eBOOK 211124181725154

18th Century
Anglo-French War
Anglo- Mysore War
Kerala
 Divided into 4 important states Calicut, Cochin , Chirakkal &
Travancore.
 Kingdom of Travancore rose under Martand Varma (1729-58)
 Defeated the Dutch: Battle of Colachel (1741), resulting in
the complete eclipse of Dutch power in Malabar.
 Padmanabhaswamy temple recreated

 By 1763 only 3 big states of Calicut, Cochin , Travancore
existed.
Kerala Continued….
 Rama Varma (1758-98)
 A poet, scholars, musician, renowed actor &, a man of great culture.

 Took keen interest in European affairs.
 Read newspapers & journals published in London, Calcutta & Madras.
 18th century saw a remarkable revival of Malyalam literature.
 Trivandrum, the capital of Travancore become a famous centre of Sanskrit

scholarship (2nd half of 18th century).
Wars, Battles
and Treaties
Modern Indian History

Anglo-French Carnatic Wars
● Why South?
● (North)- Aurangzeb had stalled

● Nadir Shah’s showed the decay
● (West)- Marathas
● (East)- Bengal Alivardi Khan
● (South)- Central power had disappeared & 1748 death of
Nizam
● Both English & French desired it

Anglo-French Carnatic Wars/ Carnatic Wars
 Fight between the English & the French on the Indian soil for
supremacy
Joseph Dupleix Robert Clive

Anglo-French Wars
War of Austrian Succession :1740-1748
France, Prussia, Spain, Britain ,Habsburg, Hanover,

Bavaria, Sicily, Naples, Genoa, Dutch Republic, Saxony,
Sweden Sardinia, Russia
First Carnatic War
● Madras vs. Pondicherry
● Lord Dupleix Ambition
● 1746: Capturing of Madras by the French
● Important English trading centre, ruled by Nawab of Carnatic
● Strong defence by Dupleix
● La Bourdonnais
● Battle of St. Thome-(1746) (Dupleix defeated the Indian

Forces led by Anwar-ud-din, the Nawab of Carnatic)
● Retreat of the British
● Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle:
● Madras to be returned to British in exchange of French

fortress Louisbourg in North America to France.
● Outcome-
○ French Superiority had been clearly displayed.
○ Dupleix had given ample proof of his extraordinary

skill & diplomacy.
○ Brought out the importance of naval power as an

important factor.
Second Carnatic war
● Civil Wars in Hyderabad & Carnatic on the issue of
succession.
● Interfering in the local dynastic dispute.

● In Carnatic, Chanda sahib (son in law of former Nawab,
Dost Ali) vs Anwar-ud-din (the Nawab)
● In Hyderabad, Muzaffar Jang (grand son) vs Nasir Jang
(son)
● Anwar-ud-din was killed at the Battle of Ambur (1749)
near Vellore, but his son Muhammed Ali fled to
Trichinopoly.
● Nasir Jang also lost his life in 1750.
Second Carnatic War (1748-1754) Continued…..
● Chanda Sahib become Nawab of Carnatic & Muzaffar Jang
become subehdar of Deccan.
● At the request of new Subahdar, a French army under
officer Bussy was stationed at Hyderabad.
● France was initially successful in both places
● While French were in Trichy, English attacked Arcot so,
French had to raise the siege. (The British Counter attack
led by Robert Clive)
● Dupleix failure to capture Trichy. Along with his political
ambitions & ruinous expenses sealed his fate.
● Treaty of Pondicherry – Dupleix returns to France( English
demand) replaced by Godehu as new Governor General.
● Reason of the second Carnatic war was based on Internal

Issue led by the lure of Commercial Supremacy.
Third Carnatic War (1757-63)
● War was an echo of 7 year war in Europe & thus ended the short
term peace in India between the Europeans.
● 1757: Robert Clive had defeated Siraj-ud-duala & captured
Bengal.
● Boosted the morale of English Soldiers.
● Richness of Bengal helped the English to defeat France in the
south.
● 1758: Count de Lally, French governor at Pondicherry attacked
Fort St. David (British Settlement).
● 1760: Wandiwash English (Sir Eyre Coote) defeat
the French (Count de Lally)
● 1763: Treaty of Paris was signed
● Outcome-
○ French possessions in India were made protectorate states
○ No fortification allowed, No standing army
○ French confined to only few areas
○ Pondicherry & few other territories were returned to French but
was never to be fortified.
● This sealed French ambitions in India.
Reasons for French Defeat
● French East India Company was a State Undertaking
● Directors were Appointed by Crown
● Lethargy and Bureaucratic Control over Company
● English East India Co.was a Private entity

● Opening up of different fronts by the French
● India, Europe, North America
● Failed to understand complex political situations in India
● Also couldn’t build strong navy like the English
● The British had the advantage as they had partial control over
Bengal.
Reasons for the French Defeat? Continued…….
● The British had 3 important bases in India – Calcutta,
Madras & Bombay
● The victory at Plassey gave the English Company large
area of a rich resources
● On the other hand, the French had only one strong base
at Pondicherry. If Pondicherry was endangered, it could
not get any effective support from their other bases in
India.
● End of British Conquest over the European Powers
● Now, British Conquest over the Indian Princely States
Q. With reference to the entry of European powers into
India, which one of the following statements is not
correct?2003
(a) The Portuguese captured Goa in 1499
(b) The English opened their first factory in South India at

Masulipatnam
(c) In Eastern India, the English Company opened its first factory
in Orissa in 1663
(d) Under the leadership of Dupleix, the French occupied Madras

in 1746
18th Century
Anglo- Mysore War

Mysore
● Nominal part of Mughal empire.
● King Chikka Krishna Raj, a puppet at the hands of 2

ministers Nanjaraj (the Sarvadhikari) & Devraj (the
Dulwai).
● Mysore emerged as an important power under Hyder Ali.
● 1755: Modern arsenal in Dindigul.

