From Trade to Territory

The Company Establishes Power

• Aurangzeb was the last powerful Mughal ruler but after his death
there was no such effective Mughal ruler to rule the country.
• With the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 many Mughal governors and
zamindars began asserting authority and estabilishing regional
kingdoms
• Delhi ceased to function as an effective centre as powerful
kingdoms emerged. Decline of the Mughal empire and weakening
of political system of the country.
• when a massive rebellion against British rule broke out in 1857,
Bahadur Shah Zafar, the Mughal emperor at the time, was seen as
the natural leader.
• Once the revolt was put down by the company, Bahadur Shah
Zafar was forced to leave the kingdom, and his sons were shot in
cold blood.
• Bahadur shah zafar was arrested by captain Hodson.

EAST INDIA COMPANY COMES EAST:

• East india company acquired a charter granting it the sole right to
trade with the east that meant that no other trading group could
compete with that company.
• Ruler of England: queen elizabeth 1
• The company now could venture across oceans, and look for new
lands from which it could buy goods cheap and carry them back to
Europe to sell at higher prices
• Mercantile trading companies in those days made profit by
excluding competition, so that they could buy cheap and sell dear.
• Mercantile – A business enterprise that makes profit primarily
through trade, buying goods cheap and selling them at higher
prices.
 • By the time the first English ships sailed down the west coast of
Africa, round the Cape of Good Hope, and crossed the Indian
OCEAN

PORTUGESE

-base in western coast (goa)

FRENCH
-vasco da gama (portugese explorer)
discovered sea route to india in 1498
DUTCH
Wanted to buy: Cotton, Silk, pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon
PROBLEM: all the companies were interested in buying the same things. The
competition amongst companies pushed up the prices at which these goods could be
purchased and this reduced profits.
The trading companies could only flourish by eliminating rival companies. This led to
battles, they sank each other’s ships, blockaded routes and prevented rival ships from
moving supplies of goods.
BEGINS TRADE IN BENGAL:
1st English factory: banks of river hugli (1651) it was the base from which company’s
traders operated. Warehouse: goods for export were stored. Offices: officials sat.
With the expansion of trade company persuaded merchants and traders to come and
settle near factories.
1698: bribed Mughal officials into giving the company zamindari rights over 3 villages.
Eg:- kalikata (Kolkata)
-it also persuaded Aurangzeb to issue a farman (a royal order) granting the company
the right to trade duty free.
-officials who were carrying private trade were expected to pay duty.
This they refused to pay causing a loss of revenue for Bengal.
 HOW TRADE LED TO BATTLES:

MURSHID QULI KHAN ALIVARDI KHAN SIRAJUDDAULAH

CAUSES OF
BATTLE OF
PLASSEY

demanded denied the claimed that the Company was

Refused to large company and depriving the Bengal
grant tributes for right to mint government of huge amounts
company company's coins and of revenue and undermining
cocessions right to stopped it from the authority of the nawab.
trade extending its
fortifications

The company was:

1. Refusing to pay taxes
2. Writing disrespectful letters
3. Tried to humiliate the nawab

The Company on its part declared that the unjust demands of the local
officials were ruining the trade of the Company, and trade could flourish
only if the duties were removed.
It was also convinced that to expand trade, it had to:
enlarge its settlements
buy up villages
rebuild its forts.
THE BATTLE OF PLASSEY (first major victory the company won in india)
• 1756: sirajudaullah becomes nawab of Bengal
• The company was worried about his power and wanted a ruler
that they can control ie. A puppet ruler who would willingly give
trade concessions.
• After the company tried to make the ruler’s rival the nawab,
sirajuddaulah was furious and:
✓ Asked the company to stop meddling in the political
affairs of his dominion
✓ Stop fortification
✓ Pay the revenues
• After Failure of negotiations, the nawab marched with 30000
soldiers to English factory at kassimbazar and capture the
officials, locked the warehouse, disarmed all English men and
blockaded English ships.
• Then marched to Calcutta
• After the fall of Calcutta, company officials in madras and sent
forces under Robert clive.
• In 1757, Robert Clive led the company’s army against sirajuddaulah
at Plassey.
• REASON FOR VICTORY OF COMPANY: forces led by mir jafar (a
commander in nawab’s army) never fought the battle
• clive managed to secure his support by promising him to make
him nawab.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE BATTLE OF PLASSEY:

- Siraj ud Daulah was assassinated and mir jafar was made
nawab.
- Puppet rulers were not always helpful as they had to main a
basic appearance of dignity and sovereignty if they wanted
respect from their subjects.
- When mir jafar protested, the company deposed him and
installed mir Qasim.
- When mir Qasim complained, he was defeated in battle of
buxar, and driven out of Bengal
- Mir jafar was reinstalled, the nawab had to pay 5,00,000 every
month but the company wanted more.
-when mir jafar died (1765) the company wanted to become nawabs
themselves.
-1765- Mughal emperor appointed the company as diwan of Bengal.
-the diwani allowed the company to use the vast revenue resources of
Bengal.
- it had to buy most of the goods in India with gold and silver imported
from Britain. This was because at this time Britain had no goods to sell
in India.
-The outflow of gold from Britain slowed after the Battle of Plassey, and
entirely stopped after the assumption of Diwani.
-Now revenues from India could finance Company expenses.
- these revenues could be used to purchase cotton and silk textiles in
India, maintain Company troops, and meet the cost of building the
Company fort and offices at Calcutta.
NABOBS
1. Each company servant began to have visions of living like nawabs
2. actual nawabs of Bengal were forced to give land and vast sums
of money as personal gifts to Company officials.
3. Robert came to madras from England in 1743 when he was 18,
after he left india his fortune was worth a fortune.
4. when he was appointed Governor of Bengal in 1764, he was asked
to remove corruption in Company administration but he was
himself cross-examined in 1772 by the British Parliament which
was suspicious of his vast wealth. Although he was acquitted, he
committed suicide in 1774.
5. Many died an early death in India due to disease and war, and it
would not be right to regard all of them as corrupt and dishonest.
6. Many of them came from humble backgrounds and their
uppermost desire was to earn enough in India, return to Britain
and lead a comfortable life.
7. Those who managed to return with wealth led flashy lives and
flaunted their riches.
8. They were often seen as upstarts and social climbers in British
society and were ridiculed or made fun of in plays and cartoons.