The British

• In 1600, the Queen of England, Elizabeth 1 gave permission to group of merchants to set up the East India Company. This company was hoping to break the spice trade in the East Indies. However, the Dutch already had control of the spice trade there, so the EIC decided to turn to India.
• The EIC landed first in Surat in 1608, but started trading in 1612, when the Governer of Gujarat gave them permission.
• In the beginning, the EIC only had a few bases on the coast of India, but by 1664 they had established their headquarters in Calcutta.
• The EIC purchased spices, silks and cotton from the Indians. This trade was so profitable that the company soon had its own private army to protect the trading posts.
• By the early 18th century the EIC had 3 main bases, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, which the company started to refer as presidencies. These later became the provinces of British India.
• In the beginning, the EIC brought profit not just to Britain, but also to the Mughal empire. Indian merchants were able to sell their goods and became rich from the large amounts of silver coming from Britain to pay them. At this time, the British didn't export much to India but imported lots of Indian goods. However, this was going to change as the British developed plans for growth that would lead to direct competition with the emperor.
• The EIC went to war in 1686 against Aurangzeb, but the EIC was defeated by Aurangzeb's forces. Aurangzeb made the EIC apologize and pay a heavy fine.
• The EIC was very successful in defeating other European countries looking to share the trade. The Portuguese and Dutch were defeated, but the French set up their own trading company in India and came into conflict with the EIC, but they were too defeated with the help of Robert Clive.
• Robert Clive took advantage of India's unsettled conditions to increase British and control. Soon, the EIC expanded its local forces and made local princes accept its authority and so the EIC was able to set up its own government in some parts of India.
• In 1756, the French encouraged the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah to attack the EIC base at Calcutta. Siraj-ud-Daulah was able to capture the city, but not hold it down for too long as Robert Clive brought an army with him and defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey. Siraj-ud-Daulahs body was found in a river after the battle.
• The EIC's victory was made easy by the treachery of Siraj-ud-Daulah's general, Mir Jaffar. Mir Jaffar was bribed by the EIC and made Nawab of Bengal after Siraj-ud-Daulah's death.
• Mir Jaffar was forced to give the company land and gifts. This made some EIC officials very rich.
• Mir Jafar's son, Mir Qasim joined forces with the Nawab of Oudh and Shah Alam 2 , the Mughal emperor to drive the EIC out of Bengal.
• Mir Qasim was unsucessful and suffered defeat in the Battle of Buxar in 1764. After this, British influence actually increased as they now took control of the tax collection in Bihar, Orissa and Bengal. The EIC now even extended its influence into Oudh.
• The British EIC was made just to gain as much profit at possible. The company made huge profits from its monopoly of the trade in Bengal and company merchants had become accustomed to receiving personal gifts which increased their wealth.
• While the EIC made huge profits, the local people of Bengal had been exploited and died in a serious famine that hit Bengal. A British member of parliament was extremely angered by this and called the EIC government the most greedy and corrupt government on the face of the Earth in a speech he made in the British House of commons..
• The British government was forced to stop the misgovernment being conducted by the EIC. In 1773, the British government passed an act of parliament which required the EIC to provide good government to stop this anarchy.
• In 1784, the British government passed the Pitts India act and took direct control of Indian possessions. The British government appointed a Governor-general who would have control of the 3 presidencies. It also appointed provincial governor and a Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. After this, the EIC continued to trade but lost most of its administrative powers.
• The British set up a police force and legal system on British lines. A professional Civil service was also introduced but locals were not given jobs in it as they were not considered suitable to run 'British India'.
• In 1782, the first Governor-General of India, Warren Hastings, signed a treaty ending the First Maratha War between the British and the Marathas. This gave the British the opportunity to extend their influence elsewhere.
• In 1799, Governor-General Wellesley invaded Mysore and killed Tipu, the Sultan of Mysore. The British then took control of his lands.
• In 1799, the Nawabs of Oudh were defeated and forced to grant large areas of their territory to the British.
• In 1803, the British entered Delhi and forced the Mughal emperor Shah Alam to accept that he was ruling under British protection.
• In 1818 the Marathas were defeated by the British forces and forced to accept British rule.
