British Expansion in Indian Territories

Chapter 24 — Complete Notes

BPSC BSSC CGL Modern History Exam Fusion Prep
British Expansion — Key Milestones →
🏭
1612
Battle of
Swally
📍
1639
Madras
Fort St. George
💍
1661
Bombay
(Dowry)
🏰
1698
Calcutta
Fort William
⚔️
1757
Battle of
Plassey
⚔️
1764
Battle of
Buxar
📜
1765
Treaty of
Allahabad
🗺️
Three Presidencies — How British Got Them
City Year How? Fort
Madras 1639 Lease from King of Chandragiri (Francis Day) Fort St. George
Bombay 1661 Dowry — Charles II married Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza —
Calcutta 1698 Zamindari rights bought — Sutanuti, Kalikata, Govindpur Fort William
📜
Treaty of Allahabad (1765) — Dual Government
Signed by Robert Clive after Battle of Buxar
Right Details Given To
Diwani Revenue Collection — Bengal, Bihar, Orissa East India Company
Nizamat Administration & Law (nominal) Shah Alam II
Pension ₹26 lakh annually Shah Alam II (Mughal Emperor)
One-time ₹53 lakh War Indemnity Company (from Awadh Nawab)

* Dual Government = Company ko revenue mili, Nizamat (administration) nominally Mughal ke paas rahi.

⚓
Battle of Swally (1612)
British vs Portuguese — Naval
📅
Date: 29–30 November 1612
📍
Location: Suvali (Swally) — village near Surat, Gujarat
⚓
Result: British (EIC) ki pehli badi naval jeet vs Portuguese
🧑
British Commander: Captain Thomas Best (Red Dragon)
⭐
Significance: Portuguese monopoly ka end. Jahangir ne 1613 mein Surat factory allow ki.
1612 — 1st big British naval win Portuguese monopoly end Surat factory 1613 → result of this battle
⚔️
Battle of Chinsurah / Bidara / Bedara (1759)
British vs Dutch — Bengal
📅
Date: 25 November 1759
📍
Location: Bengal (Chinsurah/Hooghly area)
⚔️
Result: Dutch ko decisive defeat → India mein Dutch influence khatam.
1759 — Dutch exit from India Also called: Bidara / Bedara battle
⚔️
Battle of Plassey (1757)
British vs Siraj-ud-Daulah
📅
Date: 23 June 1757
👑
Nawab of Bengal: Siraj-ud-Daulah
🧑
British Commander: Robert Clive
🗡️
Result: Siraj-ud-Daulah defeated. Mir Jafar ne betrayal kiya — British ke saath mila hua tha.
23 June 1757 Robert Clive commanded Mir Jafar = traitor
⚔️
Battle of Buxar (1764)
British vs 3 Combined Enemies
📅
Date: 22 October 1764
🧑
British Commander: Hector Munro (won)
⚔️
Opponents:
→ Bengal Nawab: Mir Qasim
→ Awadh Nawab: Shuja-ud-Daulah
→ Mughal Emperor: Shah Alam II
📜
Result: Treaty of Allahabad (1765) — Dual Government System shuru hua.
22 Oct 1764 Hector Munro = British commander 3 opponents — Mir Qasim + Shuja + Shah Alam II → Treaty of Allahabad 1765
🗺️
Three Carnatic Wars — British vs French
South India mein supremacy ke liye
War Years Key Points Treaty / Result
First 1746–1748 Europe ka Austrian War of Succession India tak pahuncha. Koi bada change nahi. Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) — Status quo
Second 1749–1754 Battle of Ambur (1749) se shuru. French Governor Dupleix ne Chanda Sahib ko support kiya — French haar gaye. Treaty of Pondicherry (1755) — British advantage. Dupleix recall hua.
Third 1756–1763 Battle of Wandiwash (1760): British Commander Eyre Coote ne jeeta vs French Commander Count de Lally (haara). French power khatam. Treaty of Paris (1763)
1st: Aix-la-Chapelle 1748 2nd: Pondicherry 1755 — Dupleix recall 3rd: Paris 1763 — French power khatam Wandiwash 1760: Eyre Coote vs Count de Lally Pondicherry French se capture: 1761
🏛️
Political Expansion — Territory Acquisition
Chronological order
📅
1639 — Francis Day ne Madras ka lease liya King of Chandragiri se. Fort St. George banaya → Madras ka base.
