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Eternal India
encyclopedia
LURE - THRU THE AGES
*
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
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
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.
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