● 1761: Overthrew Nanjaraj & established his authority.
Tipu Sultan
 Complex character but innovator
 New calendar , new coinage system & new scales of weights & measures
 French revolution: Planted a 'Tree of Liberty' at Seringapatam & he
became a member of a ‘Jacobian Club’.
 He was the only one who understand the threat of the English
 Tried to establish modern navy
 Mysore flourished & comparatively was better than others

 Sent emissaries to France, Iran, Turkey & Pegu Myanmar.
Tipu Sultan Continued…
 Traded with China
 Promoted trade with Russia & Arabia
 Sir John Shore wrote, ‘the peasantry of his dominions are
protected & their labor encouraged & rewarded’.
 Described as religious fanatic. But gave money for the construction
of image of goddess Sarda in Shringeni Temple.
 His personal library contained books on such diverse subjects as

religion, history, military science, medicine, & mathematics.
Kerala
 Divided into 4 important states Calicut, Cochin , Chirakkal &
Travancore.
 Kingdom of Travancore rose under Martand Varma (1729-58)
 Defeated the Dutch: Battle of Colachel (1741), resulting in
the complete eclipse of Dutch power in Malabar.
 Padmanabhaswamy temple recreated

 By 1763 only 3 big states of Calicut, Cochin , Travancore
existed.
Kerala Continued….
 Rama Varma (1758-98)
 A poet, scholars, musician, renowed actor &, a man of great culture.

 Took keen interest in European affairs.
 Read newspapers & journals published in London, Calcutta & Madras.
 18th century saw a remarkable revival of Malyalam literature.
 Trivandrum, the capital of Travancore become a famous centre of Sanskrit

scholarship (2nd half of 18th century).
Rajput States
● Raja Sawai Jai Singh Amber (1699-1743)
● Distinguished statesman, law maker, astronomer &

reformer
● Man of Science & arts

● Founded Jaipur: Made it a seat of science
● Observatories in Ujjain, Jaipur, Delhi, Varanasi & Mathura
● He drew up a set of tables, entitled Zij Muhammad Shahi,
to enable people to make astronomical observations.
● Euclid's "Elements of Geometry", translated into Sanskrit
& also several works on trigonometry, & Napier's work on
the construction & use of logarithms.
● Law to reduce expenditure on daughter’s marriage (Social

reformer).
Anglo- Mysore Wars
● The Anglo–Mysore Wars were a series of wars fought in India
over the last 4 decades of the 18th century.
● Between the Kingdom of Mysore & the British East India

Company, represented chiefly by the Madras Presidency.
● The 4th war resulted in the overthrow of the house of Haidar Ali
& Tipu, in 1799, & the dismantlement of Mysore to the benefit of
the British & their allies.
First Anglo- Mysore War 1767-69
Background-
● Haidar gained some measure of success against
the British but suffered heavy defeats at the hands
of the Madhavrao in 1764, 1766 & 1771.
● After easy success in Bengal, British wanted
Northern circars on rent, as it the connection
between Madras & Bengal, but Nizam rejected it so
they got firman from Mughal ruler
● Haidar also had territorial disputes with Nawab of

Arcot.
Changing Alliances:
● Initially, the Nizam, the Marathas, & the English allied together
against Haidar. But acting with considerable tact & diplomatic
skill, he made peace with both the Nizam and Marathas.
● He paid the Marathas to turn them neutral &, promising to share

conquered territories with the Nizam, converted him into his ally.
● He joined the Nizam to attack the Nawab of Arcot.
● The war continued for a longer period without any conclusion.

● Meanwhile, Haidar changed his strategy & attacked Madras,
forcing the English to conclude a humiliating Treaty of Madras
(April 4,1769).
● The Treaty provides:
○ Exchange of prisoners & mutual restitution of conquests.
○ British promised to help Haidar in case of attack by any other
power.
○ Territories occupied were restored to each other.
○ 1771: Marathas attack Mysore & the British did not help
Haidar.
2nd Anglo–Mysore War (1780–1784)
● Background:
○ Accused the British of breach of faith & non-observance of

the Treaty of Madras when attack by the Marathas.
○ The capture of Mahe (a French settlement under the

protection of Haidar Ali ) gave Haidar an opportunity to take
revenge.
● Main Events:
○ 1781: Haidar after forging an anti-British alliance with the

Marathas and Nizam attacked Carnatic & captured Arcot,
defeating the English Army.
● Warren Hastings bribed Nizam by giving Guntur thus leading him
to withdraw.
● 1781: Eyre Coote defeated Hyder at Porto Novo & saved Madras.
● 1782: Hyder died of Cancer.
● Now his son, Tipu carried on the war.
● Finally, the war ended with the last British-Indian treaty with an
Indian ruler on equal footing, Treaty of Manglore (March,1784).
● Treaty of Mangalore, at which both sides agreed to restore the
other's lands to the status quo ante bellum.
● Thus, no tangible benefits.
Third Anglo–Mysore War (1789–92)
Background:
● Dispute arose between Tipu & the state of
Travancore.
● Travancore had purchased Jalkottal & Cannanore
from the Dutch in the Cochin state.
● As Cochin was a feudatory of Tipu, he considered
the act of Travancore as a violation of his
sovereign rights.
● 1789: Tipu invaded the nearby state of
Travancore, which was a British ally.
● 1791: Lord Cornwallis, had succeeded through shrewd
diplomacy in isolating him by winning over the Marathas, the
Nizam, & the rulers of Travancore & Coorg.
● A resounding defeat for Mysore.
● The war ended after the siege of Seringapatam & the signing of
the Treaty of Seringapatam, according to which Tipu had to
surrender half of his kingdom to the Company.
● Paid 330 lakhs of rupees as indemnity.
Fourth Anglo–Mysore War (1799)
○ Saw the defeat of Tipu & further reductions in
Mysorean territory.
○ Mysore's alliance with the French was seen as a
threat to the Company.
○ Nizam & the Marathas launched an invasion from
the north.
○ 1799: The British won a decisive victory at the
Battle of Seringapatam under the leadership of
Arthur Wellesley.
○ Tipu was killed. Much of the remaining Mysorean territory
was annexed by the British, the Nizam & the Marathas.
○ The remaining core, around Mysore & Seringapatam, was

restored to the Indian prince belonging to the Wodeyar
dynasty.
○ An important result was the complete elimination of the

