The British in India 1829-58

The importance of the Company army

- By 1820 troops numbered 200,000 -Based in the 3 presidencies of the Company -White regiments and local (sepoy) regiments under command of European officers- native regiments recruited en masse in particular areas and villages -Mid 18th century small number of British army regiments dispatched from Britain to serve as backup to the Company armies -By 1857 45,522 European soldiers of all ranks in India out of a total of 277,746 soldiers (rest sepoys) -Ensured local rulers signed treaties against other local rulers -Act of self-preservation in the face of British military superiority -Armies supported the Company's tax collection and administrative roles -British territory in India controlled by the Company increased to 243,000km^2 by 1800 -Increased focus on the training of both the Company's civil servants and military personnel reflected the changing Company focus to civil administration in India in the 19th century -1829-1853 Company fought campaigns in the north-west in Afghanistan, Sind and the Punjab -Successfully annexed Assam, Manipur and Cacher between 1823- 26 -Fear of a Russian invasion- First Afghan War 1838-42- disaster- cost British India 20,000 lives and more than £15 million- made the Company determined to secure Sind and the Punjab in compensatory conquest -Sind formally annexed 1843 -Conquering the Punjab took most of 1840s until bought completely under British control 1849 -Sikhs supported the British against the rebellious local soldiers during the Indian Rebellion as a result of long- held grievances relating to the Anglo- Sikh wars of annexation- complicated local tensions that the company was successfully able to exploit as it expanded its presence in the subcontinent

The drive against Sati

-Act of Abolition 1829- anyone assisting with a sati deemed guilty of culpable homicide and prosecuted accordingly -Traditional self- immolation by Hindu widows on the funeral pyres o their husbands -Reflected the Hindu belief in the marriage bond which meant that remarriage was not an option for widows -Most common among higher castes- primarily religious belief rather than economic necessity -Most commonly occurred in Bengal presidency and Sikh Punjab kingdom which was outside British jurisdiction 1829 -British estimated 600 deaths a year in their territories as a result of the custom -The Company banned practise in Calcutta 1798 -1813 William Wilberforce forced amendment to 1813 Charter Law to allow missionaries to preach against sati and other Hindu practices -Hindu religious philosopher and polymath Ram Mohan Roy campaigned against practise 18181 but counselled Bentinck against its ban 1829 judging it to be too contentious and preferring to try to persuade people to change their minds by reasoning with them -Initially law only applied in territory under control of the Company however many of princely states followed example of the British in 1830s & 40s -Outlawed in the totality of India 1861 -Cases continued throughout 19th century and occasionally today -For higher caste Indians interference was a deliberate attack on caste purity and the presumption of cultural superiority inherent in the new law rankled

The drive against female infanticide

-Bentinck enforce laws passed in 1795 and 1802 against female infanticide -Stemmed from difficulty of providing dowries for female children and shame attached to having unmarried daughters -Bentincks efforts materially improved the lot of women in India -Represented a new departure in terms of government intervention in Indian society

To what Extent did the British Control India in 1829?

-Late 18th and early 19th centuries the British East India Company emerged as a surprise winner in the battles between local power-holder in India -They became responsible for the civil and legal administration of vast amounts of Indian territory -The British parliament passed a series of acts with the intention of ensuring the financial solvency of the Company and extending the British governments control over the East India Company following its near bankruptcy in the 1770s -The British government initially left the Company in charge of its commercial interests, but in 1786 the Company acted as a regularised subsidiary of the Crown -Historically the Company made money as a result of the monopoly of trade, which came under increasing attack from politicians influenced by the doctrine of free trade -In the Charter Act 1813, the British government renewed the Company's charter for another 20 years but removed its monopoly on Indian trade except for the trade in tea with China which was later removed in the Charter Act 1833 -The Company became involved in the civil administration and tax collection of Britains territories in India -After the collapse of the Mughal Empire, the Company acted as a self-funding agent of imperialism for the British government -Period of territorial acquisition by the Company the early 1800s- by 1818 entire Indo-Gangetic Plain under their control -Annexations 1829-57- control extended from 3 presidencies across the central plain of India and included the north-eastern and north-western provinces- governed and administered by the East India Company

What were the causes and significance of the clash of cultures between the British and the Indians?

-Racial and cultural superiority- increasingly seeking to change societies which they governed as a result of the Mughal Empires disintegration -Growth of evangelical Christianity- missionaries attempted to convert the Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists- destabilised local social systems -Arrival of more British women- reinforced a sense of growing cultural division between Company employees and indians- racial intermingling became socially taboo- mixed-race children were not accepted in the developing white 'society' -Modernising agenda of the East India Company 1929-57- changing perceptions if race and changing functions of the Company -Indian rebellion was a reaction to the challenge the British presented to traditional religious and social structures -1833-57 Governors Bentinck and Dalhousie instituted significant civil reform- demonstrate the new Company's preoccupation with the 'modernisation' of India -Bentinck's actions included abolition of thagi and sati and decision to allocate Company funds for education to only English- speaking institutions and to make English the official language of government and the higher legal courts