• Titu Mir whose real name is Syed Mir Nisar was a great Bengali freedom fighter who led the people against the oppression of the zamindars and British colonial system. In 1822, Titu Mir was went on a pilgrimage to Macca and after returning to Bengal in 1827, he was determined to free Bengal from unislamic practices and British rule.
• Titu Mir proclaimed himself king and raised an army of 15000 followers and built a bamboo fort at Narkelbaria in October 1831 and defeated British forces sent to destroy it. In retaliation, the British sent an army including a cavalry and a cannon. Titu Mir and his forces could not withstand the power of modern British weapons. Titu Mir and many of his followers died after 5 days of fierce fighting.
• In the early 19th century, the British were concerned that Afghanistan could be a target for the Russian expansion. The British agreed with the Sikh ruler of Punjab, Ranjit Singh, that Afghanistan should remain independent, but they hoped Ranjit Singh would help them install a pro-British ruler in Kabul. However, Ranjit Singh did not support them and so the British went ahead on their own. A rebellion in Afghanistan in 1841 led to all British troops being killed.
• The incident in Afghanistan hurt the pride and ego of the British and they thought that they had to regain that pride. Now they set their eyes on Sindh, which was ruled by a collection of Ameers who had signed treaties with the British. The British also wanted to make sure that Sindh was not a target for Sikh expansion as Ranjit Singh had been following a policy of extending his kingdom. This worried the British.
• Since the Ameers had treaties with the British, they could not annex Sindh, so they were looking for an excuse. The British general, Sir Charles Napier provoked the Ameers so much that they attacked the British residency in 1843. Now the British had an excuse to attack the Ameers. The British attacked the Ameers, defeated them and annexed Sindh.
• Ranjit Singh had signed a treaty of perpetual friendship with the British in 1809, but after his death in 1839 rival chiefs argued amongst themselves over who should be king. Since the Sikhs were worried that the British would attack them so they attacked the British first. The Sikhs suffered in the Battle of Aliwal on January 1846.
• After the defeat in the Battle of Aliwal, the British forced the Sikhs to sign the treaty of Lahore. The Sikhs had to cede land to the British had to pay a huge indemnity.
• The Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, who helped the British was allowed to purchase Kashmir and was granted the title Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
• In the 2nd Sikh war from 1848 to 1849, the Sikhs once again suffered defeat and the Sikh empire was now over. The Punjab and North-West frontier was now under British control.
• The North-West frontier was what Lord Curzon the scientific and natural frontier of British India. This meant that it was a border based on natural geography but also played a part in defending the territory from outside forces. The British were determined that such a border would help in relations with the tribal territory to the north of the new territory.
• Lord Lytton put forward the idea of establishing a boundary to separate India from the tribesmen. He wanted to safeguard India from the non-stop tribal warfare and raiding. Eventually Sir Mortimer Durand concluded and agreement with Amir Abdur Rahman Khan of Afghanistan to fix the border. This agreement established the Durand Line, a boundary drawn on scientific lines reflecting British defense needs.
• Most of British India had been conquered but the British had not formally added all of the lands to their empire. Instead the British made the Nawabs sign treaties with the EIC. These treaties allowed the Nawabs to be in charge of their local affairs but gave Britain the charge for external affairs. This meant that the Nawabs could not adopt a foreign policy which the British disagreed with. The British also kept British residents in every region to 'advise' the ruler.
• in 1852, Governor-general Dalhousie further extended British control by applying the Doctrine of lapse. The Doctrine of lapse said that when a ruler died without a natural heir, the British would annex his lands. This way, Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi fell into British hands.
• This Doctrine of lapse was despised, especially because it was being misused. In 1856, the Nawab of Oudh died and although he had several legal heirs, Dalhousie said that the Nawab had governed his people badly and the British took Oudh.
• The Mughal empire was already in decline when the British started to expand. the Mughal empire was divided and falling apart. there was no strong leadership and it was just a collection of disunited territories with many different rulers. Rulers were just fighting against each other and only cared about their wealth, instead of reforming the empire.
• the industrial revolution had a big impact on Britain. The industrial revolution gave Britain more advanced weaponry, better methods of manufacturing and most of all better communication methods. These technological advancements meant that Britain was now a lot more powerful, economically and by military strength. The British believed that they were more superior than everyone else and that it was their duty to spread their superior culture. When they saw declining India, they jumped at the opportunity and were successful in conquering. this the immense strength of the British.