French threat to British supremacy in India.
Economic
Condition
During
British
Modern Indian History Rule
Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)
Previous Year Question - Mains
Q. Examine how the decline of traditional artisanal industry in
colonial India crippled the rural economy. (250 words) 2017

Drain of Wealth…
❑ 1st man to write about the drain of wealth was Dadabhai Naoroji.
❑ He wrote about it in a paper called ‘The English debt to India’.
❑ He also wrote a book ‘Poverty & un-British rule in India’.
❑ Other people who wrote were:
❖ Govind Ranade
❖ R.C. Dutt made drain of wealth the subject of his ‘The
Economic History of India’.
❖ R.P. Dutt

Drain of Wealth…
❖ Dinshah Wacha
❖ S.N. Banerjee
❖ Prithwish Chandra Ray
❖ G Subramania Iyer supported the cause of India's freedom
& used his newspaper ‘The Hindu’ to protest British
Imperialism.
❖ Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
❖ GV Joshi
❖ Bholanath Chandra

Previous Year Question
Q. Who of the following was/were economic critic/critics of
colonialism in India ? 2015
1. Dadabhai Naoroji
2. G. Subramania Iyer
3. R.C. Dutt
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Q. Who among the following used the phrase ‘Un-British’ to criticise
the English colonial control of India? 2008
a) Anand mohan Bose
b) Badruddin Tayyabji
c) Dadabhai Naoroji
d) Pherozshah Mehta

Home charges:
❖ The salaries of Secretary of State
❖ Maintenance of the army & funds for waging wars even

outside India
❖ Other expenses related to administration.
❖ Profits earned by British capitalists through illegal channels
❖ They used to pay less than the market value while purchasing
Indian goods
❖ Support the India office in London.
❖ Salaries & pensions of British personnel engaged in India.

Q. With reference to the period of colonial rule in India, "Home
Charges" formed an important part of drain of wealth from India.
Which of the following funds constituted "Home Charges" ? 2011
1. Funds used to support the India office in London.
2. Funds used to pay salaries and pensions of British
personnel engaged in India.
3. Funds used for waging wars outside India by the British.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3

Continued…
❑ These charges would be probably found to be:
❖ the dividends on East India Stock,
❖ interest in Home debt, the salaries of the officers,
❑ furlough and retired pay to members of the Indian Military &

Civil Services when at Home,
❑ Charges of all descriptions paid in this country connected with

the British troops serving in India &
❑ portion of the cost of transporting the British troops to & from

India".

Impact of Drain of Wealth
❑ The drain of wealth became a big issue in the Congress session
that followed 1896.
❑ Dadabhai wrote that it was the main reason behind the poverty of
the nation
❑ It checked & retarded capital formation in India while the same
portion of wealth accelerated the growth of British economy.
❑ British claimed that there was no drain of wealth but they were
providing services like roads, railways, health, education etc.

Continued…
❑ Factors that led to deindustrialization
❖ Industrial revolution in England
❖ Requirement of raw materials from India
❖ Markets in India
❖ High import tax on Indian goods manufactured
❖ The English goods were much cheaper than the Indian goods
& hence penetrated easily into the Indian markets
❖ The English traders started buying most of the raw material at
a relative higher price

Continued…
❑ Hence the Indian traders were facing shortage of raw material &
since they had to pay a higher price of raw material, their cost of
production increased

Discriminatory law
❑ Import duty on Indian goods in England was 200% to 400%
while for the English to sell their goods in India, it was just 2% to
10%.
❑ Extinction of ruling class, & Indian ruling families by the British
❑ These ruling classes used to buy a lot of Indian products. But

now that they had been destroyed, there were no consumers for
the Indian products.
❑ Now British were the ruling class, they had different preference &
requirements which led to the downfall of Indian industries.

Lack of Financial & Technical support
❑ There were no banks or co-operative societies in India.
❑ On the other hand in London alone, there were more than 600
banks at the turn of 17th & 18th century.
❑ This shows the financial aid which the companies in England were
getting while the Indian traders were not given these facilities by
both Indian rulers & English rulers .

Continued…
❑ No technological progress made by Indians.
❑ There was no sense of entrepreneurship.
❑ Indian traders did not search for new markets after losing a big
market in the west

Discrimination in Freight Rates
❑ Indian goods were charged higher than the English goods for
transportation through railways.
❑ It was prevalent everywhere, not only in railways.

Impact of Deindustrialization
❑ Indian economy, which was a balanced economy earlier, became

a purely agricultural based economy.
❑ Large scale unemployment.
❑ The small cottage industries which were destroyed were not

replaced which led to severe unemployment.

Continued…
❑ Industries were established only in few places like Bombay,
Ahmedabad etc. due to pressure from certain Indian traders.
❑ Most of the Indian traders went back to agriculture, leading to

fragmentation of land holding size.
❑ This resulted in stagnation in agricultural production & disguised

unemployment.

Loss of Craft Industries
❑ India was very famous for crafts like brass work, Malmal of
Dhaka, etc. , but on establishment of industrial products from
England, these craft industries lost their markets which ultimately
resulted in loss of culture & history.

Chintz
• By the early 18th century, worried by the popularity of Indian
textiles, wool & silk makers in England began protesting against
the import of Indian cotton textiles.
• 1720:British government enacted a legislation banning the use of

printed cotton textiles– chintz – in England. This Act was known
as the Calico Act.
• Printed design on fine cloth (chintz) produced in Masulipatnam

during the 19th century.
• This is a fine example of the type of chintz produced for export to

Iran & Europe.

Calico
• European traders first encountered fine cotton cloth from India
carried by Arab merchants in Mosul in present-day Iraq.
• So they began referring to all finely woven textiles as “muslin” –

a word that acquired wide currency.
• When the Portuguese first came in search of spices they landed in

Calicut.
• The cotton textiles which they took back to Europe, along with
the spices, came to be called “calico” (derived from Calicut), &
subsequently calico became the general name for all cotton
textiles.

Q. Economically one of the results of the British rule in India in the
19th Century was the
(a) Increase in the export of Indian handicrafts
(b) Growth in the number of Indian owned factories
(c) Commercialization of Indian agriculture
(d) Rapid increase in the urban population

Explanation
❑ Commercialization of agriculture was the result of British rule in
India in the 19th century.
❑ Farmers were forced to grow cash crops which were exported to
Britain as raw materials of the English factories.
❑ The period also saw decline in urban population & destroyed
domestic factories. Indians started producing crops for
commercial use & on a large scale basis. 19th century agriculture
became commercial due to the use of modern agricultural
equipment.

