decline of Mughal empire Flashcards
the reign of Aurangzeb
1657 = shah Jahan fell seriously ill, which was a problem for him as he had 4 sons all of mature age and all of them wanted to be the emperor
On finding out that Shah Jahan was dying, they all began to jostle for power
Shah Shuja and Shah Murad = coins struck in their name showing them as the new emperor
Dara Shikoh (eldest son) thought to be the emperors preferred successor
1658: Murad and Aurangzeb defeated Dara Shikohs army
Shah Jahan recovered and ordered his sons not to march on Agra
Aurangzeb replied that his father lost control and that he, Aurangzeb should take over and re-establish the order
May 1658: Aurangzeb defeated Imperial army of Dara Shikoh and took his father prisoner
Shah Jahan remained in Agra till his death in 1666 and was buried in Taj Mahal
Impact of Aurangzeb’s policies on the stability of the empire
Aurangzeb found that most of his time and money was spent fighting
1679-81: war against the rajputs and rebellion from the Sikhs, Satnamis in Mewar and Jats in Gokal
Fought a tough campaign against Pathan tribes in North West frontier as he was keen to extend his empire northwards
Most costly for Aurangzeb = campaign fought against Maratha tribe in the Deccan. The Maratha leader SHivaji was originally defeated and brought to Agra in 1665 however, he escaped and was soon back in the Deccan leading the war against Aurangzeb.
Even after 25 years of fighting, Aurangzeb was not able to subdue the Marathas.
Aurangzeb had almost emptied the Muhal treasury, and though he faced many problems in extending the empire, by his death in 1707 the empire was larger than it had ever been.
Aurangzeb’s reforms
There are mixed views on how successful Aurangzeb was as an emperor. Much of the criticism is a result of his austere measures such as:
Appointing censors of public morals
Banning consumption of alcohol
Stopping singing and dancing in court
Determining maximum length for beards
He made himself popular with traders by abolishing many taxes however, taxation was really high during his reign as he spent a lot of money paying the cost of his military campaigns as well as building luxurious palaces such as the Pearl Mosque at Delhi built for his private prayers
The taxes resulting from Aurangzeb’s heavy spending made him a unpopular ruler by the time of his death in 1707
He died at the age of 89
Ruler the empire for 50 years
He achieved much but the start of the decay in the empire could be seen during his reign
effectiveness of Aurangzeb’s successors
Aurangzeb had become emperor by defeating his rivals in battle. He wanted to avoid such a war after his death so he tried dividing the empire between his three sons but failed. Fighting broke out between them
Prince muazzam eventually got the throne but only survived a few years and then his 4 sons fought over the throne
The victor Shah Jahandan was murdered within a year
10 years after Aurangzeb’s death, 12 different people claimed to be emperor.
Muhammad Shah = emperor in 1719 and ruler for almost 30 years but faced sm opposition. He was the last Mughal leader who could claim to be emperor
invading forces
Foreign attacks:
Persians:
1738: persian leader nadir shah invaded mughal empire
1739: defeated Muhammad shahs forces at Karnal
Captured and Sacked Delhi.
Did not intend on becoming emperor but to win as much booty as possible
When he left he took huge amounts of gold and jewels with him. This is when people started to see how weak the empire had gotten.
Marathas:
Formed a Hindu empire in southern India and were a constant source of difficulty for the Mughals
Aurangzeb spent 25 years trying to defeat them but they proceeded to take land from the Mughals after Aurangzeb’s death.
1737: defeated Mughal army and plundered Delhi
Mid 18th century: replaced the Mughals as the most powerful force in India
Afghans:
1747: Afghan general Ahmad Shah durrani attacked Kabul, Peshawar & Lahore
1749: gained control in Punjab
1756: added Kashmir and Multan to possessions
1761: Ahmed Shah Durani defeated Maratha expansion in battle of Panipat
end of the empire
Ahmed Shah Durrani helped place Muhammad Shah’s son, Ahmad Shah, on the Mughal throne
The empire however was shrinking as unrest continued to increase. Ahmad Shah was imprisoned by his own court and died in captivity
His successor Almagir II was assassinated on the orders of his chief minister
The next emperor Shah Alam II chose to remain in Bihar and did not return to Delhi for another 12 years. He suffered defeat at the hands of the British in the battle of Buxar.
