2. From Trade to Territory The Company Establishes Power
The chapter outlines the transformation of the East India Company from a trading entity to a dominant territorial power in India. It discusses the key events, conflicts, and administrative changes that facilitated the Company's expansion, culminating in direct control over vast regions of the subcontinent by 1857. Economic motivations, military conquests, and complex interactions with local rulers played crucial roles in this historical transition.
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What we have learnt
- The East India Company originally focused on trade but gradually moved into territorial control.
- Conflicts with local rulers, especially in Bengal and Mysore, marked key turning points in the Company's authority.
- The Doctrine of Lapse and the policy of Paramountcy were significant strategies that facilitated the annexation of Indian states.
Key Concepts
- -- Diwani
- The right to collect land revenue in India granted to the East India Company.
- -- Subsidiary Alliance
- An arrangement wherein Indian rulers were forced to disband their armies and rely on the protection of the East India Company, for which they had to pay.
- -- Doctrine of Lapse
- A policy that allowed the East India Company to annex states ruled by kings without a male heir.
- -- Nawab
- A title for local rulers in Indian states who were often entangled in conflicts with the East India Company.
- -- Sepoy
- The term for Indian soldiers who served in the army of the East India Company.
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