Continued…
❑ British rulers forced farmers to grow Indigo & other cash crops
which can be used as a raw material for British
manufacturers. As a result urban population reduced & domestic
industries were destroyed.

Impact of commercialization
Positive:
❖ Indian markets linked with international markets
❖ More profits due to export of cash crops by rich peasants
❖ Improved agricultural infrastructure (Too a certain extent )
Negative:
❖ Shortage of food crops
❖ Exploitation of peasants
❖ Rural indebtedness
❖ Got loans with heavy interests

Continued…
❖ Negative impact due to linking with international markets: If the
harvest is good in some other markets, the Indian peasants were
ignored. For instance, the cotton of the 1860s pushed up prices
but this mostly benefited the intermediaries, & when the slump in
prices came in 1866, it hit the cultivators the most, bringing in its
turn heavy indebtedness, famine & agrarian riots in the Deccan in
the 1870s.
❖ Impact on land
❖ For the Indian peasant, commercialization was a forced process.

Development of Modern Industry
❑ Only in the 2nd half of the 19th century modern machine-based
industries came up in India.
❖ 1st cotton textile mill was set up in 1853 in Bombay by Cowasjee

Nanabhoy
❖ The first jute mill came up in 1855 in Rishra.

❑ But most of modern industries were foreign-owned.
❑ Indian-owned industries came up in cotton textiles & jute in the 19th

century & in sugar, cement etc. in the 20th century.

Reasons for rush of foreign capital
❑ Prospects of high profits,
❑ Availability of cheap labor,

❑ Cheap & readily available raw material,
❑ Ready market in India & the neighbours,
❑ Diminishing avenues for investments at home,
❑ Willingness of the administration to provide all help,
❑ Ready markets abroad for some Indian exports such as tea, jute &
manganese.

Continued…
❑ Indian-owned industries suffered from many handicaps:
❑ Credit problems,
❑ No tariff protection by Government,
❑ Unequal competition from foreign companies,
❑ Stiff opposition from British capitalist interests who were backed by

financial & technical infrastructure at home.

Continued…
❑ The colonial factor also caused certain structural & institutional changes.
❑ The industrial development was lopsided —core & heavy industries &
power generation were neglected & some regions were favored more
than the others causing regional disparities.
❑ These regional disparities hampered the process of nation building.
❑ Absence of technical education, the industry lacked sufficient technical
manpower.
❑ Socially, the rise of an industrial capitalist class & the working class was
an important feature of this phase.

Famine Policy

Famines
❑ “An Acute shortage of food in a given area due to natural or
manmade reasons is called famine”
❑ Causes:
❖ Poverty causes famine or famine cause poverty?
❖ British scholars: Famines cause Poverty

❖ Indian Scholars: Poverty cause Famine
❖ Colonial economic policy

Under Crown Administration
● There were 10 severe famines besides a large number of scarcities.
● 1860-61: Famine in Delhi-Agra region
○ It was the 1st time when the authorities looked into the causes, area
& intensity of the famine & took some measures to cope with the
distress.
○ Colonel Baird Smith Report on famine but it did not result into any
formulation of general principles of relief.
● 1866- The Orissa Famine covered Orissa, Madras, Bihar & Northern
Bengal. 13 lakh died in Orissa alone. No steps taken by the government.
● 1868- Famine in Northern and Central India.

Under Crown Administration
● 1876-78: Period of Lytton The Great Famine affected Madras, Bombay, U
P & Punjab.
● Many villages were depopulated & large tracts of land went out of
cultivation.
● R.C. Dutt estimated 5 million people were perished in a single year.
● Between 1850 & 1900, about 2.8 crore people died in famines.
● The government efforts were half-hearted & there was a lack of policy.

Strachey Commission-1880
● Government of Lytton appointed a commission to formulate general
principles & suggest preventive measures.
● Recommendations:
○ Employment on works must be offered before the physical efficiency of

applicants had been impaired by privation. Wages should be adjusted
from time to time to provide sufficient food for laborer’s support.
○ It should be the duty of the state to provide gratuitous relief to the

impotent poor & listed the category of persons entitled to receive it.
○ The relief could take the form of supply of raw grains or money or
cooked food.

○ Supply of food in distressed areas should be carefully watched. However
government must trust private trade in supply & distribution of food &
prohibit export of grains necessary.
○ It made suggestions regarding suspensions & remissions of land
revenue & rents.
○ The cost of famine relief should be borne by the provincial governments.
However, central assistance to be made wherever necessary.
○ During excessive drought, facilities should be provided for migration of

cattle to grassy forest areas.
● Government accepted in general the Commission's recommendations &

steps were taken to find new resources for the creation of a Famine
Fund.

● 1883- provisional Famine Code was formulated which formed a guide &
basis for the various Provincial Famine Codes which were subsequently
formulated.
● It prescribed the necessary precautions in ordinary times, gave

instructions to be followed when a relief campaign seemed imminent.
● It also prescribed the duties of all concerned when famine actually
began.
● 1896-97: The great famine affected almost every province.

● Lyall Commission was set up & its views were similar to its predecessors.
● 1899-1900: The famine affected 28 million.
● The authorities refused to open relief works during the early stages &
when they opened, the system broke down completely.

Recommendations of MacDonnell Commission
● Lord Curzon appointed the commission under Sir Anthony MacDonnell.
● Recommendations:
○ The commission emphasized the benefits of a policy of “moral strategy”,

early distribution of advances for purchase of seed & cattle & sinking of
temporary wells.
○ Appointment of Famine Commissioner in a province where relief

operation were expected to be extensive.

Recommendations Continued..
○ Enlistment of non-official assistance on a large scale & preference in
particular circumstances of village works to the large public works.
○ Better transport facilities, opening of agricultural banks, improvement of

irrigation facilities & vigorous measures to foster improved methods of
agriculture.
● Most of the recommendations of the Commission were accepted &

Curzon took measures to prevent & combat famine.