Shah Alam’s defeat led to the British taking control of Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar.
1803: occupied Delhi and placed an emperor under British protection
Final 2 emperors: Shah Alam’s son, Akbar II ruler parts of Delhi, but little more. His son Bahadur Shah II was expelled for his part in 1857 war of independence and died in exile in Rangoon.
The once mighty Mughal empire was over.
reasons for decline of Mughal empire
Fall = gradual
Historians blame Aurangzeb for sowing the seeds of the decline
Empire lasted another 150 years after Aurangzebs death
Nature of the empire:
Administration:
Huge empire difficult to administer
Decisions had to be relayed over thousands of miles
Due to this Aurangzeb encouraged the use of Mansabdars
Rebellions broke out = many months before emperors could take decisive action to end them
Military costs:
Empire huge and consisted of many diff people
The cost of putting down rebellions and fighting wars against invaders (i.e Nadir Shah) was huge
Succession:
Huge sums wasted when an emperor dies and there is a succession dispute among his sons
Aurangzeb tried to avoid this by dividing the empire between his three sons, but failed
Thus succession disputes continued to erode the empire
Consequences of success
Declining military expertise
Dynasties in power for too long = become complacent
This happened w mughal empire and they let their armys expertise decline until it was no longer an effective fighting force
Weak control:
Wealth and influence of nobility grew = highly powerful
Emperors found it hard to control them (i.e Alamir II assassinated by powerful courtiers)
Weak control: mansabdari system not sufficiently supervised = administrative efficiency declined
Discontent grew = income from tax collection declined
Arrival of the British
Ambition of the British pushed the empire into its final decline
Since time of jahangir, EIC were trying to benefit from the wealth being gained by trading w India
EIC = private trading company but behind the company was the govt of the most powerful country
England = first country to experience Industrial revolution
Its industry was producing cheap manufactured goods that sold all around the world
With this wealth, the British could afford a military strength which the Mughals couldn’t match
Strength of british + weakness of Mughal empire = downfall inevitable
enter the British
Europeans had envious eyes on the Indians wealth ven before the decline
1510: Portuguese established base in Goa
British = determined to set up trading bases in India
EIC given monopoly to trade between England and areas of Africa (no other British company could trade in that area)
Merchants hoping to break into the spice trade in the East Indies (Indonesia) but the dutch has already won control and were not willing to share w any other european power
EIC turned to India as a alternative
1608: landed in Surat
1612: granted permission to trade by future shah jahan (governor of Gujarat)
EIC influence grows
1664: EIC set headquarters in Bombay
1690: trading post in Calcutta
Purchased spices, silks and cotton from Indians
Trade so profitable that company soon had its own huge private army to protect the trading posts
early 18th century: EIC had three main bases: Bombay, Calcutta and Madras
These were referred to as presidencies and later became major provinces of British India
At first, the arrival of the British brought benefits to both the British and the Mughals
British however began to develop plans that would lead them to have direct competition with the emperor
by the end of the 17th century, the EIC was talking about “english dominion for all time to come”
1686: EIC went to war with Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb defeated them and pardoned them only after they apologized and payed a heavy fine
17th century: both portuguese and dutch defeated (by EIC)
The french had set up their trading company in 1664 and soon came into conflict with the EIC
British general Robert Clive enabled the EIC to take advantage of India’s unsettled conditions and increase British influence and control
Began to expand its forces to make local princes of India accept its authority
Soon were able to set up its own govt in parts of India
Robert Clive made governor of Bengal after winning battle of Plassey
His opponents in Britain carried out an investigation on his behavior
Tho he wasn’t found guilty of the charge of “plundering India”, the disgrace mixed with his addiction to opium caused him to commit suicide in 1773.
