Lord Wellesley

British Policy towards Indian states under Lord Wellesley

He adopted the following three means to achieve his aim:-
1. Wars
2. Mediatisation
3. The Subsidiary Alliance
Wars
Lord Wellesley fought the fourth Mysore War, finished the independent status of
the state of Mysore and annexed larger part of its territory to the Company’s
dominions. The second Maratha War was also fought during his time which
helped in extending the territories of the Company further and also in
weakening the power of the Marathas.

The Fourth Mysore War

The third Mysore war, fought during the period of governor-generalship of Lord
Cornwallis, had weakened very much the power of Tipu Sultan. He did not
forget his defeat and humiliation and attempted to restore his power and
prestige. He increased his military resources and tried to seek foreign help from
Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan and the French. Lord Wellesley, as soon as he
arrived in India, decided to finish the power of Tipu Sultan for good. He opened
negotiations with the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas and was assured of
their neutrality in case of war of the English against Tipu. He then declared war
against him in 1799. The war was an easy success for the English. Mysore was
attacked from two sides and Tipu was forced to take shelter in his capital,
Srirangapatna where he finally died fighting. The son of Tipu surrendered
himself to the English and Srirangapatna was captured by the English in May
1799. That finished the state of Mysore which was created by Hyder Ali. Some
territory of Mysore was handed over to the Nizam, larger part of it was annexed
by the English and the rest of it was restored to the minor son of the previous
Hindu ruler of Mysore who became a dependent ally of the English.

The Second Maratha War (1803-1905)

The internal quarrels among the Marathas provided Lord Wellesley a good
opportunity to weaken the power of the Marathas. Peshwa Baji Rao was
incompetent and failed to keep Maratha chiefs under his control. Daulat Rao
Sindhia and Jaswant Rao Holkar fought freely against each other for power. The
Peshwa sided with the Sindhia and virtually open war started between Holkar,
on the one hand, and the Peshwa and the Sindhia, on the other. Jaswant Rao
defeated Peshwa Baji Rao in a battle near Poona in October, 1802, forced him to
find shelter at Bassein and placed Vinayak Rao, grandson of Raghunath Rao on
the gaddi of the Peshwa.

Mediatisation
Another means by which Wellesley extended the territory of the Company has
been called mediatisation. He took over the territories of Tanjore, Surat and
Karnataka on the plea of maladministration by their rulers and the territory of
Farrukhabad, because its ruler was a minor. The rulers of these states were,
however, awarded pensions by the Company.

The Subsidiary Alliance

The Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley was yet another most effective
instrument for the expansion of the British territory and political influence in
India. This form of treaty was imposed on the new ruler of Mysore after the
defeat of Tipu, different Maratha chiefs after the second Maratha War, the
Nizam of Hyderabad, the Nawab of Awadh and other dependent allies of the
Company. A ruler who accepted this treaty was restrained from having relations
with any other native ruler, could not employ any European without the
approval of the English, had to keep an English resident at his court and an
English army within his territory and, in return had to surrender a part of his
territory to the English permanently. This treaty, thus, helped the English not
only in extending their territory but also in eliminating French influence from
the courts of the native states. The rulers, entering into his treaty, finally became
completely dependent on the English.
Conclusion
Thus, Lord Wellesley pursued an aggressive policy with native rulers and
largely succeeded in achieving his aim of making the Company the supreme
power in India.
Points to remember
1. Lord Wellesley attempted to make the Company the Supreme Power in
India by means of wars, mediatisation and the Subsidiary Alliance.
2. He fought the fourth Mysore War with Tipu in 1799, annexed most of the
territory of Mysore and restored a part of it to the previous Hindu ruler
who became a dependent ally of the English.
3. He fought the second Maratha war between 1803 to 1805, signed the
subsidiary alliance (treaty of Bassein) with Peshwa Baji Rao, forced the
Bhonsle and the Sindhia to sign Subsidiary treaties after defeating them,
annexed large part of the territories of each of them and defeated the
Holkar at the battles of Dig and Farrukhabad.
4. Lord Wellesley took over the territories of Tanjore, Surat and Karnataka
on the plea of maladministration and the territory of Farrukhabad because
its ruler was a minor.
5. All rulers who signed treaties (Subsidiary Alliance) with Lord Wellesley
were forced to surrender a part of their territories to the Company in
return for keeping an English army within their territories for their
support.
6. Thus, Wellesley succeeded in extending the British Empire and making
the Company the supreme power in India.