British Conquest of India (1765-1857)

British Conquest of India (1765-1857)

• British gained a firm foothold through Carnatic Wars, Battle of Plassey, and Battle of Buxar, controlling Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
• The Mughal emperor became a puppet; the Nawabs of Awadh and Carnatic became dependent on British rule.
• British conquest spanned roughly 100 years (1765-1857), encompassing the entire Indian subcontinent.
• British were the rulers of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.

Methods of Conquest

• British employed three key methods: direct warfare, subsidiary alliance, and the doctrine of lapse.
• Lord Wellesley (Governor-General 1798) used these methods to establish British supremacy.

Anglo-Mysore Wars (1769 – 1799)

• Four wars were fought between Mysore (Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan) and British forces.
• Mysore, under Hyder Ali, emerged as a powerful, unified Indian state.
• The British challenged Mysore's growing power.
• Hyder Ali defeated the British in the First Mysore War.
• Tipu Sultan continued the struggle and expanded Mysore's territory.
• Tipu Sultan attacked Travancore, leading to a British alliance with the Marathas and Nizam. Tipu Sultan attacked Travancore, trying to capture a remaining English spice exporting port, inciting the alliance of the British against him.
• British secured a victory at Seringapatam (Srirangapatnam) in 1792; Tipu lost half his kingdom.
• Tipu Sultan's two sons were taken hostage by the British.
• Refusal to join the subsidiary system led to Tipu Sultan's defeat and death in the Fourth Mysore War (1799).
• Mysore was restored to the previous Hindu rulers, gaining loyalty of another Indian state.
• British expanded their territories from the east to the west coasts of India after the Fourth Mysore War.

Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775-1818)

• Four wars waged over 40 years.
• British exploited rivalries among Maratha chiefs.
• After the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), four major Maratha powers emerged: Gaikwars, Bhonsles, Holkars, and Sindhias.
• First Maratha War (1775-1782): British supported Raghunath Rao, Marathas backed Madhav Rao II.
• British suffered a defeat at Wadgaon in 1779; the Treaty of Wadgaon (1779), forced British to return all gains from Raghunath Rao.
• The Treaty of Salbai (1782) resulted in limited British gains, including Salsette Island.
• Second Maratha War (1802-1805): Baji Rao II fled to British protection, signing the Treaty of Bassein.
• British victory, Wellesley recalled to England due to the costly war.
• Allied Maratha chiefs fought against the British, but were defeated.
• Third Maratha War (1817-1818): Baji Rao II attempted to unite the Marathas against the British.
• British victory, abolishing the Peshwa position; Baji Rao II was pensioned off and granted an estate near Kanpur with an annual pension.
• All Maratha chiefs joined the subsidiary system.

Anglo-Sikh Wars

• British focused on northwestern India after 1818.
• Ranjit Singh expanded the the Punjab kingdom.
• Treaty of Amritsar (1809) limited Ranjit Singh's expansion to regions beyond the Sutlej River; Britain took various Sikh states east of the Sutlej, like Patiala, Nabha, and Kapurthala; the British frontier extended from the Yamuna to the Sutlej.
• First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-1846): Jalandhar Doab annexed, Dalip Singh became Maharaja of Punjab.
• Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-1849): Punjab became a British vassal state.
• The Treaty of Lahore (1846) recognized Dalip Singh as the last Maharaja of the Sikhs.
• After Ranjit Singh's death, British intervention in Punjab led to confrontations which resulted in the two wars.

Annexation of Awadh

• Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh in 1856, citing alleged misgovernance. Awadh was a significant market for English manufactured goods.

Reasons for British Success

• Absence of strong central Indian leadership after Mughal decline.
• Disunity among Indian states.
• British military and naval superiority.
• Subsidiary alliance and doctrine of lapse ensured partial control of Indian states.
• Initial British non-interference in religious matters.
• British exploited internal conflicts and rivalries among Indian rulers.
• Superior British weaponry and military training.
• Lack of unity among Indian states benefited British.
• British successfully exploited rivalry between Indian kingdoms making it easier to defeat them.
• Superior British military and naval capabilities.
• British control over Indian states through subsidiary alliances and doctrine of lapse led to the lack of resistance to conquest by many rulers.
• British non-interference in religious matters initially limited resistance from the population.