📅
1651 — Trade privileges mile Shah Shuja (Subahdar of Bengal) se.
💍
1661 — British King Charles II ne Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza se shaadi ki → Bombay dowry mein mila.
🏘️
1698 — Zamindari rights khareede teen gaon pe: Sutanuti, Kalikata, Govindpur. Yahan Fort William banaya → Calcutta ka base.
📅
1761 — Pondicherry French se capture kiya (Third Carnatic War ke baad).
Madras 1639 — Francis Day + King of Chandragiri Bombay 1661 — Marriage dowry Calcutta 1698 — 3 villages + Fort William Pondicherry 1761 — French se
📍
Bengal Section
British power ka sabse important base
Key Bengal Facts
🏭
1651 — First British factory Hooghly River pe bani.
👑
First Nawab: Murshid Quli Khan — Capital shift: Dhaka → Murshidabad. Ijaradari system + Taqavi (agricultural loans) shuru kiye.
📜
Farrukhsiyar (1717) — Golden Farman issue kiya → British ko duty-free trade ka right (except salt).
👑
Alivardi Khan — Battle of Giria (1740) ke baad Subahdar of Bengal bana.
Black Hole Tragedy
🔒
Date: 20 June 1756 (Fort William, Calcutta)
👤
Account by: John Zephaniah Holwell (British survivor)
🔢
Holwell's claim: 146 prisoners band kiye gaye — sirf 23 survived.
ℹ️
Note: Modern historians believe actual numbers were fewer (est. 64 imprisoned, ~43 died), but Holwell's version is used in exam context.
👑
Who did it: Siraj-ud-Daulah ke forces ne — Fort William capture ke baad.
Nawabs of Bengal — Complete Sequence
Murshid Quli Khan
1717 – 1727
Shujauddin Muhammad Khan
1727 – 1739
Sarfaraz Khan
1739 – 1740
Alivardi Khan
1740 – 1756
Siraj-ud-Daulah
1756 – 1757
Mir Jafar
1757 – 1760
Mir Qasim
1760 – 1763
Mir Jafar (2nd time)
1763 – 1765
Najm-ud-Daulah
1765 – 1766
Saif-ud-Daulah
1766 – 1770
Mubarak-ud-Daulah
1770 – 1793
Golden Farman 1717 = duty-free trade Black Hole = 20 June 1756 Plassey = 23 June 1757 Mir Jafar = 2 baar Nawab
🐅
Mysore Section — 4 Anglo-Mysore Wars
Hyder Ali
👑
1761 — Mysore ka de facto ruler bana.
⚔️
2nd Anglo-Mysore War mein lada.
💀
Death: 1782. Successor: Tipu Sultan.
Tipu Sultan (1782–1799)
👑
Title: Badshah
🌳
Tree of Liberty lagaya — Srirangapatnam mein.
🇫🇷
Jacobins Club ka member bana (French Revolution influence) → "Citizen Tipu" kaha jata tha.
🦁
Other name: Sher-e-Mysore
❌
British Subsidiary Alliance refuse kiya.
💀
Died: 1799 (4th Anglo-Mysore War)
4 Anglo-Mysore Wars
War Years Governor-General Treaty / Result
1st 1767–1769 — Treaty of Madras (1769)
2nd 1780–1784 Warren Hastings Treaty of Mangalore (1784)
3rd 1790–1792 Lord Cornwallis Treaty of Seringapatam (1792) — heavy territorial loss for Tipu
4th 1799 Lord Wellesley Tipu killed → Mysore subsidiary state bana
Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance — States
Year State
1798 Hyderabad
1799 Mysore
1799 Tanjore
1801 Awadh
1802 Peshwa
Tipu = Badshah + Sher-e-Mysore Jacobins Club = "Citizen Tipu" 3rd War: Cornwallis — Seringapatam 1792 4th War: Wellesley 1799 — Tipu killed
🌾
Punjab Section
Maharaja Ranjit Singh + Anglo-Sikh Wars
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
🎂
Born: 2nd November 1780
📍
Place: Gujranwala
🏹
Misl: Sukerchakia | Father: Maha Singh
🦁
Known as: Sher-e-Punjab
💀
Death: 1839
Treaty of Amritsar (1809)
📜
Between: Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Lord Metcalfe (British).