Agrarian Revolts During
British Rule (1857 - 1947)

Land Tenure System: British Legacy
 In the initial years, East India company faced following problems:
 Demand for British goods in India was negligible. (Because EIC

was yet to destroy handicraft & artisans)
 Under the Mercantilism policy of British: one country’s gain

required another country/colony’s loss. Therefore, British
Government prohibited EIC from exporting gold & silver from
England to pay for Indian goods import.
 EIC needed money to maintain an army for defeating &

subjugating native rulers.
Company’s solution:
 Start collecting revenue from Indians
 Use that Revenue to buy Indian raw material & export to England.
 Import finished goods back to India & make profit.
 But it had a problem: the revenue system under Mughals & native
rulers was too complex for the British to understand.
 Lord Cornwallis comes with a novel idea: just ‘outsource’ the tax
collection work to desi-middlemen: Zamindars, Jagirdar, Inamdars,
Lambardar etc.
Permanent settlement 1793
 Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Eastern UP & Northern Tamil Nadu
 Revenue amount was fixed at the beginning & remained the same permanently.
 Lord Cornwallis , John Shore
 Company ‘outsourced’ the revenue collection work to Zamindars
 British designated zamindars (local tax collectors) as owners of the land in their
district.
 This system was adopted in several other forms such as Jagirdari, Inamdari, etc.
 Dual Ownership
 Zamindars was also a owner of agricultural land, forest land ,fodder land etc.
 Peasant also had to pay tax on usage of forest, fodder for the 1st time.
 Zamindars were given freedom to decide how much to demand from the cultivators.
 Stiff penalties on defaulters.
 So Zamindar became very powerful in east & central India.

Impact
 Income to be collected at 1790’s base rate.
 This controlled the fluctuations in collections faced by company
from 1772
 Company Peasant to pay rent to Zamindar.
 Zamindar to pay tax to state
 Transfer of Land became regular feature.
 Sunset law-1794- State can reinstall new Zamindars .
 Urban merchants came into their place.
 Absentee landlordism resulted.
 Because they never had traditional bonds with villagers, only sent
mediators to collect tax.
 Exploitation increased. Led to many revolts. Hence British didn’t
implement it in other parts of India.
 Increase of Rural Indebtedness
Zamindar’s right over land was
 Alienable.
 Rentable.
 Heritable.
Ryotwari settlement
 The ryotwari system is associated with the name of Sir Thomas Munro,
who was appointed Governor of Madras in May 1820.
 Madras, Bombay Assam & central province of India
 To remove negatives of Permanent settlement’s Intermediaries &

absence of Zamindars in Madras region
 Ryotwari system had its origin in the Baramahal & Salem which were
ceded to the company in 1792 & 1st introduced by Read & his assistants.
 State officials to collect tax directly from peasants.
 Fixed once every 20 yrs. 50% of produce in most of the times.
 But depending on assess, which didn’t take his investment costs.

Madras was initially under Permanent settlement type system but Thomas Munro
convinced the directors of EIC to convert this area under Ryotwari system. He then
adopted in Bombay & Assam. But Why?
 In permanent settlement areas, land Revenue was fixed. But over the years,
agriculture prices/exports should increase but government’s income did not
increase.
 Zamindars were oppressive- leading to frequent agrarian revolts in the permanent
settlement areas.
 In Bihar, Bengal, there existed Zamindar/feudal lords since the times of Mughal
administration. But Madras, Bombay, Assam did not have Zamindars / feudal lords
with large estates. So, hard to ‘outsource’ work, even if British wanted.
 No middlemen in tax collection so farmer had to pay less taxes thus increased
purchasing power which improved demand for readymade British products in India
 Consequently, all subsequent land tax or revenue settlements made by the colonial
rulers were temporary settlements made directly with the peasant, or ‘ryot’ (e.g.,
the ryotwari settlements).
Features
 Government claimed the property rights to all the land, but allotted it to the
cultivators on the condition that they pay taxes. In other words, It established a
direct relation between the landholder & the government.
 Farmers could use, sell, mortgage, bequeath & lease the land as long as they paid
their taxes. In other words Ryotwari system gave a proprietary rights upon the
landholders.
 If they did not pay taxes, they were evicted
 taxes were only fixed in a temporary settlement for a period of 30 years & then
revised.
 government had retained the right to enhance land revenue whenever it wanted
 Provided measures for revenue relief during famines but they were seldom applied
in real life situation.
Consequences
 Farmers had to pay revenue even during drought & famines else he would be
evicted.
 Replacement of large number of zamindars by one giant zamindar called EIC.
 Although ryotwari system aimed for direct Revenue settlement between farmer &
the government but over the years, landlordism & tenancy became widespread.
Because textile weavers were unemployed they started working as tenant farmers
for other rich farmers. In many districts, more than 2/3 of farmland was leased.
 Since Government insisted on cash revenue, farmers resorted to growing cash

crops instead of food crops.
 And cash crop needed more inputs so more loans & indebtedness.
 After end of American civil war, cotton export declined but government didn’t
reduce the revenue. As a result most farmers defaulted on loans & land was
transferred from farmers to moneylenders.
Ryotwari settlement
Problems
 State became big Zamindar.
 Moneylenders exploitation-high rate of interest
 Mahajans & other outsiders.
 Transfer of land
 Deccan riots resulted.

