Maharashtra Board Class 8 History Chapter 3 Effects of British Rule PDF Download

Effects of British Rule

In this chapter, we are going to study the effects of British rule over India.

Establishment of East India Company

We have seen that due to geographical discoveries, the European powers reached the Indian coast. All the European including Portuguese, Dutch, French and British entered the race for capturing the Indian market. When the British came to India for trade purpose, the Portuguese had already settled here and they gave a bitter resistance. Later friendly relations developed between them. But, to establish the domination over India, the British had to face opposition from French, Dutch and local rulers.

Teacher's Note

The British came to India for business, just like how today companies come to India to do trade. They slowly became powerful and started to control our country.

Exam Trick

Remember: British came for trade first, then took over India. Like how a small shop grows into a big company - step by step.

Points to Remember

European powers like Portuguese, Dutch, French and British all wanted to trade in India.
The British came to India for business and trade purposes.
The British had to face strong opposition from local rulers and other European powers.

British and Marathas

Mumbai was the main centre of British in western India. They were trying to acquire the nearby territories but the Marathas had strong hold over it. After the death of Peshwa Madhavrao, his uncle, Raghunathrao approached for help from the British due to his greed for Peshwaship. This led to the entrance of the British in Maratha politics.

During 1774 to 1818, three wars were fought between the Marathas and the British. During the first war the Marathas unitedly faced the British and hence proved superior. In 1782, with the Treaty of Salbai, the first Anglo-Maratha war came to an end.

Teacher's Note

The Marathas were strong Indian rulers. When they fought together, they could defeat the British. But when they fought alone, the British won. This teaches us that unity is very powerful.

Exam Trick

Remember: Treaty of Salbai ended the first war between Marathas and British in 1782. Write this date clearly in your exam.

Points to Remember

Mumbai was the main British centre in western India.
Three wars were fought between Marathas and British from 1774 to 1818.
In the first war, the united Marathas defeated the British.
The Treaty of Salbai in 1782 ended the first Anglo-Maratha war.

Subsidiary Alliance

In 1798, Lord Wellesley arrived in India as Governor General. His objective was to establish the British Dominion all over India. For this he signed the Subsidiary Alliance with many Indian rulers. According to this Alliance the Indian rulers were assured of British military help. There were some terms laid on them. The Indian rulers have to maintain British army in their court and have to pay cash or part of their territory to the company for its maintenance. The ruler would not have any alliance with any other power or declare war against any power without the intervention of the British. The ruler would accept a British resident in his state. Some Indian rulers accepted the system and lost their freedom.

In 1802, Bajirao II signed the Subsidiary Alliance treaty with the British. This alliance is well known as the Treaty of Vasai. But this treaty was not acceptable to some Maratha sardars. This led to the second Anglo Maratha war. After the victory of the British, there was increased interference of British into the Maratha state. This became intolerable and Bajirao II waged a war against the British. He was defeated in this battle and in 1818 he surrendered to the British. In the mean time, the capital of Mughals was under the control of Daulatrao Shinde. By defeating the troop of Shinde, General Lake captured the Mughal emperor and gained victory over Hindustan.

Teacher's Note

Subsidiary Alliance was a clever trick by the British. They pretended to help Indian rulers, but actually made them weak and took control. Like how a friend might ask to borrow money and never give it back.

Exam Trick

Remember: Subsidiary = extra help but with extra conditions. The British said "we will protect you" but took away their freedom. Bajirao II signed the Treaty of Vasai in 1802.

Points to Remember

Lord Wellesley came as Governor General in 1798 to control all of India.
Subsidiary Alliance meant Indian rulers had to pay money and accept British soldiers in their state.
Indian rulers lost their freedom to make their own decisions about war and peace.
Bajirao II signed the Treaty of Vasai in 1802 but later fought against the British.
Bajirao II was defeated and surrendered in 1818.

Chhatrapati Pratapsingh

Although the Peshwaship came to an end, Chhatrapati Pratapsingh of Satara was still ruling. Britishers signed a treaty with Chhatrapati Pratapsingh and appointed Grant Duff as an officer to assist him in the state affairs. But later, the Chhatrapati was dethroned and exiled to Kashi. He died there in 1847.

Rango Bapuji Gupte, a loyal officer of the Chhatrapati fought the legal battle and went up to England but his efforts were unsuccessful. Later Lord Dalhousie rejected the adoption policy and in 1848 annexed the state of Satara.

Chhatrapati Pratapsingh made provision of water to the city by building a water tank on the back side of Yevteshwar temple and Mahadara in Satara. Roads were built in the city. Trees were planted on both sides of the road. Schools were built for boys and girls for teaching Sanskrit, Marathi and English. Printing press was set up and many useful books were published. In 1827, "Sabhaniti", a book on polity, was printed. He built road from Satara to Mahabaleshwar to Pratapgad. The same road further extended to Mahad. Chhatrapati Pratapsingh used to write personal daily diary.

Teacher's Note

Chhatrapati Pratapsingh was a good ruler who built schools, roads and water tanks for his people. But the British took away his kingdom. This shows how the British removed Indian rulers from power.

Exam Trick

Remember: Chhatrapati Pratapsingh was from Satara and died in 1847 in Kashi. Lord Dalhousie annexed Satara in 1848. Write these dates carefully in your exam.

Points to Remember

Chhatrapati Pratapsingh ruled Satara even after the Peshwaship ended.
He built schools, roads, water tanks and printing press for the city.
He was later forced out and exiled to Kashi where he died in 1847.
Lord Dalhousie took over the state of Satara in 1848.