William Sleemans campaign against thagi

-Thagi- Highway robbery and ritual murder -1836-48 legal Acts passed outlawing thagi and dacoity ( form of banditry) -Campaign led by Colonel William Sleeman beginning in 1835 -The Thugge and Dacoity Department created 1835 -Vigorous and highly publicised campaign which more that 1000 thagi were transported or hanged for their crimes and around 3000 tried and punished in total -Led to significant amounts of self-congratulation on the part of the British as thagi only attacked other Indians -Their criminality based on worship of the Hindu goddess Kali and belief that they were predetermined to kill their victims thereby releasing their victims into their next life -Thagi activity largely dealt with by Sleeman's efforts in 1830s -Its suppression does not seem to have been widely resented by Indians at the time

The importance of Bengal

-The most important presidency in the Company in 19th century- heart of Company power -Administrative structure of Bengal developed under the governor generalship of Lord Cornwallis (1786-93) and the system laid down in his Code of Regulations was the framework of Indian government for nearly 2 centuries -Land was divided into districts under a collector and landholders settled with right to land in return for fixed tax liabilities -Collectors supervised by the Board of Revenue at Calcutta -Legal administration was placed in the hands of local judges and magistrates who were supervised by regional courts of appeal -The army of the Bengal presidency was twice the size of the other 2 armies- central role of Fort William in the life of the company -Traditionally the Bengal presidency army was recruited from higher castes- held particular privileges which they guarded jealously and sensitive to anything which might pollute their caste -Sepoys of the Bengali army were not recruited locally but from other provinces (Awadh) -Principal army of Company - played pivotal role in the annexation of the Punjab

The role of the governor

-The role of the governor had changed form the co-ordination of treaties and alliances with local rulers to being responsible for the administration and legislation of all the territory under British control -1773 appointment of governor and president of Fort William subject to approval by the council - under ultimate control of the Crown -1784 parliament passedIndia Act strengthening the executive power of the governor and supplementary Act 1786 enabled governors to override their council if deemed necessary -1774 Act stipulated that other presidencies could not make war or peace unless directed by Bengal- gave control of foreign policy to the governor of Bengal -1833 the governor general of Fort William became the concurrent governor general of India- responsible for foreign policy and their administration and legislative control over all the territory held by the company -Governor general of Bengal and his council technically overseen by the Board of Control in London but slow communications

The role of the East India Company

-The three company presidencies were the Bengal presidency, the Madras presidency, and the Bombay presidency -Enormous private fortunes were made by company nabobs -Poor management and corruption led the British government to take control of the Companys structure -The Regulating Act 1773 created a governing council of 5 where 2 were Company members and 3 nominated by parliament -Appointment to of governor generals nominated by the Crown -1784 Act made the EIC subordinate to the Crown in all its political functions, achieved through the Board of Control -The 1786 Act enabled the governor general in special cases to override his council -Due to the political doctrine of free trade, the government reduced then ended completely the commercial monopoly on trade- change of function from commerce to administration -British representatives saw themselves as ruling territories rather than engaging in and protecting commercial interests -Local rulers allied themselves with the British to ensure protection from other rulers and to ensure a smooth collection of taxes -Army of civil servants came into the Company employment to oversee collection of taxes

Privy Council

A body of advisers appointed to advise the monarch. In this case, it was the highest court of appeal to which those protesting against the law making Sati illegal could appeal

Princely State

A state in the subcontinent that had not yet been conquered by the British and was ruled by local rulers, either Hindu or Muslim

Charter Act

Acts of the British parliament in 1813 and 1833 altering the terms and conditions of the East India Company's charter which was their basis of legal authority in India

Bengal Renaissance

An Indian social reform movement which grew out of reinterpreting Indian religious philosophy

Sepoy

An Indian soldier serving under British command.

Doctrine of lapse and paramountcy

An annexation policy devised by Dalhousie which stated that any princely state under direct influenc eof the British should be annexed if the ruler was incompetent ot died without an heir.

Nabob

An official under the Mughal regime, the word was used in Britain in the 18th century to describe the Company employees who made their fortunes in India

Mughal

Muslim dynasty that ruled much of present-day India from 1526 to 1857

Evangelical

New tradition within the Protestant churches interested not only in individual the salvation but the salvation of others through missionary efforts

Charter

The East India Company was established by Royal Charter in 1600, granting them a monopoly on trade in India

Regularised subsidiary

The East India Company was no longer autonomous but overseen and regulated by the British Crown and parliament

Caste

The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law.

Utilitarianism

The theory, proposed by Bentham that government actions are useful only if they promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Company presidency

The three administrative branches of the East India Company established first as trading posts and growing to control their territorial acquisitions, fanning out from the original factories situated in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras

Thagi

Those who practised highway robbery and ritual murder by strangling or "thugs" who attacked and strangled travelers in India as part of a religious ritual.

Brahmins

Varna or caste within Hinduism specialising as priests and protectors of sacred learning across generations