Revision Notes

Class- 7 Social Science(History)

Chapter 10 - Eighteenth-Century Political Formation

In the eighteenth century, the political situation influenced the geographical

division of India.
The shrinkage of the Mughal Empire gave way to the emergence of independent
kingdoms. The invasion of Britishers played an essential role in this.
Following are the highlights about rulers from 1707, which was from around the
time of Aurangzeb's death to the third battle of Panipat, which happened in
1761.

The Crisis of the Empire and the Later Mughals

● At the end of the 7th century, Emperor Aurangzeb went through a difficult
period when he waged a protracted war in the Deccan and exhausted his wealth
and military power. The power of the government is collapsing. The nobles took
control over their regions, and the revenue of the capital declined.
● The pressure to increase taxes caused resistance from farmers and zamindari.
● Some leaders try to gain power.
● These circumstances enabled local nobles, chiefs, and rebels to acquire great
power.
● The invasion of Afghan rulers also increased the economic status of the
Mughals.
● Competition between various nobles, namely the Iranis and the Taranis,
further accentuates the empire's decline.

The emergence of New States

● Due to the reasons mentioned above, the Mughal empire was divided into
many regional fragments.
● The eighteenth-century states can be classified into three states. They were:

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1. States that were old Mughal provinces and did not break ties with the Mughal
empire.
2. States that had experienced freedom under the Mughals.
3. States that seized their independence after a long-armed struggle.

The Old Mughal Provinces

● Important provinces of Mughals were Awadh, Bengal, and Hyderabad

1. Hyderabad
● NizamulMulk Asaf Jah, the founder of Hyderabad, was an influential member
of the court of the Mughal Emperor Farouk Sial.
● He was assigned to manage Awad and then was set to take over Deccan.
● Later, he took power into his own hands and became the true ruler of that
area.
● The Mughal Emperor has just approved Nizam's decision.
● Hyderabad fought the Marathi in the west and the independent Telugu
warlords.
● Nizam's goal of controlling the affluent textile production areas on the east
coast of the Coromandel was hindered by the British.

2. Awadh
● Awadh Burhanul Mulk Sa'adat Khan was the leader of Awadh in 1722.
● Due to Bangladeshi trade and rich alluvial soil, Awadh is a prosperous area.
● Burhanul Mulk attempted to reduce the Mughal influence on Awad by
changing his imperial officers.
● Seized fertile farmland from several Afghans in Rajput zamindars and
Rohilkhand.
● Taxes are awarded to bidders who pay a fixed amount to the state.
● These developments allow new social groups, such as moneylenders and
bankers, to influence management.

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3.Bengal
● Bengal was out of Mughal control, and Murshid Quli Khan appointed him
deputy governor.
● Like other rulers, he is also in charge of the country's tax administration.
● Transferred all Mughal Jagirdars to Odisha and reassessed Bangladeshi
income to reduce the Mughal influence in Bangladesh.
● Strictly collect large amounts of cash from all zamindars.
● Many zamindars are forced to borrow money from bankers and
moneylenders.
● Those who cannot pay have to sell their land to larger zamindars.

Similarities between states

● Although the ancient Mughal nobles established several larger countries, they
doubted some of them, especially the Jagilda system.
● Their method of tax collection was different. Instead of relying on the officers
of the state, all three states agreed with revenue farmers for collecting revenue.
● In all these local states, a fundamental point was their relationship with
wealthy bankers and merchants who lent money to revenue farmers, received
property as collateral, and obtained taxes from these properties through their
agents.

The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs

● Numerous Rajput kings had worked under the Mughals with perfection.
In turn, they are allowed freedom in their Watan jagirs.
● In the 18th century, these rulers were now trying to increase their power over
nearby areas.

The Sikhs

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● In the seventeenth century, the local political area of Sikhs pioneers helped in
the development of Punjab.
● Guru Gobind Singh presented the Khalsa in 1699. What's more, after his
demise in 1708, the Khalsa, under the initiative of Banda Bahadur Singh,
rebelled against the Mughals.
● They pronounced their sovereign standard by striking coins for the sake of
Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh and set their organization between the
Sutlej and the Jamuna.
● Banda Bahadur was caught in 1715 and killed in 1716.

The Marathas
● Shivaji (16271680) created a mighty kingdom, challenged the Mughals.
●After Shivaji's death, a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas took charge of
Maratha.
●Pune became the capital of the Maratha Kingdom.
●Marathi developed a prosperous military system that weakened Mughal
power.
●Marathas captured Malwa and Gujarat from Mughals in the 1720s. After the
Delhi raid, the Marathi seized provinces and were forced to pay tribute.
In turn, Marathas gained support from the Battle of Panipat Chanderi. Silk
producers have now found a market in Pune, the capital of Maratha.
The Marathi government is effective.