2012
With reference to Ryotwari Settlement, consider the following statements:
1. The rent was paid directly by the peasants to the Government.
2. The Government gave Pattas to the Ryots.
3. The lands were surveyed and assessed before being taxed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 1, 2 and 3
d) None
Who among the following was/were associated with the introduction of
Ryotwari Settlement in India during the British rule? 2017
1. Lord Cornwallis
2. Alexander Read
3. Thomas Munro
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 3 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Mahalwari Settlement
 The government of William Bentinck later made a thorough review of the scheme of
1822, by which the Mahalwari system was introduced.
 Punjab region Gangetic valley north-west provinces, parts of central India
 Not as controversial as above two
 The word Mahalwari is derived from the term Mahal, referring to a neighbourhood
or quarter. Under this system the unit for revenue settlement is the village.
 The village lands belong jointly to the village community technically called the body
of co-shares.
 The body of co-shares is jointly responsible for the payment of land revenue,
though individual responsibility is always there.
 If any co-sharer abandons his land, it is taken over by the village community as a
whole. The community is the owner of village common land area, including the
forestland, pastures etc.
 Company ‘outsourced’ revenue collection work to Village community itself. –
Technically village headman (Lambardar) was made responsible for tax collection
 North West Provinces initially had Permanent settlement but transformed to
Mahalwari system by Holt Mackenzie.(1822)
 This Regulation also introduced the fixation of the average rents for
different classes of soil.
 British periodically revised tax rates.
 It is called Modified Zamindari system because in Mahalwari areas,

the Land revenue was fixed for the whole village & the village
headman (Lambardar) collected it. Meaning theoretically Village
itself was a landlord/zamindar.
 Other names for this system: Joint rent, ‘joint lease’, ‘brotherhood’
tract (mahal) holding & ‘gram wari’ etc.
Agrarian Revolts During
British Rule (1857 - 1947)

Peasant Movements After 1857 Revolt
• The revolt of 1857 saw the active participation of peasants.
• The English were able to suppress the uprising of 1857 but

this could not end the feelings of bitterness towards their
rule-particularly amongst the peasants.
• The revolt marked the beginning of a new phase of peasant

resistance as the peasantry gained invaluable organisational
experience during the revolt.

1.Indigo Revolt (1859 - 60)
• Indigo is a plant extract used as a dye.
• It was of high demand in international markets during that time.
• It was grown mainly in Bengal & Bihar.
Causes of the revolt
❖ Indigo planters who were mainly British, forced tenants to grow
Indigo. As per a contract, the tenants were given a token
amount as advance & were required to grow indigo in the best
lands & sell the produce to the planters at the price fixed by
them.

Continued...
❖ The price fixed by the planters was much below that of the
prevalent market prices.
❖ The system took away the freedom of the tenant to grow

the crops of his choice & sell the produce to the buyers of his
choice.
❖ Coercive methods like floggings, kidnappings of tenants &

their family members, physical attacks & destruction of
property were resorted to compel the cultivators to obey the
dictates of the planters.

Continued...
❖ The colonial government was indifferent to the plight of the
peasants.
❖ Appeals to the authorities by way of sending petitions &

representations were not heeded by the government.
❖ The state often explicitly supported the planters.

Course of the revolt
• The significant incident that triggered the revolt took place in
Govindpur village, in Nadia district, Bengal.
• Led by Digambar Biwas & Bishnu Biswas, the villagers stopped
cultivating indigo.
• The planters sent a gang of armed men to beat the villagers into
submission which was countered by the villagers using lathis &
spears.
• Similar protests by the cultivators took place in other villages of
Bengal.

Course of the revolt
• At times the cultivators had violent clashes with the police &
administration as they were seen as supporters of the
planters.
• Social boycott of the planters was also organized by the

cultivators.

Outcome
The revolt was largely successful in freeing the tenants from the
clutches of the planters. By 1860 the planters began to close
their factories & leave the area.
Factors that contributed to the success of the revolt
❖ Cultivators across sections like the landless agricultural
laborers, peasants & medium sized landlords participated in
the revolt.
❖ Leadership was provided by medium sized landlords who
had some leverage over the administration.

Continued...
❖ There was almost perfect unity between the Hindu peasants &
the Muslim peasants.
❖ The government response was not harsh. A commission was

appointed to study the conditions in which indigo was grown.
The government after receiving the report, banned some of
the unlawful & oppressive practices.
❖ The movement received support from the Indian & British

press who publicized the details of the oppressive system to
the general public in India & Britain.

Continued...
❖ Intellectuals like Harish Chandra Mukherjee gave wide
publicity to the plight of the cultivators. Din Bandhu Mitra's
famous play 'Neel Darpan' highlighted the injustices taking
place in the Indigo production.
❖ Missionaries also played a role in mobilizing the public

opinion to pressurize the government into taking action.

2.Pabna Movement
Epicenter: Pabna, East Bengal
Time Period: 1870s
Leaders: Ishwar Chandra Roy, Shambhu Pal, Khoodi Mollah.
Causes of the movement
• High demand of rent by landlords
• Attempts of landlords to raise rent by using dubious means of
measuring cultivated land.
• The revolt was directed against landlords. Protesters pledged
loyalty to the crown & called themselves the subjects of the queen.

Continued...
Demands of the peasants
• Cessation of zamindari excesses. Protesters did not demand
structural changes like the end of the zamindari system.
Methods employed by the peasantry
• Litigation, mobilization of people, raising of funds, refusal to
pay rent.(seldom used violence)
Course of the movement
• The Agrarian League was formed in Yusufshahi pargana by
the peasants. They were the 1st to organise. Others followed.

Outcome
• Successful
• The Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 gave some protection to the
peasants.
Factors that contributed to the success of the revolt

● Support of the government. The government acted as
mediators between the zamindars & the peasants.

Continued...
● Most intellectuals of Bengal supported the peasant cause.
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, & later S N Banerjee, A M Bose,
R C Dutt, Dwarkanath Ganguli campaigned for the peasants
& supported the tenancy bill.
● Hindu-Muslim unity though most of the zamindars were

Hindus & most of the tenants were Muslims.

3. Deccan Peasant Movement
Epicenter: Poona, Ahmednagar
Time Period: 1875 - (slowly died down as the demands were
met)
Causes of the movement
❖ Increase in rent to be paid by tenants to landlords.
❖ Drop in price of cotton after the end of the American Civil
war. Cotton fetched high prices during the war which led
many peasants to cultivate cotton. But prices slumped once
the war was over.

Continued...
❖ Bad harvest of 1875.
❖ Increase of revenue by 50% by the British government.
❖ Charging of exorbitant rates of interest by moneylenders

(who were mostly Marwaris)
The movement was mostly directed against moneylenders.

Course of the movement
• In 1875, riots broke out in 6 taluks of Poona & Ahmadnagar.
• Debt bonds were seized from the moneylenders & destroyed.
• Social boycott of moneylenders was organized.
• Many small owner-cultivators refused to pay revenue to the
government.
• The peasants got support from social reformers based in
Bombay & Poona.
• Justice M.G Ranade & his Poona Sarvajanik Sabha supported
the peasants' struggle.
•

Outcome
• Largely successful.
• In 1879 the Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act was passed

which gave relief to the peasant by making available legal
remedies to counter unreasonable demands.

