Britain and India (1730 - 1773)

WHO OR WHAT WAS DRIVING CHANGES IN THE ROLE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE MID 18TH CENTURY? Military and naval technology

- 'superiority of European arms' = Indians were often psychologically defeated first - Clive & British soldiers had experience; they knew that aiming at artillery bullocks and the elephants which carried Indian commanders were the best tactic - Battle of Plassey: Clive's army were outnumbered with 1,000 Europeans compared to Diraj's 50,000 Calvary HOWEVER Britain soon lost military superiority and were defeated in an attack in 1780 by Hyder Ali. 2000 British and Indian troops perished.

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Early C17th - Impact of interlopers e.g. Courteen association

- 1618: The Scottish East India Company was founded but the English complained and was compensated £20,000 - 1635: William Rourtieen was allowed to trade anywhere in India where the EIC had no presence

Leadership within the EIC? NEGATIVE

- 1680s, leaders were overambitious and reckless e.g. Sir Josiah Child tried to exploit the Mughal Empire but was hopelessly ill-equipped and later on tried an aggressive policy in India which contributed to the loss of the monopoly in 1698 -After 1709, company tried to cleanse of Sir Josiah Child's legacy HOWEVER were not successful - wealthy brokers managed to gain and hold influence which allowed them to turn a blind eye to corruption when it suited them

What did Sir John Child do for the Company?

- 1687, the Company decided to move the presidency to Bombay rather than keep it at Surat - In Bengal, relations between Company factors and the Mughal governor had broken down - Child used further force on the Mughal Empire, with aggressive intent on the part of the Company to exploit the opportunity while the Mughals were distracted, for commercial gain strategic decision to use force turned out to be catastrophic disastrous because of the diplomatic naivety of the Company's commanders and chronic English indecision and confusion.

Finance and the East India Company?

- 1709, EIC became a leading financial institution during a 'financial revolution' - After 1709, establishing trading contacts and exploiting opportunities was possible because of ample investment coming from Britain - 1738-42, show profit from trade transactions was approx. £1.1 million annually

Gerald Aungier: who was he?

- 2nd Governor of Bombay from 1669-1677 - First Company servant to try and govern civilians

Why was the imperial firman so desirable?

- A grant confirming all the company's commercial and territorial privileges under the imperial seal - Elevate the company's legal standing - Imperial firman would trump all other grants

What problems did the East India Company face when it took over tax collection in Bengal?

- A reduction in revenue - Tax system had overwhelmed English administrators - The Company sought early reforms - Unknown about tax system - (lack of knowledge by company officials

Diplomacy overseas NEGATIVE

- Activities of interlopers such as the Courteen Association, degenerating into piracy, caused problems for the EIC traders by creating local hostility towards English traders general

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Later C17th - Strategy of Sir John Child 1688-91

- Aggressive policy which damaged the Company's economical advance - Damaged relations between the Mughal Empire and the Company

WHO OR WHAT WAS DRIVING CHANGES IN THE ROLE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE MID 18TH CENTURY? French provocation

- Assertion of British naval power in the Bay of Bengal led to the reaction of Jean François Dupleix, who wanted to recover the French East India Company's losses - French employed Indian forces to fight and encouraged the British to do the same

Who was Sir John Child?

- Became governor of Bombay in 1682 and president of Surat.

Who was Clive of India?

- Before his role in the EIC, he was a Governor General in the army. - Arrived in India in 1744 = Clerk for the Company - Ambitious, short tempered and impatient -Talent for politics - 1765, became the Governor of Bengal

KEY FIGURES Successes

- Between 1699 & 1701 imports of these products totalled £522,000 and 2/3 were re-exported to Europe & West Africa = exchanged for slaves - Textiles became the biggest staple of the Company's exports - Imported £860,000 worth of Indian goods (1674-5) - Early profit and & foothold in the spice islands

WHO OR WHAT WAS DRIVING CHANGES IN THE ROLE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE MID 18TH CENTURY? Clive: a military hero

- Cleverness of Clive helped to impose British authority on India instead of the French - Military skill - showed himself to be heroic and victorious - Battle of Plassey & also saved St George from attack - Clive obtained the Diwani and was the governor of Bengal - Development of the company speeds up when he arrives

How typical was Clive as an EIC employee? TYPICAL

- Clive had the same dreams and aspirations as other employees - Wanted to partake in trade - Wanted to return to England afterwards - Chose to live an extravagant lifestyle

WHO OR WHAT WAS DRIVING CHANGES IN THE ROLE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE MID 18TH CENTURY? Company's leadership and strategy in London

