Eternal India Encyclopedia

LURE - THRU THE AGES

Eternal India encyclopedia

* The Rohila War (1774) * First Maratha War (1778-82) (Treaty of Salbai). * First Mysore War (1767-69) * Second Mysore War (1780-844) (Treaty of Mangalore) ' ' * The Third Mysore War (1790-92) (Lord Comwallis-Treaty of Srirangapatnam) * The Fourth Mysore War (1799) (Tippu Sultan's death) * The Second Maratha War( 1802-04) (The Treaty of Deogaon) * Gurkha War (1814-16) (Lord Hastings, Treaty of Saganli 1815) * Pindari War (1817-18) (Expulsion of Pindaris by 1817) * Third Maratha War (1817-18) (Period of Baji Rao, complete humiliation ofMarathas). * First Burmese War (1824-26) (Treaty of Yandaboo -1826 - Manipur declared a separate state). * First Afghan War (1839) (Lord Auckland, capture of Kabul) * War with Gwalior (1843) (Ellenborough). Friends Nawabs of Carnatic and Hyderabad. F o e s French, Portuguese, Dutch, Native Indian rulers, Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan, Sikhs-Ranjit Singh, Marathas, Gurkas, Pindaris. WARREN HASTINGS Warren Hastings (1772-85) had joined the East India Company as a writer at the age of 18. He was appointed as a Governor of Bengal in 1772. After passing the Regu- lating Act of 1773 he became the Governor- General with supervisory authority over Madras and Bombay. Warren Hastings carried out a large number of administrative, revenue, com- mercial and judicial reforms. The dastakas were abolished. The Regulating Act of 1773 took the first step of having parliamentary control over the affairs of the Company. Warren Hastings has been described as the real founder of the British dominion in India. He consolidated the British position in India at a time when the English were being worsted in the American War of Inde- pendence and on the way to losing their American colonies. The object of Hastings policy in India was to maintain the existing

which were exercised by a new class of offi- cers called judges. SIR JOHN SHORE 1793-98 Cornwallis was succeeded by Sir John Shore. Sir John Shore followed the policy of neutrality as laid down in the Pitt's India Act. The most important event in his time was the attack of the Marathas on the Nizam and the defeat of the Nizam in the battle of Kharda in March 1795. LORD WELLESLEY 1798-1805 He first managed to secure control over the dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Oudh. He then turned his attention to the two great powers of India Mysore and the Marathas. The British fought four wars against Mysore between 1769 and 1799, in the last of which (1799), Mysore was invaded, Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed and his dominions were partly annexed and partly converted into a subordinate state under a Hindu ruler. By a subsidiary alliance with the Peshwa (1802), Wellesley established the political author- ity of the British over the Maratha domin- ions. SIR GEORGE BARLOW 1805- 7 Lord Cornwallis was sent to replace Welle- sley. However he died after a few months of coming to India and he was succeeded by Sir George Barlow. He strictly followed the pol- icy of non-intervention. He gave back Gwalior and Gohud to Scindia . He withdrew British protection from the Rajputs. LORD MINTO 1807-1813 During his tenure Lord Minto intervened to put an end to the anarchy in the country. Amir Khan, a Pathan rebel was defeated and turned out from Berar and thus peace was maintained. In 1809 he entered into the Treaty of Amritsar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh for 30 years. Lord Minto sent a naval expedition against the French colonies of Bourbon and Mauritius and captured these islands. Another expedition was sent to Java.

dominion in India and to avoid entanglements with Indian powers. By the treaty of Salbai in 1782 Hastings broke the confederacy that had been formed against the English in 1779 be- tween the Nizam, Hyder Ali and the Marathas. Hastings made peace with the ablest Maratha chief, Scindia. Hastings was thus in a better position to meet the French and Hyder in the South. Warren Hastings was well versed in Per sian and Arabic literature. He founded with William Jones the Asiatic Society of Bengal, instituted the Mohameddan Madrassa college at Calcutta and patronised the study of San- skrit. LORD CORNWALLIS Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793) came to India after effecting the British surrender at Yorktown as Commander-in-Chief of the English army in North America and bringing an end the American War of Independence. The India Act was amended in 1786 so that he could combine in himself the powers of Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief. If the foundation of the civil service was laid by Warren Hastings, the structure was raised by Lord Cornwallis. The servants of the Company were barred from conducting private trade or business. Lord Cornwallis' Permanent Settlement of 1793 is the measure that is associated with him. In Bengal and Bihar the ryot or cultivator paid a fixed share of the produce of his and either in cash or kind to the Zam- mindar who paid 9/10 to the company and kept 1/10 for himself. In 1790 Cornwallis an- nounced the settlement of land revenue for 10 years to be made permanent if approved by the Board of Directors. Their approval came in 1793 and in that year the settlement was made permanent. Its effect was to make the zam- indars permanent owners of the land subject to the payment of a fixed annual revenue to the Government. It ignored the interest of the cultivators who were placed at the mercies of the zam- indars. The judicial reforms of Cornwallis were carried out in 1787, 1790 and 1793. The main object of the 1787 reforms was econ- omy. The number of districts in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was reduced from 36 to 23 and for each district an Englishman was made the Collector. The Cornwallis Code of 1793 introduced the principle of separation of judicial and executive powers. The Collector was di- vested of all judicial and magisterial powers

MARQUESS OF HASTINGS 1813-1823

He followed a policy of aggressive im- perialism and forced the Maratha States to make important concessions. The Marathas made a final attempt to avenge these humiliations, but were finally