Traders to Rulers (I)
ICSE Class 8 · History & Civics · Chapter 5
What this chapter covers
- Trade in India and the coming of the Europeans
- The English East India Company
- Rivalry among the trading companies
- The conquest of Bengal: why Bengal?
- The Battle of Plassey, 1757
- Mir Qasim and the Battle of Buxar, 1764
- The Dual Government in Bengal
- How traders became rulers
Key points
- India's cloth, spices, indigo and saltpetre drew European traders, beginning with the Portuguese under Vasco da Gama in 1498.
- The English East India Company received its charter in 1600 and set up factories and bases at Surat, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.
- The farman of 1717 gave the Company duty-free trade in Bengal; the misuse of dastaks angered the Nawabs.
- The English defeated the French in the Carnatic Wars, winning at Wandiwash in 1760.
- At Plassey in 1757 Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah through a conspiracy with Mir Jafar, who became a puppet Nawab.
- Mir Qasim tried to rule independently and abolished internal duties, which led to war with the Company.
- At Buxar in 1764 the Company defeated Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah and Shah Alam II together.
- By the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765 the Company received the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
- Under the Dual Government (1765–1772) the Company had power without responsibility, and the people of Bengal suffered, most terribly in the famine of 1770.
- A trained army, divisions among Indian rulers, treachery, Bengal's wealth and control of the sea turned the Company from traders into rulers.
Questions answered
Why did Europeans want to find a sea route to India?
They wanted Indian spices and cloth, which were in great demand in Europe. Goods brought overland by Arab and Italian traders were very costly, so a direct sea route would let them buy cheaply and make large profits.
What was a factory in the time of the East India Company?
A factory was a trading post where the Company's merchants lived, stored their goods and carried on trade. Nothing was manufactured there, and early factories such as Surat were not forts.
What was the farman of 1717, and how was it misused?
It was an order of the emperor Farrukhsiyar that let the Company trade in Bengal without paying customs duty, in return for ₹3,000 a year. Company officials misused the dastaks issued under it for their own private trade and sold them to Indian merchants, so the Nawab lost revenue.
Which two European companies were the main rivals in eighteenth-century India, and which won?
The English and the French East India Companies. The English won, especially after the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760.
Give three causes of the Battle of Plassey.
Any three of: misuse of dastaks; the fortification of Calcutta without the Nawab's permission; shelter given to the Nawab's enemy Krishna Das; English disrespect towards Siraj-ud-Daulah; and the Company's wish to place a friendly ruler on the throne.
Why did Siraj-ud-Daulah lose the Battle of Plassey even though his army was much larger?
Clive had made a secret deal with Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh and Jagat Seth. Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh kept their troops out of the fighting, so only a small loyal force fought for the Nawab.
Why did Mir Qasim abolish all internal trade duties in 1763?
The Company's officials were misusing dastaks and trading without paying duty. This ruined Indian merchants and reduced the Nawab's income. By removing duties for everyone, Mir Qasim gave Indian merchants the same terms as the English.
Name the three allies who fought the Company at Buxar, and state two results of the battle.
Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. Results: the Company received the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa; Awadh paid ₹50 lakh and became dependent on the Company; the emperor became a pensioner of the Company.