Burma War (1824-26)
-Why?
Burmese expansion westwards and occupation of Arakan and Manipur, and the threat to Assam and the Brahmaputra Valley led to continuous friction along the ill-defined border
17.Second Burma War (1852)
why?
result of the British commercial need
and the imperialist policy -> britishers wanted timber
- Third Burma War (1885)
- British vyapari were ill-treated by new king
- burma king was also negotiating treaties with other power ; france was going to lay railway track
- big fine on british timber company
19.Afghan
Background
-Russian influenced increased in russia
-the Treaty of Turkomanchai (1828), the English got alarmed about possible Russian plans regarding India.
-Forward Policy of Auckland : company will take initiatives to protect the boundary
-Tripartite Treaty (1838) was entered into by the British, Sikhs and Shah Shuja (shuja aadhi raja hota afghan cha-> tula parat raja banavu asa sangitala)
- First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842)
- Most of the tribes had already been won over by bribes -> shah shuja made amir -> british left & revolt happened (it’s such an afghan thing) -> new settlement -> previous king restored i.e.Dost mohammad
20.Second anglo-afghan war
-John Lawrence Policy of Masterly Inactivity : he wanted (a)peace at frontiers (b)no candidate in civil war sought foreign
help.
- Lytton and the Policy of Proud Reserve
- Lytton made an offer of a favourable treaty to Sher Ali, but the Amir wanted friendship with both his powerful neighbours. -> Sher Ali refused to keep a British envoy in Kabul while having earlier granted a similar concession to the Russians.
- British attack -> sultan fled -> Treaty of Gandamak (May 1879) ->accepted to conduct his foreign policy with the advice -> sultan had to resign against popular pressure for accepting treaty -> british had to capture kabul & kandahar again -> Lytton created new plan -> Ripon abandoned this plan and decided on a policy of keeping Afghanistan as a buffer state
- After the First World War and the Russian Revolution (1917), the Afghans demanded full independence -> got independence
Battles -> participants,who won,who got killed,impacts
Reffer LA EX chap 1
Features of imp ruler
- Bahadur Shah I (1709–March 1712)
- s.o.aurangzeb
- released shahu
- killed banda bahadur - Jahandar Shah (March 1712-February 1713)
- introduced izara system to improve the financial condition
- abolished jaziya - Farrukhsiyar (1713-1719)
- killed jahandar with sayyid brothers
- religious tolerance
- the Sayyid brothers, with the help of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, dethroned Farrukhsiyar -> later killed - Rafi-ud-Darajat (February 28 to June 4, 1719)
- shortest reign - Rafi-ud-Daula (June 6 to September 17, 1719)
- opium addict - Muhammad Shah (1719-48)
- ‘Rangeela’
- with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk, killed the Sayyid Brothers. -> nizam created separate hyderabad
7.Ahmad Shah (1748-1754)
-state affairs in the hands of
Udham Bai
8.Alamgir II (1754-1758)
-During his reign, the Battle
of Plassey was fought.
9.Shahjehan III (1758-1759)
10.Shah Alam II (1759-1806)
-reign saw two decisive
battles—the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and the Battle
of Buxar (1764).
-under terms of Treaty of Allahabad (August 1765),granted to the Company in perpetuity the
Diwani (the right to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
-After this the Mughal emperors became the
pensioners of the English.
11.Akbar II (1806-37) He gave the title of Raja to
Rammohan Rai.
12.Bahadur Shah II (1837-1857) Bahadur Shah II or
Bahadur Shah Zafar
-last emperor
-sent to rangoon
Rulers removed by britishers under what reasons & it’s chronology
Subsidiary Alliance of Wellesley ● Subsidised States: Hyderabad (1798; 1800) Mysore (1799) Tanjore (October 1799) Awadh (November 1801) Peshwa (December 1801) Bhonsle of Berar (December 1803) Sindhia (February 1804) Jodhpur (1818) Jaipur (1818) Macheri (1818) Bundi (1818) Bharatpur (1818)
Doctrine of Lapse ● Lapsed States under Lord Dalhousie (1848-56) Satara (1848) Sambhalpur (1849) Bhagat (1850) Udaipur (1850) Nagpur (1854) Jhanshi (1855) Awadh (1856; on charge of mal-administration)
chronology of major battles
Reffer LA EX chap 1
War : Period
- Bengal conquest
- The Battle of Plassey,1757
- The Battle of Buxar,1764
2.Mysore First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69) Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84) Third (1790-1792) fourth(april 1799 - may 1799)
3.Maratha
First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82)
Second Anglo Maratha War (1803-1805)
Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-19)
4.Punjab
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46)
Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49)
5.Burma
First Burma War (1824-26)
Second Burma War (1852)
Third Burma War (1885)
6.Afghan
first Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842)
Second Anglo-Afghan War (1870-80)
Challenges before mughals
- External challenges : invasions from north-west
- Nadir shah(1738) ->persian emporer, attacked delhi -> took kohinoor,peacock throne
- Ahmad shah abdali -> successor of nadir -> invaded several times ->captured delhi @ 1757 ->abdali recognised Rohilla chief, Najib-ud-Daula, as Mir Bakhshi -> Najib-ud-daula,expelled by Raghunath rao -> Abdali came to revenge -> 3rd war of panipat.
Why Many Empire-shaking Battles at Panipat?
