The British didnt come to India with the intention of empire building. However acting on opportunity and driven by profits they did end up controlling all of India. The initial phase of Company's rule presents interesting set of events, along with personalities of governors who decided the fate of India for the next 200 years to come.
The timeline is just to put the individual events we know of in perspective. To know what led to what and why something couldnt have happened.
Time line from 1600 to 1833. Monopoly of the East India
Company.
1)
Queen Elizabeth granted a royal charter to a
large body of merchants in England called as ‘The new company of merchants of
London, trading into the East Indies’. (31 dec 1600)
2)
William Hawkins appears in the court of Jahangir
in 1609 but is denied trading rights.
3)
Sir Thomas Roe succeeded in 1917. Factory was
setup in Surat in 1619 and at Madras in 1639.
4)
BATTLE
between the company and Aurangzeb in 1688-91.
5)
BATTLE
of Plassey (1757) between the company and forces of Siraj ud Daulah, the nawab
of Bengal. Robert Clive delivers crushing defeat to a much larger army.
6)
BATTLE
of Buxar in 1764, between the Company and the combined forces of Nawab of Audh,
Mir Quasim ( Nawab of Bengal) and the Mughal emperor. The Company forces defeated
a force 4 times their own size in men and artillery. They gained the diwani of Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa from the Mughal emperor.
7)
First Anglo-Mysore WARs (1767-69). Defeat of
the Company at the hands of French and Mysore forces in BATTLEs, WAR was a stalemate.
8)
Regulating act of 1773.
9)
1773-85, WARren Hastings is made the Governor
of Bengal. His attempts at dispensing the myth of Mughal supremacy and acquaint
the British officers to Indian customs.
10)
First Anglo Maratha WAR in 1775-82. Defeat of
British in BATTLEs, WAR
at a stalemate. Twenty years of peace. TREATY of Salbai.
11)
Accession of Tipu sultan in 1782.
12)
Second Anglo-Mysore WAR (1780-84) ended in
stalemate. TREATY of Mangalore.
13)
Pitts India act of 1784.
14)
Foundation of Asiatic society by Hasting and Sir
William Jones 1784.
15)
Cornwallis made the Governor
of Bengal. (1786-93).
16)
Setup of covenanted civil services.
17)
Third Anglo-mysore WAR and defeat of Mysore. TREATY of Seringapatam. (1790-92)
18)
Accession of Ranjit Singh to throne 1792.
19)
Establishment of Zamindari system in Bihar and
Bengal in 1793.
20)
John Shore made the Governor
of Bengal. (1793-98).
21)
Introduction of permanent settlement in 1793.
22)
Richard Wellsley becomes the Governor of Bengal. (1798-1805)
23)
Introduction of subsidiary alliance system. TREATY with Hydrabad.
24)
Fourth mysore WAR(1799). Mysore’s defeat and annexation. Formation of
Madras presidency.
25)
Second Maratha WAR. (1803-05)
26)
Recall of Wellsley and second term of
Cornwallis. (1805-07). Cornwallis’s sudden death.
27)
Minto I is made the Governor
of Fort William.(1807-13)
28)
Charter act of 1813, ending monopoly of East India
Company except in tea and trade with china.
29)
Allocation of one lakh rupees annually for
education in 1813.
30) Francis Hastings(not to be confused with Warren) is made the Governor
of Fort William. (1813-23).
31)
Nepal WARs (1814-16). TREATY of Sagauli.
32)
Third Anglo-maratha WAR(1817-18). Abolition of
Peshwaship and creation of Bombay presidency.
33)
Alliance with Rajput states 1819.
34)
Introduction of RyotWARi system in Madras
presidency in 1820.
35)
Jeffrey Amherst becomes the Governor (1823-28)
36)
First Burmese WAR 1824-26. Annexation of Assam, Manipur and Arakan.
37)
Capture of Bharatpur in 1826.
38)
William Bentick became the Governor.(1828-33)
39)
Prohibition of Sati in 1829. Suppression of
Thugee (1829 to 1835)
40)
Annexation of Cachar 1830 and Jaintia 1832.
41)
Visit of Raja Ram Mohan Roy to England1830 and
his death there in 1833.
42)
Deposition of Raja of Mysore and British
takeover of his administration.
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