Peasant Movements after the 2nd
world war
Background
• The War brought with it price rise, shortage of essential
commodities & market fluctuations for agricultural goods &
peasants’ demands again became very important & urgent.
• The Tebhaga movement was one of the important peasant

movements that started after the war.

1.The Tebhaga movement
• Place : Bengal
• Time period: 1946-47
• The Tebhaga movement was initiated by the Bengal provincial
Kisan Sabha which was affiliated to Communists.
• Background
• The famine of 1943 had resulted in the loss of land for the
many cultivators forcing them to become sharecroppers.

Continued...
• Floud Commission, a land revenue commission established by
the government of Bengal in 1938 had recommended that
2/3rd of the share of the crop be given to the sharecroppers &
the rest be retained by the landowner.
• But in practice only 1/2 or less was given to the

sharecroppers who actually cultivated the land.

Cause
• The demand for the proper implementation of the Tebhaga
system brought about this movement which was largely led
by the communists.

Tribal Revolts
There are two categories under this.
1. Mainland tribal revolts : It occurred mainly in central

India & west central India. Examples are Santhal & Munda
revolt. The Santhal revolt occurred in the Chotanagpur
region.
2. Frontier tribal revolt : It occurred mainly in the northeast
region. Examples are Khasi revolt, Ahom revolt.
 Tribal revolts were basically directed to preserve the
identities of the tribal.
 About 70 such revolts took place between 1778 & 1947.

Causes of Tribal Revolt :
Introduction of land revenue settlements in tribal area
Due to imposition of land revenue system in tribal areas, it

affected the joint ownership tradition among the tribal
population. Even the tribal population had to pay land taxes.
Now, Tribal chiefs were recognised as zamindars. Due to
these policies, ownership of land was transferred from tribal
society to outsiders. It all led to discontent in the tribal
society.
Forest policy of Colonial rule :
● Increasing demand for the wood from the early 19th
century, 1st for the Royal Navy & then Railways, led to
increasing control of government over the forests lands.
● Through different forest policies like Indian Forest Act of

1878, thousands of acres of forest land was declared as
reserve forest.
● It led to restriction on shifting cultivation, timber use &
grazing. Tribal had lost access to these forest areas &
forest produce. There was rising discontent among tribes
due to all these policies.
Entry of Christian missionaries in tribal areas
● With the expansion of colonialism, Christian

missionaries came to these tribal areas.
● These missionaries tried to interfere in the traditional

customs of tribal people.
● Also, the tendency of the missionaries to discourage

people from rising against the government made the
missionaries to be viewed as extensions of colonialism &
was often attacked by the rebels.
● Influx of Money lenders & traders in tribal areas : Due
to British support, a large number of moneylenders and
traders entered the tribal area. These people took
possession of tribal land by putting tribes in debt trap.
These tribal people lost their land & were reduced to
agricultural labourers, sharecroppers & tenants on
their own land.
● Oppression & extortion by policemen & other
government agents led to distress in the tribal area.
These government agents expanded the system of
begar - making tribes perform the unpaid work.
● They also often claimed that they possessed magical
powers, for example, the power to make the enemies’
bullets ineffective.
● Filled with hope & confidence, the tribal masses tended

to follow these leaders to the very end.
● These uprisings were localized & isolated, & lacked any

modern feeling of nationalism. The movements were
mostly violent & frequent.
● The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the
tribal communities was the common factor for all the
tribal revolt.
● These uprisings were broad-based, involving thousands

of tribal, often the entire population of a region.
● Most of the tribal revolt was spontaneous in nature.

They did not have a well organized structure to fight
against colonial rule.
● Often they attacked the outsiders, looting their property
& expelling them from their village.
● The warfare between tribal rebels & British armed

forces was totally unequal.
● Britishers were equipped with modern weapons but

tribal rebels had primitive weapons.
Tribal movements of mainland
Sl. Tribal Period Region Causes

No Movements
.
1 Pahariya 1778 RajMahal Hills British expansion
. Rebellion on their lands
2 Chuar Uprisings 1776 Midnapore & Rise in demands

. Bankura and economic
deprivation by
the British
3 Kol Uprisings 1831 Chotanagpur Expansion of
British rule on
their lands
and transfer
of their lands
to outsiders
4 Kharwar Rebellion 1870s; Bihar Revenue

settlement
activities
5 Santhal Rebellion 1855-56 Jharkhand The practices
of zamindars
&
moneylender
s
6 Naikada Movement 1860s Madhya Oppressive

Pradesh & rule of British
Gujarat & caste Hindu
7 Ho Uprisings( 1827 Singhbhum & Occupation of
led by Raja Chotanagpur Singhbhum by British
Parahat)
8 Munda 1860- Chotanagpur Introduction of

Uprisings 1920 Region feudal, zamindari
tenures and
exploitation by
moneylenders and
forest contractors.
9 Kondh 1837-56 Hilly region Interference in
uprisings and later in extending from tribal customs &
1914; Tamil Nadu to imposition of
Bengal; in Orissa new taxes.
in 1914 Leader: Chakra
Bisoi
10 Khonda 1900 Dabur region in

Dora Visakhapatnam
Campaign
11 Bhil Revolts 1817-19 & Region of Against
1913; Western Company Rule
Ghats (in 1817-19)
& to form Bhil
Raj
12 Bhuyan & 1867-68; Keonjhar, The installation of a
Juang 1891-93 Orissa British protégé on the
Rebellions throne after the death of
their raja in 1867
13 Koya 1879-80; Eastern Oppression by police,

Revolts 1886 Godavari moneylenders; new
region regulations & denial of
Andhra their rights over forest
Pradesh areas.
14 Bastar 1910 Jagdalpur New feudal & forest
Revolt levies
15 Tana 1914- Chotanagpur Interference of outsiders;

Bhagat 1915 began as
Moveme Sanskritisation movement
nts
16 Rampa 1916, Rampa region in British

