THE ANGLO-NEPAL RELATIONS In 1768 AD, the Gorkhas moved towards the Indian plains where they came into confrontation with the Sikhs and the British. In 1792 AD, Colonel Kirkpatrick was sent on a commercial mission to Kathmandu, and Captain Knox was posted as a British resident in Kathmandu from 1802-04 […]
Chapter 2 – European Penetration and The British Conquest of India
After the defeat of Bengal, Mysore, and Marathas, the only major Indian power that still retained its independence was Punjab under Ranjit Singh, who came to power in 1792 AD. He organized an alliance of Sikh misls in the West of the Sutlej in 1798 and was successful in repelling […]
Apart from their territorial ambitions, the major reason for the British intervention in the Maratha state was primarily commercial. The sudden growth in the company’s cotton trade after 1784 AD to China from Gujarat through Bombay, motivated the British authorities to play a more interventionist role in the region. The […]
According to Western thinkers and administrators, the basic objective of the British policy towards Mysore was to restore the Hindu Wodeyer dynasty, which was overthrown by Haider Ali. This argument was, however, basically designed to legitimize British political action. The real reasons for the conflict between Anglo-Mysore conflict were as […]
After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the English East India Company came up with the idea that Bengal had inexhaustible property and wealth. The Company wanted to bring the Nawabs of Bengal under its control so as to drain their wealth. Mir Jafar, the new Nawab of Bengal, realized […]
MIR JAFAR He was the first Nawab of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa under British rule in India. He succeeded Siraj-ud- Daulah. He is remembered in India by the name of Gaddar-e-Hind. By cheating Siraj ud-Daulah and surrendering the Nawabs’ army against Robert Clive on the battlefield, he became the Nawab […]
In Bengal, the first English factory was established at Hoogli in the year 1651. The permission for the establishment of the factory was given by Mughal Sultan Shuja, who was the second son of Emperor Shah Jahan and the then Subedar of Bengal. Thereafter, Emperor Farrukhsiyar by the farman of […]
Compagnie des Indes Orientales popularly known as the French East India Company, was formed by Colbert (the famous minister of Louis XIV), under state patronage in 1664 AD. After three years, an expedition was sent under Francois Caron, who established the first French factory in India at Surat. In 1669 […]
Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), popularly known as the Dutch United East India Company, was formed in 1602 AD. It was a national undertaking and was granted an exclusive right to trade with India and the East Indies for twenty-one years. The company was vested with ample powers of attack and […]
Before the East India Company established trade in India, John Mildenhall, an English merchant came to India via land route to trade with Indian merchants in 1599. “The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies” was formed through the Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I […]
The advent of the Portuguese in India began with Vasco-da-Gama. the discoveries Very soon, the Portuguese, instead of confining themselves to the boundaries of legitimate trade, became unduly ambitious to establish their supremacy in the Eastern seas by force. Vasco-da-Gama who belonged to Lisbon, discovered a new sea route from […]
INTRODUCTION OF THIS CHAPTER 2 “The growth of territorial empire in India was neither planned nor directed from Britain, it was the initiative of company officials”, argues PJ Marshall (1968). The supremacy of the navy and the army, sophisticated arms and ammunitions, support of the government and effective planning with […]