- Company in London had little control over the Company's actions in India = simply laid down the 'general principles': instructions became irrelevant due to the distance and time aspect - Slow communications made instructions from home ineffective

What was the structure, organisation and administration of the EIC like? NEGATIVES

- Didn't manage to combat smuggling - Struggled to find a line between company trade and individual trade to a point where the EIC would have to pick up individual's debts - Problem controlling every opportunity to cheat which led to smuggling, interloping and piracy

Military developments in the EIC - NEGATIVES

- Disputes over small areas of territory lead to conflict with local rulers - Near disasters at Karwar & Tellichery and real disasters at Anjengo and Benkulen due to inconsistency of company policy = Due to vindictive & ambitious men - Devotion to ruthless opportunism - Hostilities between Bombay and its maritime neighbours - Wars taught the English much about the shortcomings of their military arrangements

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Early and mid C18th - In Bengal (Mir Jafar, Mir Kasim)

- Diwani (increasing tax) + famine = devastating consequences for the indigenous - Mir Jafar was appointed as Nawab by the Company - Hastings was disappointed to find the natives terrorising the country side

Competition for the EIC - NEGATIVES

- Dutch competition was the biggest threat at the beginning - better financed, better fleets and with an explicit mandate to use whatever means necessary to secure and defend a monopoly of trade in spices to Europe - A rival Scottish EIC was financed in 1695, largely by wealthy Whig financiers

KEY FIGURES Failures

- Dutch hostilities and competition - lots of competition from the Dutch in Spice Islands and had to focus on India instead =not successful in their initial aims

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Late C18th - Exploitation of weavers

- EIC responsible for destroying the Indian handicraft industry as they were monopolising - Forced the local tradesmen to sell their goods to the EIC at a reduced cost which was less that they would have got on the free market - Forced many indigenous people into poverty (especially those with families)

Leadership within the EIC? POSITIVE

- Early years - Sir William Keeling - 'able and efficient administrator' = diversified and adapted into favourable markets - Gerald Aungier (governor of Bombay, 1669-77) made it a successful trading post - 'innovative rule' & 'set a precedent in India' and beyond

Why was it a challenge getting the firman?

- Emperor had an apparent indifference to the English - August, the emperor went on a tour of the neighbouring Punjab for a month = Firman looked more remote than ever

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Later C17th - Gerald Aungier as the Governor of Bombay 1669-77

- Established a stable currency - First company servant that attempted to govern civilians - Insisted on religious toleration - Positive impact

What did Warren Hastings do for the company?

- Faced backlash in regards to his methods in India =very aggressive policy which people believe endangered commercial advantage - He was put on trial but was acquitted - Had little control over his employees - The aggressiveness of Hastings' policies made the company look bad - Distance from London created a lack of communication

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Early and mid C18th - In the Carnatic

- Fakir and Sanyasi uprisings - Puli Thevar

WHO OR WHAT WAS DRIVING CHANGES IN THE ROLE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE MID 18TH CENTURY? Changing Company fortunes and commercial relationships in India

- Firman gave the English territorial and commercial privileges - Right to issue dastaks = added to the government revenue HOWEVER - Fines were issued for the abuse of the dastaks - Attack on Calcutta by Siraj - du - Daulah in 1756 due to abuse of Firman by the British

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Early C17th - EIC trading bases in India

- Foundation of EIC in 1600 - Trading port was established in 1608 = beat the Portuguese at the Battle of Surally in 1612 - Gained Madras in 1634 - 1641 Factory at St George was built - Portuguese were forced from Hormuz in 1672, with Persian help

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Late C18th - Hastings' Attitude to Indigenous Culture

- Hastings was appalled to find native agents terrorising the countryside with the approval of British employees - Hastings treated Indians as individuals and as equals to the Europeans - Backlash over his methods

Why was Clive controversial?

- He was greedy - HOWEVER because it benefited England and the EIC, everyone turned a blind eye. -Aggressive approach due to military experience (no experience with diplomacy). -Fort William (Battle of Plassey) - ''victory'' for England = controversial as 1/10 of the British army died.