The Jats
● Like the other states, the Jats combined their power during the late
seventeenth and eighteenth- centuries.
● Under Churaman, they acquired control over territories situated to the west of
Delhi and the cities of Agra.
● The Jats were prosperous agriculturists.
● Panipat and Ballabgarh became important trading

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centers.

Important Questions and Answers

1. Write about the three states consolidated from Mughal provinces.

Ans: The states of Mughals mainly consisted of Awadh, Bengal, and
Hyderabad. Mughal royalties were founded by Saadat Khan (Awadh), Murshid
Quli Khan (Bengal), and Asaf Jah (Hyderabad). They were governors of large
provinces. All three of the governors had power in the Mughal empire through
dignified positions. The Mughals trusted them. These made it difficult for the
Mughals to control their Mansabdars. Lead representatives handled the
workplaces of income and military organizations. The lead representatives
fortified their force on the regions; in this manner, the rehashed postponement
of payment shipped off the capital blurred.

2. Who invaded the Mughal Empire?

Ans: The ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, invaded the city of Delhi in 1739 and took
away all wealth. This was followed by continuous raids by other enemies like
the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali. Five times between 1748 and 1761,
Afghan rulers ruthlessly invaded the northern parts of India.

3. What did Burhan-ul-Mulk change in Awadh?

Ans: Awadh region has rich alluvial soil due to the Ganga plain and acts as the
main trade route between North India and Bengal.
● Burhan-ul-Mulk also had the powers of the combined offices of Subadari,
Diwani, and Faujdar.
● Burhan-ul-Mulk worked to reduce the Mughal influence in the Awadh by
changing position holders of the kingdom.
● He took several Rajput zamindars and the agriculturally fertile fields of the
Afghans of Rohilkhand.
● The tax collection was given to bidders who would pay a fixed amount to the
state.

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● These developments allowed new social groups, like money lenders and
bankers, to influence the management

4. What did Burhan-ul-Mulk implement regarding revenue in Awadh?

Ans: ● Burhan-ul-Mulk attempted to decrease the Mughal impact in the Awadh
by changing position holders of the realm designated by the Mughals. He
additionally diminished the number of Jagirs and gave empty situations to his
unwavering workers.
● Jagirdars' records were checked to forestall cheating. Also, a lot greater
reassessment in income occurred.
● The realm relied upon nearby financiers and Mahajan for credits.
● The option to gather charge was given to the most elevated bidders.
● The income ranchers consented to pay the express a proper amount of cash.
● In turn, the income ranchers acquired opportunities in the appraisal and
assortment of duties.

5.Who and how did they extend their territory in the Rajput dynasty?
Ans: The Rajput families needed the Subadari of the rich spaces of Gujarat and
Malwa. Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur possessed the governorship of Gujarat.
Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber owned the governorship of Malwa. They
additionally dared to broaden their limits by catching parts of Neighboring
realms. Nagaur was captured and added to Jodhpur, while Amber conquered the
majority of Bundi. In 1722, Sawai Raja Jai Singh set up his new capital at
Jaipur. He was additionally given the Subadari of Agra.

6.Other than army development, what were the successes of Marathas?

Ans: ● Marathas had grounded armed force crusades. The Marathas
additionally fostered a productive administrational power.
● Once Maratha's standard was firm, income requests were steadily presented,
considering neighborhood conditions. Agribusiness was energized, and
exchange resuscitated.
● New shipping lanes arose inside the spaces constrained by the Marathas.

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7.Explain the trade routes of Marathas.
Ans: Chanderi silk creation presently tracked down another outlet in Poona,
which was the capital of Maratha. The Burhanpur, which was before in
exchange among Agra and Surat, currently stretched out to remember Pune and
Nagpur for the south and Lucknow and Allahabad in the east.

8.Define Chauth and Sardeshmukhi.

Ans: Chauth zamindars were paid 25% of the land income.
Sardeshmukhi, 9-10% of land income is paid to Deccan's foremost income
collectors.
In the 1730s, King Maratha had the right to impose Chauth and Sardeshmukhi
on the entire region.

9.List the classification of the Mughal Empire.

Ans: The states of eighteenth-century are broadly divided into three:
1. Old Mughal states did not break ties with the Mughal empire.
2. States that had experienced freedom under the Mughals.
3. States that seized their independence after a long-armed struggle.

10.How were the Sikhs organized in the eighteenth century?

Ans: During the eighteenth century, the Sikhs organized themselves in Jathas,
which were small bands. It all happened under the leadership of many reputed
personalities. All the groups used to meet at Amritsar during Baisakhi and
Diwali. To take decisions known as "resolutions of the Guru." These groups
were called the Grand army. Rakhi was introduced, a system protecting
cultivators during the payment of a tax of 20 percent of the produce.

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