British expansion 1750s-1850s
Battle of Plassey:
1756: French encouraged Nawah of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula to attack EIC base at Calcutta
He captured the city but was unable to keep control of it
1757: Clive arrived w group of EIC soldier and defeated Siraj-ud-daulah’s troops in the battle of Plassey
Siraj-ud-Daulah’s body was found in a river
Clive’s victory made easy due to Mir Jafar (general)
EIC rewarded him by making him Nawab of Bengal
Mir Jafar forced to give the company gifts of land and money thus making them rich
1764: Mir jafar’s son Mir Qasim joined forces with the Nawab of Oudh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam II to drive EIC out of Bengal
They were defeated in the battle of Buxar in 1764
British influence increased and EIC now took control of revenue collection in Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and extended influence into Oudh
Bengal exploited
EIC was established to make as much profit as possible but its greed after Buxar embarrassed the British
Company made huge profits from monopoly of trade in Bengal and the company merchants became accustomed to receiving gifts which increased their wealth
While they made huge profits, the local people were exploited and many died in a huge famine that hit Bengal
Robert CLive admitted:
“ such a scene of anarchy, confusion, bribery and corruption has never been seen or heard of in any country but Bengal.”
A british member of Parliament (M.P) who was so angered made a speech in the British house of commons claiming:
“No civilized government ever existed on the face of this earth which was more greedy than the govt of EIC 1765-1784”
British govt intervenes
British govt forced to act to stop this misgovt
1773: act of Parliament which required EIC to provide good govt to stop this anarchy
1784: Pitts India Act = took direct control of Indian possessions
Appointed governor general who would have control fo the three presidencies
Provincial governors and commander-in-chief of armed forces
EIC continued trading ut lost most of its administrative powers
To further improve efficiency: police force and legal system set up on British lines
Professional civil service introduced but local ppl not given jobs in it
Only British considered suitable to run British India
1782: first governor general of India, Warren Hastings, signed a treaty ending first Maratha war between the British and Marathas
1799: governor general wellesley invaded mysore and killed Tipu Sultan . British then took control of his lands
In the same year: Nawabs of Oudh defeated and forced to give large areas of their territory
1803: British entered Delhi and forced Mughal emperor Shah Alam to accept that he was ruling under British protection
1818: Maratha defeated by British forces and forced to accept British control
Titu Mir
Real name: Syed Mir Nasir
Great Bengali freedom fighter
Led people against oppression of zamindars and British colonial system
1822: went for Pilgrimage to Mecca
1827: returned to Bengal and was determined to free Bengal from un-islamic practices and British rule
Proclaimed himself king and raised army of 15,000 followers
Built bamboo fort at Narkelbaria in Oct 1831
Defeated British forces that were sent to destroy it
Eventually British sent an army including cavalry and cannon
Titu Mirs forces could not withstand the power of the Britsh modern weapons
Titu Mir along w many of his followers died after 5 days of fierce fighting
annexation of Sindh
Early 19th century: British concerned abt russian expansion
Wanted to make sure Afghanistan does not fall in russian hands
Agreed with Sikh ruler of Punjab, Ranjit Singh that Afghanistan should remain Independant
They hoped Ranjit Singh would help them install pro British ruler in kabul but he did not support them
1841: rebellion in Afghanistan led to all British troops in the country being killed
British pride hurt by loss of Afghanistan so they turned on Sindh
This territory was ruled by a collection of Amirs who had signed a peace treaty with the British in 1809 however the British wanted to regain their prestige and make sure that Sindh won’t be a target for Sikh expansion
Ranjit Singh was following a policy of extending his kingdom and the British were worried, thus they annexed Sindh.
The British needed an excuse, so British general sir Charles Napier provoked the Amirs so much that they attacked the British residency in 1843, so they now had their excuse.
annexation of Punjab and NWF
1809: Ranjit Singh signed treaty of “perpetual friendship”
After his death in 1839, rival chiefs argued among themselves on who should be the king
Sikhs feared that British would invade Punjab thus launched an attack
Jan 1846: British defeated Sikhs in battle of Aliwal and forced them to sign treaty of Lahore
Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh had helped the British and was allowed to purchase Kashmir (which British took from Sikhs) and was granted title Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir
1848-9: second sikh war = sikhs suffered defeat and the Sikh empire came to an end
30 March 1849: Punjab and North west frontier became part of British empire