Revolts 1922- Andhra Pradesh interference
1924
Kol Uprising of 1831:
 The Kol tribesmen of Chota Nagpur led by Buddho

Bhagat rebelled against the British for imposing
on them outsiders as money-lenders & landlords.
 Thousands of Kols perished before British

authority could be re imposed.
Santhal rebellion
 30 June 1855: 2 Santhal rebel leaders, Sidhu & Kanhu Murmu,
mobilized ten thousand Santhals & declared a rebellion against
British colonists.
 The causes of the Uprising were primarily economic & it was

directed against the money-lenders & their protectors, the British
authorities.
 They proclaimed a government of their own in the area between

Bhagalpur & Rajmahal.
 Soon after the declaration the Santhals took to arms. The open
rebellion caught the British Government in surprise.
Santhal rebellion
 Initially a small contingent was sent to suppress the rebels but it
could not succeed & this further fueled the spirit of the revolt.
 When the law & order situation was getting out of hand the British
Government finally took a major step & sent in large number of
troops assisted by the local Zamindars & the Nawab of
Murshidabad to quell the Rebellion.
 The primitive weapons of the Santhals, weren't a match against

the musket & cannon firepower of the British.
 The revolt was brutally crushed by 1856, the 2 celebrated leaders

were killed.
Munda Rebellion / Ulgulan uprising
 Led by a great Munda leader Birsa Munda.
 The main rebellion took place in the region south of Ranchi in 1899-1900.
 The rebellion aimed to drive away the British & establish Munda Raj or
Munda rule.
 Birsa Munda strongly protested against non-tribals occupying tribal lands .

 He also disliked the moneylenders & the zamindars who ill-treated the
Mundas . He advised the Munda Farmers not to pay rent to the zamindars.
 He was against introduction of feudal, zamindari tenures & exploitation by
moneylenders & forest contractors.
 Birsa Munda started the revolt in the Chotanagpur region . They attacked
British officials missionaries and police stations.
 However the British captured Birsa Munda & suppressed the rebels.
Chuar Uprisings
 Chuar Uprisings by the Chuar aboriginal tribesmen; against

rise in demands & economic deprivation by the British.
 Leader of this revolt was Durjan Singh, a displaced

Zamindar who along with his followers created havoc.
 Some historians want this revolt to be named as ‘Freedom

Struggle of the Jangal Mahal’.
LIst of Tribal Movements of Frontier Regions :
Sl. Tribal Period Region Causes

No. Movements
1 Ahoms’ Revolt 1828-33 Assam The non-fulfilment
of the pledges of the
Company after the
Burmese War
2 Khasis’ 1830s Hilly region Occupation of the
Revolt between Jaintia & hilly region.
Garo Hills Leader : Nunklow
ruler, Tirath
Singh
3 Singphos’ 1830s Assam British Rule
Rebellion
4 Kukis’ 1917- Manipur British policies of

Revolt 19 recruiting labor
during the 1st
World War.
5 Revolts in 1863;1942 Tripura Hike in house tax
Tripura; -43; 1920s rates and against
settlement of
outsiders in the
region
6 Zeliangrong 1920s Manipu The failure of British

Movement r to protect them
during the Kuki
violence in 1917-19
7 Naga 1905-31 Manipur Led by Jadonang;
movement against British rule &
for setting up of a Naga
raj.
8 Heraka Cult 1930s Manipur Led by Gaidinliu; the

movement was
suppressed but Kabui
Naga Association was
formed in 1946.

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18th Century

 Padmanabhaswamy temple recreated

 A poet, scholars, musician, renowed actor &, a man of great culture.

 18th century saw a remarkable revival of Malyalam literature.

 Trivandrum, the capital of Travancore become a famous centre of Sanskrit

Modern Indian History

● (North)- Aurangzeb had stalled

● Both English & French desired it

Joseph Dupleix Robert Clive

War of Austrian Succession :1740-1748

France, Prussia, Spain, Britain ,Habsburg, Hanover,

● Battle of St. Thome-(1746) (Dupleix defeated the Indian

● Madras to be returned to British in exchange of French

○ Dupleix had given ample proof of his extraordinary

○ Brought out the importance of naval power as an

● Interfering in the local dynastic dispute.

● Reason of the second Carnatic war was based on Internal

● Directors were Appointed by Crown

● Lethargy and Bureaucratic Control over Company

● English East India Co.was a Private entity

● Also couldn’t build strong navy like the English

(b) The English opened their first factory in South India at

(d) Under the leadership of Dupleix, the French occupied Madras

Anglo- Mysore War

● King Chikka Krishna Raj, a puppet at the hands of 2

● Mysore emerged as an important power under Hyder Ali.

● 1755: Modern arsenal in Dindigul.

 Mysore flourished & comparatively was better than others

 His personal library contained books on such diverse subjects as

 Padmanabhaswamy temple recreated

 A poet, scholars, musician, renowed actor &, a man of great culture.

 18th century saw a remarkable revival of Malyalam literature.

 Trivandrum, the capital of Travancore become a famous centre of Sanskrit

● Distinguished statesman, law maker, astronomer &

● Man of Science & arts

● Law to reduce expenditure on daughter’s marriage (Social

● Between the Kingdom of Mysore & the British East India

● Haidar also had territorial disputes with Nawab of

● He paid the Marathas to turn them neutral &, promising to share

● He joined the Nizam to attack the Nawab of Arcot.

● The war continued for a longer period without any conclusion.

○ Accused the British of breach of faith & non-observance of

○ The capture of Mahe (a French settlement under the

○ 1781: Haidar after forging an anti-British alliance with the

● A resounding defeat for Mysore.

○ The remaining core, around Mysore & Seringapatam, was

○ An important result was the complete elimination of the

Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)

Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)

Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)

Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)

a) Anand mohan Bose

Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)

❖ Maintenance of the army & funds for waging wars even

❖ Profits earned by British capitalists through illegal channels

❖ Support the India office in London.

❖ Salaries & pensions of British personnel engaged in India.

Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)

Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)

❖ the dividends on East India Stock,

❖ interest in Home debt, the salaries of the officers,

❑ furlough and retired pay to members of the Indian Military &

❑ Charges of all descriptions paid in this country connected with