-where : in haryana ; banks of yamuna ; b/w fertile plains of ganga & indus
- which battles : 1)1st : babar v/s ibrahim lodi : mughal empire started (1526)
2) 2nd : Akbar v/s hemu :continuation of mughal rule(1556)
3) 3rd : Ahmad shah abdali v/s Marathas (1761)
-Why panipat
1)one of parties came from Northwest -> wanted to avoid deserts of Rajasthan
& other northern areas infested with dense forests;
other party -> delhi ruler considered it confrontable strategic ground
2) proximity to delhi -> can supply anything ; keeps delhi unaffected of fight.
3) Panipat’s surrounding region -> flat ground -> for cavalary
4) present on Grand trunk road -> easy further transport
5) short rain period
6) smiths here -> expert warfare material makers.
Causes of mughal decline
(i) The government of the Mughals was a personal despotism and so its success depended on the character of the reigning
ruler. The later Mughals were worthless and neglected the administration of the state.
(ii) With the absence of a definite law of succession
(iii)The degeneration of the rulers led to the degeneration of the nobility
(iv)The deterioration of the army
(v)The empire had become too vast and unwieldy to be efficiently governed
(vi)Aurangzeb’s religious policy was largely responsible, leading
to revolts by Rajputs, Sikhs, Jats and Marathas.
(vii)Aurangzeb’s Deccan policy was a complete failure
(viii)Invasions of Irani and Durrani kingdoms
(ix)Economic and Administrative Problems : The number of amirs and their ranks or mansabs had increased sharply over time; there was little land left to be distributed among them as jagirs.
summary of Rise of Regional States
(i) successor states : the Mughal provinces that turned into states
- Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad.
(ii) Independent kingdom : due to the destabilisation of the Mughal control
- Mysore , Rajput
(iii)The new states
set up by the rebels against the Mughal
-Maratha,sikh,jat
Survey of Regional Kingdoms
1.Hyderabad
founder of the Asaf-Jah house of Hyderabad was Kilich Khan, AKA Nizam-ul-Mulk
2.Awadh
by Saadat Khan, popularly known as Burhan-ul-Mulk.
3.Bengal
by Murshid Kuli Khan
4.Mysore
territory located at the junction of the Eastern and Western Ghats was ruled
by the Wodeyars.
-later ruled by haider ali
5.kerala
by martand verma
6.Jats
-Churaman and Badan Singh succeeded in setting up the Jat state of Bharatpur. But it was
under Suraj Mal that Jat power reached its zenith.
- sikhs
- Guru Gobind Singh transformed the Sikhs into a militant sect
- banda bahadur headed for some time
- organised themselves in 12 misls
- Ranjit singh s.o.leader of Sukarchakiya misl
- brought under control the area extending from the Sutlej to the Jhelum
8.Marathas
-offered the most formidable
challenge to the English East India Company.
- Rohilakhand and Farukhabad
- rohilakhand in area of the Himalayan foothills between Kumaon in the north and the Ganga in the south
- Farukhabad at the east of Delhi by bangash(bajirao mastani reference,bangash ki dhoti fati)
Nature and Limitations of Regional States
-failed to develop a system based on sound financial,
administrative and military organisation.
-constant warfare
-The jagirdari crisis intensified as income from
agriculture declined
Socio-Economic Conditions
-because extreme poverty and extreme luxury
co-existed
- Trade and Industry
- exports were more than its imports; trade was balanced by import of silver and gold
- Ship-building Industry: Maharashtra, the Andhra region and Bengal,Kerala coast at Calicut(ruler zamorin)
- Trade and Industry Trade flourished. Cotton textiles, raw silk, silk fabrics, hardware, indigo, saltpetre, opium, rice, wheat, sugar, pepper, spices, precious stones, and drugs were exported.
-Gold, musk, woollen cloth, copper, iron, lead, paper,
porcelain, pearls, dates, dried fruits, coffee, tea, ivory, rose
water, etc., were imported.
The textile industry was famous for its produce. The shipbuilding
industry flourished. The metal industry was also well
developed.
2.Status of Education
-was confined to literature, law, religion, philosophy, and logic and excluded the study of physical and natural sciences, technology and geography.
-elementary schools were called pathshalas and
maktabs.
-Chatuspathis or Tols, as they were called in Bihar and
Bengal, were the centres of higher education.
-Madrasahs were the
institutions of higher learning for Persian and Arabic.
-Azimabad (Patna) was a famous centre for Persian education.
- Position of Women in Society
- In the patriarchal family system in India (except in some social groups in Kerala), women possessed little individuality of their own. - Slavery
- widespread prevalence of slaves
- some people were compelled to sell their offspring due to economic distress, famines.
5.Developments in Art, Architecture and Culture
-Lucknow, Asaf-ud-Daula built the bada Imambara
-Sawai Jai Singh built the pink city of Jaipur and five astronomical observatives
at Delhi, Jaipur, Benares, Mathura and Ujjain. He also
prepared a set of time-tables called Jij Muhammad-shahi,
to help the people in the study of astronomy.
-In the south, in Kerala, the Padmanabhapuram Palace.
-paintings of the Rajputana and Kangra schools became prominent
-In northern India, growth of Urdu language and poetry took place. Prominent Urdu poets were Mir, Sauda, Nazir, and Mirza Ghalib.
● Regional languages developed. Tamil language was enriched by Sittar poetry
6.Agriculture ● Stagnant and technologically backward agriculture,
compensated by very hard labour of peasants.
● Peasants paid revenues to state, zamindars, jagirdars and
revenue-farmers.
● Major produce/crops: rice, wheat, sugar, pepper, spices,
cotton, etc.
7.Society ● Apart from the four varnas, Hindus were divided into many sub-castes which differed in their nature from place to place.
● Muslims were also divided by considerations of caste, race, tribe, and status, even though their religion propagated equality.
