From Trade To Territory Flashcards
How and when did the British EIC gain the right to trade in India?
The EIC acquired a charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 that granted it the power to trade with the East.
Why didn’t the EIC have any competition from England?
No other trading company in England had a charter/permission from the monarch to trade in the East.
What is mercantile?
A business that makes profit primarily through buying goods at a cheaper price and selling them for a high price.
Who was already there before the British arrived in India?
The Portuguese were already in Goa before the British and has established a dominant presence over western coast of India.
Who else, except for the Portuguese and the British were in India from other parts of Europe?
The Dutch (early 17th century) and French.
What caused conflict between the 4 nations?
All four nations wanted to buy the same things, the competition caused the prices to inflate and the profit acquired through trade to decrease.
How did the traders from each nation try to promote their trade?
They all tried to eliminate their rival competitors, this led to fierce battles. They sank each others ships,blockaded routes and prevented rival ships from moving with goods. Trade was carried on with arms and forts to protect trading posts.
Where was the first English factory set up?
The bank of river Hugli in 1651.
What were the companies traders known as at that time?
Factors
How did the company improve its trade after the construction of its first base?
It persuaded local merchants to come settle near the factory to improve its trade.
How did the EIC gain zamindari rights over 3 villages?
It bribed local officials and got control over 3 villages, one of which is Calcutta.
What did the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb issue a Farman for?
To allow the EIC to trade duty/tax free.
What did the EIC do to anger the Nawab of Bengal and cause him to protest against them?
The EIC refused to pay taxes for its private trade, causing a huge loss of revenue for the Nawab of Bengal, so he protested against them.
What restrictions did the Nawabs impose on the EIC?
They refused to grant the company concessions, demanded large tributes for the companies right to trade, denied it any right to mint coins, and prevented fortification.
What did the nawabs accuse the company of doing?
They were depriving the Bengal government of revenue, undermining the authority if the nawab, refusing to pay taxes, writing disrespectful letters, trying to humiliate the nawab and his officials
What did the company have to say about the local officials and their taxes?
The company declared that the unjust demands of the local officials was ruining the trade, and trade could only flourish if all duties were removed.
What did the company believe it had to do to improve trade?
Enlarge its settlements, buy up villages and rebuild its forts.
What did the company do as it was worried about Sirajuddaulah’s power? Was it successful in doing so? What were the repercussions of this?
- The company became keen on a puppet ruler who would willingly give trade concessions and other privileges, it tries to make one of Sirajuddaulah’s rivals become the nawab. But the company was not successful in doing so.
- The repercussions of this were that the nawab became infuriated and asked the Company to stop meddling with political affairs, stop fortification and pay the revenues.
What did the nawab, Sirajuddaulah, do when negotiations with the EIC on the EIC meddling with political affairs and refusing to pay taxes failed?
He marched to the EIC factory at Kassimbazar, captured and disarmed the company officials and locked the warehouse. He also blockaded English ships and marched to Calcutta to establish control over the Company’s fort there.
What did the Company Officials in Madras do when they heard of the fall of Calcutta?
They sent forces under the command of Robert Clive, reinforced by Naval Fleets. Prolonged negotiations with the Nawab followed. Finally, in 1757, Clive led the army against the Nawab at Plassey.
What was one of the main reasons Sirauddaulah lost the battle of Plassey?
One of his commanders, Mir Jafar, and his forces never fought the war. Clive had acquired his support by promising to make him the Nawab after crushing the current Sirajuddaulah.
What were some of the issues the company faced after it begun indirectly ruling countries through puppet rulers?
- It was unwilling to take over administrative responsibility as it was still mainly focused on trade.
- Puppet Nawabs were also not always helpful as they also wanted power and wanted to be respected by their disciples.
What conclusion did Clive come to when the EIC failed to work with puppet Nawabs?
He decided that the company workers must become Nawabs themselves to govern the country.
What rights were appointed to the EIC in 1765 by the Mughal Emperor? How was this helpful?
- Diwan of Bengal
- Allowed to use the vast revenue resources of Bengal.
- This helped the British to fund purchasing textiles, maintaining troops and building company forts and offices at Calcutta.