🌊
Sutlej River ke along boundary set. Ranjit Singh ko Sutlej ke east cross karne se restricted kiya.
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846)
👑
Maharaja: Duleep Singh
❌
Sikhs defeated.
📜
Treaty of Lahore — 9th March 1846
📜
Supplementary Treaty of Bhairowal — 22nd December 1846: British ne Punjab mein control mazboot kiya.
Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–1849)
✈️
Duleep Singh imprisoned → England bhej diya gaya.
⚔️
Key Battles: Ramnagar (Nov 1848) → Chillianwala (Jan 1849) → Gujrat (Feb 1849)
📅
Result: March 1849 — Poora Punjab British ne annex kar liya.
Ranjit Singh = Sher-e-Punjab, born 1780 Treaty of Amritsar 1809 — Sutlej boundary Treaty of Lahore — 9 March 1846 Bhairowal — 22 Dec 1846 Punjab annex — March 1849
🏔️
Anglo-Afghan Wars
War Years Gov-General / Key Treaty / Result
1st 1839–1842 Lord Auckland Disastrous retreat from Kabul. Sindh region annexed 1843.
2nd 1878–1880 — Treaty of Gandamak (1879)
3rd 1919 — Treaty of Rawalpindi — Afghanistan independent
🏝️
Anglo-Burmese Wars
War Years Key Result / Treaty
First 1824–1826 Treaty of Yandabo (1826) — British ne Assam capture kiya
Second 1852–1853 British ne Rangoon (Lower Burma) annex kiya
Third 1885 British ne Upper Burma annex kiya — complete control
1st Afghan: Lord Auckland (disaster) Sindh annex 1843 (after 1st Afghan) Burma 1st: Treaty of Yandabo 1826 Burma 3rd 1885 = complete control
⚠️ Trap #1 — Plassey vs Buxar commander
Plassey (1757): Robert Clive ka tha. Buxar (1764): Hector Munro ka tha. Dono alag hain — Robert Clive ko Buxar mein mat dena!
⚠️ Trap #2 — Black Hole numbers
Exam mein Holwell's version use hota hai: 146 imprisoned, 23 survived. Modern historians ka estimate alag hai (~64 imprisoned, ~43 died) — but BPSC/BSSC exam context mein Holwell's figures accept karo.
⚠️ Trap #3 — Mir Jafar 2 baar Nawab bana
Mir Jafar do baar Bengal ka Nawab tha: 1757–1760 aur phir 1763–1765. Beech mein Mir Qasim tha (1760–1763). Sequence yaad rakho.
⚠️ Trap #4 — Carnatic Wars ki treaties
1st → Aix-la-Chapelle 1748 (status quo)
2nd → Pondicherry 1755 (Dupleix recall)
3rd → Paris 1763 (French power khatam)
⚠️ Trap #5 — Bombay kaisi mili?
Bombay conquest mein nahi, dowry mein mila — 1661 mein Charles II ki shaadi se. Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza ne dowry mein di.
⚠️ Trap #6 — Anglo-Mysore Wars ki GGs
1st: No GG mentioned
2nd: Warren Hastings — Mangalore 1784
3rd: Cornwallis — Seringapatam 1792
4th: Wellesley — Tipu killed 1799
⚠️ Trap #7 — Wandiwash (1760) commanders
British: Eyre Coote (won). French: Count de Lally (haara). Yeh 3rd Carnatic War mein tha — exact names poochhe jaate hain.
⚠️ Trap #8 — Anglo-Afghan 1st War result
1st Afghan War (1839–1842) British ke liye disastrous tha — Kabul se retreat karna pada. Sindh 1843 mein annex hua (alag event, same time period).
Exam Fusion Prep  |  British Expansion in Indian Territories  |  BPSC / BSSC CGL
© ExamFusion Prep. All Rights Reserved.