Military developments in the EIC - POSITIVES

- Increase in strengths of garrisons to around 800 at Madras in the 1720s & 1730s, rising to 1200 in 1742

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Early C17th - Trade with the Spice Islands and Japan

- Kicked out of Amboisa in 1623 - Anglo Dutch agreement (1614) wasn't upheld = complaints from Ambon were ignored by the government. Base at Elirado in Japan by the 1620s - Trade in Japan was abandoned in 1623

WHO OR WHAT WAS DRIVING CHANGES IN THE ROLE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE MID 18TH CENTURY? Self Interest of Clive and other employees on the ground

- Mir Jafa bribed the Company and company officials to make him Nawab = a lot of personal profit with Clive making £234,000

WHO OR WHAT WAS DRIVING CHANGES IN THE ROLE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE MID 18TH CENTURY? The Collapse of the Mughal Empire

- Mughal Empire collapsed into different states e.g. the Nizam and the Marathas = very vulnerable - British rule was based on Mughal wealth and foundations laid by regional rulers - Regional states of India = rise of English territorial power

How did this change? (Turning point?) Why was this a turning point? (GETTING THE FIRMAN)

- Mughal economy was nearly as dependent on the Company's bullion exports as the Company was on the Mughal's trade - The Firman was a turning point for the English because they received the most expensive commercial and territorial privileges ever granted to a foreign power - The Firman remained the 'magna carta of the company' before Clive obtained the diwani a decade later HOWEVER in practice, the firman was more ignored and defied than respected.

What was the structure, organisation and administration of the EIC like? POSITIVES

- New EIC = new streamlined management structure - Participation was excellent (not uncommon for 1000 people to vote for positions e.g. Directors - Efficient postal services - Meticular records kept of trading, accounts and debates - Confident and competent

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Late C18th - Tax revenues

- Peasantry unable to meet the usual demands of taxes for the Fakirs due to the exacting revenue policies by the British - Tax system drew the company into Indian politics that they didn't want to initially participate in

What happened at the Carnatic? (1756-63)

- Revenues from Bengal used to help to fight the war against the French in the Carnatic (South of India) - French attacks on Fort St David and Madras = Fort St David surrendered but Madras held out - British navy came and helped - Serge of Pondicherry in May 1760 - British won. - Pondicherry returned to the French after the Peace of Paris 1763 = French power in southern India practically non - existent

What did Gerald Aungier do for the East India Company?

- Set up a supreme court in Bombay - Established a stable currency - Erected fortifications (which in 1673, discouraged a Dutch fleet from attempting to land) - Formed a militia and naval defence force - Criticised by directors in London for the expense of his governing - Wanted to establish security, religious harmony & impartial justice = means of attracting weavers, planters, merchants and money lenders who would make trade possible and profitable - Insisted on religious toleration

How does the career of Thomas Rumbold highlight the difficulties that the directors in London faced in controlling their employees?

- Short career of Thomas Rumbold as Governor of Madras - Rumbold had done nothing to stabilise relations with the native powers in the area - Rumbold suffered the embarrassment of inquiries by parliament & the General Court of the East India Company - Many orders from the Directorate were unneeded - Actions defied the Company line from London - Bengal Famine: 1/3-1/2 of the population died due to the excessive tax collection

Economic Circumstances

- Silks and cottons were revolutionising fashion and dress designs: a large and expanding market for these too • 1700, the market had been so flooded with spices that the price had fallen and the majority of the population had access to spices, especially pepper

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Early and mid C18th - Grant of the Firman 1717

- Social change = Mughal Decline which changed social structure - Firman (1717) privileges meant that the EIC had commercial privileges - Dastaks = exemption from taxes = resented by local Nawab and traders - 1756: Siraj-du-Daulah took Calcutta (Black Hole of Calcutta 1757)

WHO OR WHAT WAS DRIVING CHANGES IN THE ROLE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE MID 18TH CENTURY? Political interests in Britain

- The East India Company's commercial success helped Britain with their national debt - Asian trade was a national interest - Failure in India could have had a big impact on Britain

Trading Posts and Networks Overseas NEGATIVES

- Unable to secure a confident foothold in the Spice Islands due to hostility from the Portuguese and Dutch who were securely established there - (At the beginning) English presidencies only allowed due to the permission of the Mughal Emperor - Declining trade on the west coast of India (Bombay, Surat, Malabar Coast) - Unofficial and illicit trade was a problem; smuggling, cheating and corruption eroded profit

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Late C18th - Famine

- Violent uprising & resistance in Bengal =Fakir-Sunnyasi rebellion = prompted by famine and the taxes which meant peasantry couldn't meet the normal demands of these groups - 1/3-1/2 of the population died due to the famine which was worsened by excessive tax collections by the British

HOW FAR DID THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE EIC BRING DISASTER TO INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE? Later C17TH - EIC Army Sepoys and Technology

-70 EIC on the ground in India = 300 soldiers in Madras, 500 in Bengal (Calcutta) in 1750 - not enough and regularly had to get the army for support -Superior technology compared to Indians

How did Pitt and Russel get the firman?

