The role of the East India Company and General Flashcards
What did Parliament do ensure Company’s solvency after near bankruptcy in the 1770s?
What aspects of the Company did Parliament want to bring under its control?
Was this operationalizable?
What attacked the monopoly of trade previously benefitted by the Company?
-The British parliament passed a series of acts to try ensure the Company’s solvency after its near-bankruptcy during the 1770s.
-Parliament tried to bring only the political and administrative functions of the Company under its control while leaving commercial activities alone.
-NO. In practice, these two functions proved inseparable and the Company operated with oversight and regulation from parliament from 1786(a regularised subsidiary).
-The Company had traditionally profited from its monopoly but this was attacked during the early 19th century as free trade took hold.
What are both the Charter Acts (1813,1833) symbolic of?
What was the Charter Act 1813? Charter Act 1833?
What did the Company do to seek new income? Territories?
-Both Charter Acts are symbolic of free trade policy.
-The Charter Act 1813 renewed the Company’s charter for twenty years but removed its monopoly on trade in India.
-The Charter Act 1833 again renewed the charter but removed the monopoly on the tea trade with China.
-Seeking new income as it lost its monopolies, the Company took on civil administration and tax collection in India as the Mughal Empire declined.
-The Company expanded its territory aggressively during the early 19th century. This continued between 1829 and 1857.
How many private armies did the Company have? What were each of these for?
Despite making enormous fortunes what led British gov’t to take more power in India?
What was the 1773 Regulating Act? (Who would governor generals need to be approved by?)
What did the 1784 Act make the Company subordinate to the Crown for?
-The Company had three private armies, one for each of the company presidencies Bengal, Madras and Bombay.
-Enormous private fortunes were made by the Company nabobs but poor management and corruption led the British government to take more influence in India.
-The 1773 Regulating Act created a governing council with a majority nominated by parliament and governor generals had to be approved by the Crown.
-The 1784 Act made the Company subordinate to the Crown in all political functions.
How many private armies did the Company have? What were each of these for?
Despite making enormous fortunes what led British gov’t to take more power in India?
What was the 1773 Regulating Act? (Who would governor generals need to be approved by?)
What did the 1784 Pitt’s India Act make the Company subordinate to the Crown for?
What else affected the relationship between the gov’t and Company?
-The Company had three private armies, one for each of the company presidencies Bengal, Madras and Bombay.
-Enormous private fortunes were made by the Company nabobs but poor management and corruption led the British government to take more influence in India.
-The 1773 Regulating Act created a governing council with a majority nominated by parliament and governor generals had to be approved by the Crown.
-The 1784 Act made the Company subordinate to the Crown in all political functions.
-The relationship between the Company and parliament was also affected by the doctrine of free trade by abolishing its monopolies.
By the mid-early 19th century how did British representatives view their position in India?
What force did the Company have in its control giving it an advantage over local rulers?
What did local rulers do to protect themselves from this?
-British representatives began to see themselves as ruling rather than trading in India.
-The Company had always collected taxes for local rulers but it could raise private armies that were often stronger than those of local rulers.
-Local rulers began to ally themselves with the East India Company for protection from other rulers and also to stay on the right side of its power.
Who was the governor of Bengal nominated by? Approved by?
Who was the first governor under the new Crown controlled system?
What could the other governors not do without the approval of the governor of Bengal?
What happened to the position of the Governor general after the Government of India Act 1833?
Who was the Governor by this time? What was he responsible for? How was this different to the previous role?
Why was the powers of the governor general extraordinarily huge?
-The governor and president of Fort William (Bengal) was nominated by the Company and approved by a Crown-controlled council.
-Warren Hastings was the first governor under the new Crown-controlled system.
-The other governors could not make war or peace without the approval of Bengal.
-As a result of the Government of India Act 1833, the Bengal president became the governor general of India.
-The new governor, Sir William Bentick, was responsible for foreign policy and legislation in Company territories in contrast to the original role of coordinating treaties and alliances with local rulers.
-The governor general had huge powers due to the slowness of communications with London.
