The Beginning of a New Political Era At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Indian national movement was entering a period of transformation. For nearly two decades, the Indian National Congress had pursued political reform through petitions, speeches, resolutions and appeals to British constitutional principles. Its leaders believed that educated Indians could gradually persuade the Brit…
A New Political Awakening By the second half of the nineteenth century, British rule had transformed the political and economic landscape of India. The East India Company had disappeared, the Crown had taken direct control, railways connected distant regions, telegraph lines carried messages across the subcontinent, and a growing network of schools and colleges introduced new generations to moder…
A New Era of British Rule On 1 November 1858, a proclamation issued in the name of Queen Victoria announced a fundamental change in the government of India. The East India Company, which had controlled an expanding network of territories through trade, diplomacy and military conquest, was no longer the governing authority. Its political responsibilities had passed to the British Crown. The change…
An Empire on the Edge of Rebellion By the middle of the nineteenth century, the British East India Company had become the most powerful political authority in much of the Indian subcontinent. Its armies had defeated the Marathas, conquered Mysore, annexed Punjab and brought numerous princely states under British influence. From Calcutta to Bombay, from Madras to the northwestern frontier, the Com…
The Kingdom That Challenged the British Empire In the early nineteenth century, while the British East India Company was extending its influence across the Indian subcontinent, a powerful kingdom was emerging in the northwest. Its capital was Lahore, its armies controlled much of the Punjab, and its ruler had brought together territories that had once been divided among competing chiefs and milit…
From Trading Company to Ruling Power By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the British East India Company had transformed itself from a commercial organisation into one of the most powerful political forces in the Indian subcontinent. Its ships had once arrived carrying merchants who hoped to purchase Indian textiles, spices, silk and other valuable goods. Over time, the Company had acquire…
A New Contest for Power At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the political future of India was being shaped by a struggle between two very different kinds of power. The East India Company, which had begun as a commercial organisation, was steadily expanding its military and territorial influence. Across the subcontinent, however, Indian rulers continued to command powerful armies, govern w…
A Kingdom Between Empires At the end of the eighteenth century, southern India had become one of the most contested regions in the struggle for political power. The Mughal Empire had weakened, the Maratha Confederacy remained influential across much of the subcontinent, and the English East India Company was transforming itself from a commercial organisation into a territorial power. Yet the Comp…
From Trading Company to Territorial Government By the final decades of the eighteenth century, the English East India Company had become something its founders could scarcely have imagined. Established to conduct overseas trade, it now controlled the revenues of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, maintained a large army, negotiated with Indian rulers, and influenced the political future of an expanding p…
A Province of Wealth and Opportunity In the middle of the eighteenth century, Bengal was one of the most prosperous regions in the world. Its fertile plains, extensive river systems, thriving towns, and access to the Bay of Bengal supported a remarkable agricultural and commercial economy. Rice, sugar, silk, cotton textiles, saltpetre, and other valuable goods moved through markets and ports that…
