From Trade To Territory
Class 8th History Part I CBSE Solution
- Match the following: I. Diwani a) Tipu Sultan II. Tiger of Mysore b) Right to collect land…
- Fill in the blanks: (a) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of ____ (b)…
- State whether true or false: (a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth…
- What attracted European trading companies to India?
- What were the areas of conflict between the nawabs of Bengal and the East India Company?…
- How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India Company?
- Explain the system of subsidiary alliance.
- In what way was the administration of the Company different from that of Indian rulers?…
- Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the Companys army.…
Let's Recall
Question 1.Match the following:
Answer:
(I) Diwani → Right to collect land revenue
(II) “Tiger of Mysore” → Tipu Sultan
(III) Faujdari Adalat → Criminal court
(IV) Rani Chinnamma → Led an anti-British Movement in Kitoor
(V) Sipahi → Sepoy
Question 2.
Fill in the blanks:
(a) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of ____
(b) Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan were the rulers of _________
(c) Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of ___________
(d) Maratha Kingdoms were located mainly in the ________part of India.
Answer:
(a) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of Plassey
(b) Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan were the rulers of Mysore
(c) Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of Lapse
(d) Maratha Kingdoms were located mainly in the north-west part of India.
Question 3.
State whether true or false:
(a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth century.
(b) The English East India Company was the only European Company that traded with India.
(c) Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab
(d) The British did not introduce administrative changes in the territories they conquered.
Answer:
(a) (False)
The Mughal empire had a golden period during Akbar’s time. He ruled from mid 16th century to till the starting of 17th century. So we can say that the Mughal became stronger during the time of Akbar and till the time of Aurangzeb it grew.
(b) (False)
No, the English East India Company wasn’t the only European company to trade with India. Before British period in India Portuguese, Dutch and French were doing trade with India.
(c) (True)
Yes, Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab. He fought many wars to expel the afghans and was proclaimed as Maharaja of Punjab.
(d) (False)
The British government divided the British territories into three units Bengal, Madras and Bombay called presidencies each ruled by the Governor. The supreme head of the administration system was the Governor-General.
Let's Discuss
Question 1.What attracted European trading companies to India?
Answer: The European trading companies enter India with the aim of earning a profit. India provides a wide range of product for them to trade in other countries. These are the reasons why they enter India in for trade:
● There was a great demand for Indian goods in European countries such as cotton and silk.
● Indian spices like Pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon were also in great demand.
Hence, European trading companies came to India to gain profits.
Question 2.
What were the areas of conflict between the nawabs of Bengal and the East India Company?
Answer:
The following were the areas of conflict between the Nawabs of Bengal and the East India Company:
1. The company wanted to expand its settlement and they also wanted special privileges.
2. The Company thought that duties should be removed,
3. But the Nawabs of Bengal were not ready to give them that much freedom and also refused to give any concession,
4. Nawabs demanded large tributes for the Company’s right to trade,
5. Misuse of trade concession.
a) Farrukh Siyar, the Mughal Emperor had granted the British Company a Farman to carry on duty-free trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1717 A.D. The English traders, however, misused the privilege and evaded the payment of taxes.
b) In the first half of the eighteenth century, Nawab of Bengal laid two conditions which the Company had to obey or lose its right to trade in Bengal.
● The officials of the Company engaged in private trade shall pay customs duty or privilege of not paying the duty will be withdrawn altogether.
● Nawabs also denied the Company any right to mint coins,
● The Company was stopped from extending its fortification.
Question 3.
How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India Company?
Answer: In 1765, the Mughal emperor authorized Company as Diwan of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
1. Diwani gave the British Rights to collect the revenue and also allowed them to use the vast revenue resources of Bengal.
2. Formerly, it had to import gold and silver from Britain in large quantities to buy most of the goods in India. At that time, Britain had no goods to sell in India which could fetch it finances to buy Indian goods.
3. So the Diwani not only helped it to meet administrative expenses but also enabled it to buy Indian goods to be exported to Britain.
4. It also helps them to strengthen their military power.
Question 4.
Explain the system of “subsidiary alliance”.
Answer: The following were the features of the system of Subsidiary Alliance given by Lord Wellesley:
a) According to this alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to form their own independent armed forces.
b) Indian rulers accepting the Subsidiary Alliance were not allowed to form an alliance with another ruler, nor could they declare war against any power without the permission of English rulers.
c) The Indian rulers accepting this system were to agree to the stationing of the British contingent force for whose maintenance they would pay a subsidy.
d) He would allow a British resident to stay in his state.
e) He would not employ any Europeans other than the English and if there was already any, he would dismiss them.
f) In return for acknowledging the British Company, an army of English was to protect them but the ruler had to pay for the Subsidiary forces.
g) If any ruler failed to make the payment, then part of his territory was taken away as the penalty.
Question 5.
In what way was the administration of the Company different from that of Indian rulers?
Answer:
1. Before the Britishers came to India, the Indian territories were divided into Kingdoms ruled by different rulers. The Company made a proper system of administration by dividing the territory into presidencies; the supreme head of the administration was the Governor-General.
2. From 1772, each district was to have two courts—a criminal court (Faujdari Adalat) and a civil court (Diwani Adalat). Muslims and Hindu Pandits interpreted Indian laws for the European district collectors who presided over civil courts. The criminal courts were still under a qazi and mufti but under the supervision of the collectors.
3. Maulvis and Hindu pundits interpreted the Indian law for the European district collector who presided over the civil court.
4. The collector was the principal figure and his main job was to collect revenue and taxes and to maintain law and order.
5. Under the Regulating Act of 1773, a new Supreme Court was established. A court of appeal—the Sadar Nizamat Adalat was also set up at Calcutta.
Question 6.
Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the Company’s army.
Answer: During the 18th century, the East India Company began recruitment for its own army.
The following were the changes that occurred in the composition of the Company’s army:
i) It started recruiting peasants and trained them as professional soldiers.
ii) The English Company though recruited Indian soldiers in the army, but they were never allowed to acquire any higher post.
iii) The Company’s army was composed of the cavalry and the infantry, and the cavalry dominated the army in starting.
iv) The infantry regiments became more important when the warfare technology changed during the 19th century.
v) The soldiers of the Company were subjected to the European style of training.
Let's Do
Question 1.After the British conquest of Bengal. Calcutta grew from a small village to a big city. Find out about the culture, architecture and the life of Europeans and Indians of the city during the colonials period.
Answer:
Life of Europeans and Indians of the city during the colonial period.
● The Europeans were living in the well served areas in Calcutta after the British conquest of Bengal.
● On the other hand, the native people were living in very congested areas.
● The Europeans have the entire domestic and entertainment related facilities like water supply, electricity, sewage links and clubs, drama, race, golf for entertainment.
● Indians lack in these basic facilities of life.
The main features of Calcutta city during the colonial period were as follows:
i) Calcutta from 1750 to 1805: The work of planning of Calcutta was carried by different Governor-Generals. After the battle of Plassey Civil Line areas were developed.
ii) Planning of Calcutta after Lord Wellesley: After Wellesley’s departure, the work of town planning was carried on by Lottery Committee (1817) with the help of the government.
iii) Role of Health and Town Planning of Calcutta: The threat of epidemics gave a further impetus to town planning.
iv) Change in Attitude of Government for Planning: Densely built up areas were seen as insanitary since they constructed direct sunlight and circulation of air.
v) Entertainment: the Europeans enjoyed clubs, race, golf and large homes with domestic facilities like water and electricity.
vi) Culture: During this time Calcutta developed as the city of dramas, theaters, music and religious festivals.
vii) The city was developed as the example of architecture along with the best cuisine.