Match the following:
(a) Diwani (i) Tipu Sultan
(b) ‘Tiger of Mysore’ (ii) Right to collect land revenue
(c) FaujdariAdalat (iii) Sepoy
(d) Rani Channamma (iv) Criminal court
(e) Sipahi (v) Led an anti-British movement in Kitoor .
Answers:
(a) Diwani (ii) Right to collect land revenue
(b) ‘Tiger of Mysore’ (i) Tipu Sultan
(c) FaujdariAdalat (iv) Criminal court
(d) Rani Channamma (v) Ledan anti-British movement in Kitoor .
(e) Sipahi (iii) Sipoy
Fill in the blanks:
1) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of _________ .
2) Haidar Ali and Tipu sultan were the rulers __________ .
3) Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of __________ .
4) Maratha kingdoms were located mainly in the _________ part of India .
Answer:
1) Plassey 2) Mysore 3) Lapse 4) South- West .
State whether true or false.
a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth century.
Ans: False.
b) The English East India company was the only European company that traded with India.
Ans: False.
c) Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab.
Ans: True.
d) The British did not introduce administrative changes in the territories they conquered.
Ans: False.
Answer the following question :
1. What attracted European trading companies to India?
Ans: The fine qualities of cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe .Pepper ,cloves, cardamom and cinnamon too were in great demand.there was heavy competition among the European companies inevitably pushed up the prices in European markets which attracted European trading companies to India.
2. What were the areas of conflict between the Bengal Nawabs and the East India company?
Ans:
(a) The first English factory was set up on the banks of river Hugli in 1651.As trade expanded the company persuaded merchants and traders to come and settle near the factory.The company tried to continuously press more concessions and manipulate existing privileges , Aurangzeb’s farman granted only the company the right to trade duty .
(b) The company officials who were carrying private trade were asked to pay duty,they refused to pay causing an enormous loss of revenue for Bengal.
(c) In the early eighteenth century the conflict between the company and the Nawabs of Bengal intensified. The Nawabs of Bengal refused to grant the company concessions,demanded large tributes for the company’s right to trade ,right to mint coins, and stopped it from extending fortifications.
(d) The company declared that the unjust demands of the local officials were ruining the trade of the company.The conflicts led to confrontations and finally culminated in the Battle of Plassey.
3. How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India company?
Ans: In 1765, the mughal emperor appointed the company as the Diwan of the provinces of Bengal .The treaty of Allahabad gave them the right to collect revenue from these territories .
The Diwani allowed the company to use vast revenue resources of Bengal. In early eighteenth century the trade with India had expanded but it had to buy most of the goods in India with gold and silver imported from Britain.The outflow of gold from Britain slowed after the Battle of Plassey and entirely stopped after the assumption of Diwani. Now revenues could be used to purchase cotton and silk textiles in India,maintain company troops and meet the cost of building the company forts and offices at Calcutta.
4. Explain the system of ‘Subsidiary Alliance’
Ans: To achieve his political aims,Lord Wellesley relied on three methods one among them was subsidiary Alliance.
According to this terms of alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces.They were to be protected by the company,but had to pay for the ‘Subsidiary Forces’ that the company was supposed to maintain for the purpose of this protection. If the Indian rulers failed to make the payment,then part of their territory was taken away as penalty.The ‘Subsidiary Treaty’ also provided that the Indian ruler would agree to the posting at his court of a British resident,that he would not employ any European in his service without the approval of the British ,and that he would not negotiate with any other Indian ruler without consulting the Governor General.
5. In what way was the administration of the company different from that of Indian rulers?
Ans: In 1600, the East India company acquired a charter from the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth -I granting it the sole right to trade with east.
i) Warren Hastings (governor general from 1773 to 1785) was one of the many important figures who played a significant role in the expansion of company power. By this time company had acquired power not only in Bengal ,but also in Bombay and Madras presidencies which was ruled by governor.
ii) From 1772, each district was to have two courts-a criminal court(Faujdari Adalat) and a civil court (Diwani Adalat). Mauvlis and Hindu pandits interpreted Indian laws for the European district collectors who presided over civil courts .The criminal courts were still under a quazi and a mufti but under the supervision of the collectors.
iii) A major problem was that the brahman pandits gave different interpretations of local law based on different schools of the dharmashastra.
iv) The principle figures in an Indian district was the collector. His office the collectorate became the new centre of power and patronage that steadily replaced previous holders of authority.
6. Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the company’s army.
Ans: The following changes occurred in the company army:-
i) Colonial rule in India brought in some new ideas of administration and reform but its power rested on its military strength .The Mughal army was mainly composed of cavalry and infantry ,that is paidal soldiers.They were given training in archery and the use of the sword.The rural areas had a large number of armed peasants.
ii) There was a change in eighteenth century when Mughal successor states like Awadh and Benaras started recruiting peasants into their armies and training them as professional soldiers,and same was adopted by East India company.
iii) In the early nineteenth century the British began to develop a uniform military culture.Soldiers were increasingly subjected to European style training ,drill and discipline .Often this created problems since caste and community feelings were ignored.
7. After the British conquest of Bengal, Calcutta grew from a small village to a big city.Find out about the culture,architecture and the life of Europeans and Indians of the city during the colonial period.
Ans: The British conquered Bengal, Calcutta grew from a small village to a big city.The culture,architecture and the life of Europeans and Indians of the city during the colonial period was as follows:-
i) The planning work was done by different governor generals in Calcutta.From many points of view,this city was very important .It was a big port. It had been fortified by the English East India Company since its establishment.
ii) After Wellesley’s departure the work of town planning was carried out by the lottery committee (1817) with the help of the government.
iii) From 1817 cholera started spreading and in 1869 plague made its appearance. Densely built up areas were seen in insanitary since they obstructed direct sunlight and circulation of air.
8. Collect pictures,stories,poems and information about any of the following-The Rani of Jhansi, Mahaji, Sindhia, Haider Ali, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord Dalhousie or any other contemporary ruler of youth region.
Ans: Search from old books.