1. Pitt tried to carefully create connections in the imperial court 2. Emperor feared his main rival, who was his brother, was heading for Madras 3. Pitt thought if he captured the Emperor's brother, the emperor would be willing to grant the firman 4. Sent presents to the emperor 5. Russel took Pitt's place when he was removed due to a row with his advisory council

When was the EIC founded?

1600

When did the EIC first set foot in India?

1608

When was the firman granted and what did it do?

1717 - granted a firman which gave them commercial privileges

What happened at the Battle of Plassey? 1756

1756 - War broke out: Siraj - du - Daulah (Nawab) attacked Calcutta and easily seized the presidency. They took company employees and put them into the Black Hole of Calcutta Clive and Watson wanted to recapture Calcutta which led to the BATTLE OF PLASSEY (1757). Clive replaced Siraj - du -Daulah with a puppet ruler, Mir Jafar. Problems in Calcutta so Clive was sent back to regain control (1765). Clive made changes e.g. made island trade a company monopoly and instituted a Dual System for collecting revenues of the Diwan.

Similarities between Clive, Aungier & Child?

All 3 governor wanted to benefit trade Clive & Child both produced consequences for the Company in India due to aggressive policies Clive and Child both had vulnerable relationships with the rulers in India - lacked the diplomatic approach Aungier & Clive & Child all troubled administrators back in London = Aungier spent a lot of money & Clive paid little attention to orders - all 3 interpreted instructions from London to suit their own needs Aungier & Clive handled foreign competition similarly

Differences between Clive, Aungier and Child?

Aungier was different to Clive and Child as he used a non-aggressive approach - he was structurally & politically efficient Clive had more military experience than Child and Aungier Aungier was more respectful of Indian culture religious toleration for all Clive's military actions were more successful than Child's Clive was more aggressive than Aungier

Trading Posts and Networks Overseas POSITIVES

By the C18th, presidencies at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras 'In terms of entrepreneurial skills, the EIC responded to and then outperformed its rivals in India by a wide margin' Growing tea trade was valuable - easily transported, high profits relative to its weight and bulk

What are dastaks?

Dastaks meant they didn't need to pay taxes

What is the Diwan?

Diwan - control over land tax revenues in the richest part of India

Who was Warren Hastings?

First Governor General of India (1773-85)

Who is Lawrence Sullivan?

Lawrence Sullivan - Chairman of the British East India Company - In competition with Clive and the governor of Bombay

What was Clive's famous battle?

Led the Battle of Plassey = Clive had a small force and arrived at Fort William (57 men killed, 137 wounded) and won a battle against the Indians led by Siraj - du- Daulah: bribed Mir Jafar and promised him he could be the Nawab of Bengal if he assisted the British.

What are joint stock companies?

Lots of investors' pool resources by buying shares - reduces risk = Company invests less funds in more than one voyage (not putting all eggs into one basket)

How typical was Clive as an EIC employee? ATYPICAL

Not very intelligent or as well educated as other employees

What was the black hole of Calcutta?

The Black Hole of Calcutta was a small prison or dungeon in Fort William (measuring 5.4 metres by 4.2 metres) where troops of Siraj - du -Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, held British prisoners of war for three days on the 20th June 1756. Lots of the trapped English were suffocated to death and only 23 survived.

How much did the position of the EIC change/stay the same?

• 1710 - Regularly sending to the East 10-15 ships a year, each around 300 tons • 1740 - Risen steadily but London sales remained consistent at about £2million = none of the erractic boom or bust typically suggested ('trifle dull' period) • 1750 - Sea change is evident - Presence becomes stronger - Suggested a new type of relationship with the native powers of India

Why did Clive's legacy cause problems for the company?

• Company faced unpleasant repercussions from his legacy - military expenditures had reason from £375,000 in 1756 to £885,000 10 years later • Tangled in the web of Mughal politics

Use of armed forces by the EIC

• EIC ships armed to defend their monopoly - used force in the early years off the coast of India to fend off Portuguese ships trying to prevent them from trading • Armed escorts for EIC fleets used for example against local rulers if they sought to undermine or disrupt English trade

Value of the EIC imports into Europe between 1668-70 and 1777-9?

• Pepper imports decreased then increased • Import of textiles increased massively between 1668-70 from 203,976 to 850,599 between 1698 - 1700 • Tea and coffee increased in C18th • 1700s saw massive increases in raw silk, textiles, tea and coffee • Overall imports increased throughout this period • Majority of exports from India (77.96%)