5. Expansion: Key Annexations

Mysore Wars (1767–1799): Four Anglo-Mysore Wars were fought against Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. Haidar Ali chased the British to within five miles of Madras and dictated a treaty in 1769. The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92) compelled Tipu to cede half his territories and pay a large indemnity. In the Fourth War (1799), Tipu died defending his capital Seringapatam, and Mysore was restored to the Wodeyar dynasty under a subsidiary alliance with a British Resident permanently stationed there.

Maratha Wars (1775–1819): Three Anglo-Maratha Wars progressively dismantled the Maratha confederacy. The First War (1775–82) ended with the Treaty of Salbai (1782), confirming British possession of Salsette. The Second War (1803–05), triggered by the Treaty of Bassein (1802), brought large territories under British control; Sindia and Bhonsle were compelled to conclude separate treaties with the British. The Third War (1817–19) finally dissolved the Maratha confederacy: the Peshwaship was abolished, Peshwa Baji Rao II became a British pensioner at Bithur, and Bhonsle's territories north of the Narmada were annexed.

Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845–49): Following the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1839), the Sikh kingdom fell into political turmoil. The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46) resulted in the Treaty of Lahore, which ceded the Jalandhar Doab and imposed a heavy indemnity. The Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–49) culminated in Dalhousie's annexation of the Punjab — the last major Indian state to fall. By 1856, with the annexation of Awadh, the Company's dominion covered virtually the entire Indian subcontinent either through direct rule or through subsidiary alliance.

6. Colonial Economy: Early Policies

The Company's transition from trader to ruler transformed Bengal's economy. Under the Dual Government, the Company extracted maximum revenues while accepting minimum administrative responsibility — a contributing factor in the catastrophic Bengal Famine of 1770. The Permanent Settlement (1793) fixed land revenue permanently on zamindars in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. In theory it was meant to create improving landlords; in practice it produced a rentier class of absentee zamindars who sub-let lands to under-tenants through cascading rack-renting arrangements, steadily impoverishing the cultivators.

After 1813, when the Company's India trade monopoly ended, British manufactured goods — particularly Lancashire cotton textiles — flooded Indian markets without tariff barriers. Traditional Indian handicraft industries faced devastating competition. The famous Dacca muslin weavers and Bengal's silk-weavers saw their livelihoods collapse under cheap industrial imports, reversing the earlier flow of Indian manufactures to European markets.

Revenue remittances to Britain, Company dividends, pension payments to returned servants, and high salaries of European officers constituted what Dadabhai Naoroji later termed the "drain of wealth" — a systematic transfer of Indian resources to Britain that became the central theme of early nationalist economic critique.

7. UPSC Relevance

This topic is central to UPSC preparation across multiple papers:

Prelims (History): Battle of Plassey (1757), Battle of Buxar (1764), Regulating Act 1773, Pitt's India Act 1784, Charter Acts, Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse, and Permanent Settlement are recurring question themes.

GS Paper I (Modern History): Expect analytical questions on the causes of British success in India, the constitutional evolution from Company to Crown rule, and the economic consequences of colonialism.

Optional History: Detailed questions on the nature of the Dual Government, Cornwallis's administrative reforms, Wellesley's imperial policy, and Dalhousie's annexation strategy are standard fare.

Common question patterns: "Examine the significance of Buxar over Plassey"; "Discuss the Subsidiary Alliance system and its impact"; "Critically examine constitutional developments from 1773 to 1858"; "Assess the Permanent Settlement's impact on Bengal."

One-Page Revision Summary

Key Battles and Events:

Plassey (1757): Clive vs Siraj-ud-daula; victory through conspiracy; Mir Jafar installed as Nawab
Buxar (1764): Triple alliance (Mir Kasim + Shah Alam II + Shuja-ud-daula) defeated by British
Diwani Grant (August 1765): Revenue of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa transferred to Company

Constitutional Milestones:

1773 – Regulating Act: First Governor-General; Supreme Court at Calcutta
1784 – Pitt's India Act: Board of Control; Bengal supreme over other Presidencies
1793 – Charter Act: Charter renewed; government by written laws
1813 – Charter Act: Company's India trade monopoly ended
1833 – Charter Act: Governor-General of India; Law Member (Macaulay); Section 87 non-discrimination
1853 – Charter Act: Competitive examinations; enlarged Legislative Council
1858 – Government of India Act: Crown takes over; Secretary of State for India

Key Governor-Generals:

Hastings (1773–85): First GG; direct administration; Orientalist
Cornwallis (1786–93): Permanent Settlement; Europeanised civil service
Wellesley (1798–1805): Subsidiary Alliance; Tipu's defeat; Treaty of Bassein
Bentinck (1828–35): Sati abolished; English education; first GG of India
Dalhousie (1848–56): Doctrine of Lapse; railways; telegraph

Annexations:

Mysore: Four wars; Tipu killed 1799; Subsidiary Alliance imposed
Marathas: Three wars; confederacy dissolved 1819
Punjab: Annexed 1849 after Second Anglo-Sikh War
Awadh: Annexed 1856 by Dalhousie

Establishment and Expansion of British Colonial Power in India (1757–1857) — Part 5: Key Annexations, Colonial Economy and Revision