Effect of British Rule on India

Dual Government

Robert Clive, in 1765, introduced the dual government system in Bengal. The company undertook the work of revenue collection whereas the Nawab of Bengal had to maintain law and order. This was known as Dual Government system.

The ill effects of dual government system could be seen after certain time period. Money in the form of taxes went into the pockets of the company officers. The Monopoly of Trade in India was given to East India Company and hence many trading companies in England envied them. The working system of the company in India received criticism in England and British Parliament introduced some important laws to keep control over the company.

Teacher's Note

In Dual Government, two people shared power but neither was really responsible. It was like having two captains on one ship - confusion happened and money went missing. The Nawab was just a puppet.

Exam Trick

Remember: Dual = two. Robert Clive in 1765 made a system where the company collected money and the Nawab kept law and order. Both were weak. Money was stolen by British officers.

Points to Remember

Robert Clive introduced Dual Government in Bengal in 1765.
The company collected taxes while the Nawab kept law and order.
British officers took money for themselves instead of using it for people.
The East India Company had monopoly over all trade in India.
The British Parliament had to make laws to control the company.

Parliamentary Laws

According to Regulating Act of 1773, the Bengal Governor came to be known as the Governor General. According to this act, Lord Warren Hastings became the Governor General of India. He got the right to control the policies of Mumbai and Madras provinces. A committee of four members was set up to assist him.

In 1784, Pitt's India Act was passed. The Act provided for appointment of a permanent Board of Control for better regulation and management of affairs of the East India Company in India. In 1813, 1833 and 1853 new laws were passed by the Parliament to make certain changes in the working of the company. In this way there evolved an indirect control of the British Government on the administration of East India Company.

With the emergence of British rule, a new administrative system got developed in India. Civil Services, military, police force and judicial system became the main pillars of British administration in India.

Teacher's Note

The British Parliament made laws to control the East India Company because the company was becoming too powerful and taking all the money. It is like the government controlling big companies today.

Exam Trick

Remember: Three acts - Regulating Act 1773, Pitt's India Act 1784, and acts in 1813, 1833, 1853. Each act gave more control to the British Government over the company. Write one act and its year in your exam.

Points to Remember

Regulating Act of 1773 made the Bengal Governor become the Governor General.
Lord Warren Hastings became the first Governor General of India.
Pitt's India Act in 1784 created a Board of Control to manage the company.
More laws were passed in 1813, 1833 and 1853 to change how the company worked.
The British Government slowly took control over the East India Company.

Civil Services

To strengthen the British rule in India there was a need of bureaucrats. Lord Cornwallis introduced bureaucracy. Civil services became an important part of British government. He restricted the private trade carried out by the company officers and for this purpose he increased their salary.

For the convenience of administration he divided the British occupied territories into districts. The District Collector was the chief of district administration. He was responsible for collection of revenue, giving justice, maintaining law and order. The officers were appointed through competitive examinations known as Indian Civil Services (ICS).

Teacher's Note

Civil Services means people who work for the government, not for themselves. Like today's IAS and IPS officers who are selected through exams. The British started this system to control India better.

Exam Trick

Remember: ICS = Indian Civil Services. These officers were chosen through exams and were paid good salary. They had to give justice and collect taxes. Write ICS in your exam when asked about British administration.

Points to Remember

Lord Cornwallis introduced the system of Civil Services in India.
Civil servants were chosen through competitive exams called Indian Civil Services (ICS).
The District Collector was the main officer in each district.
They collected taxes, gave justice and kept law and order in their districts.
This system helped the British control India better.

Military and Police Force

The duty of military was to safeguard the British occupied regions in India, acquire new territories and break down any revolt against the British in India. To maintain law and order in the country was the duty of the police force.

Teacher's Note

The British used soldiers to protect their areas and to crush any person who fought against them. Police were used to catch people who broke British laws. Like security guards in a building today.

Exam Trick

Remember: Military = army to protect British areas and crush revolts. Police = to keep law and order and catch criminals. Both worked for the British, not for Indian people.

Points to Remember

The British military protected areas they controlled in India.
The army was used to capture new territories.
The military crushed any revolt or rebellion against British rule.
The police force was used to maintain law and order.
Both military and police worked to help British control over India.

Judicial System

The British established a new judicial system in India on the basis of judicial system in England. Every district had a Civil and Criminal Court to solve the local cases. For reconsideration of their judgements a High Court was established.

Teacher's Note

The British made new courts and new laws based on English system. But Indian people found these courts expensive and slow. Cases took many years to finish. Like going to court today costs a lot of money.

Exam Trick

Remember: Civil Courts for money and property cases. Criminal Courts for crime cases. High Court to check if judges made wrong decisions. This system was based on English courts.

Points to Remember

The British created a new court system based on the English system.
Each district had Civil and Criminal Courts.
High Courts were made to check judges' decisions.
The system was expensive and slow for common people.
Cases took many years to be solved.

Equality before Law

In early times, law in India differed from place to place. There was difference in judgement on the basis of casteism. Under the leadership of Lord Macaulay, a committee was setup to create the code of law. The Indian Penal code was enforced all over British India with British principle of equality before law.

But there were some defects in it. There were separate courts and different laws for the Europeans. New laws were difficult to be understood by common people. Legal cases became an expensive affair for the community and the cases remained pending for years together.

Teacher's Note

The British made one law for all of India. This was good because earlier different areas had different rules. But bad because British people had different courts and laws. Common people could not understand the new laws.

Exam Trick

Remember: Lord Macaulay made Indian Penal Code. It said "Equality before law" meaning everyone is equal. But British people had separate courts. So the law was not equal for all.

Points to Remember

Before British rule, different areas had different laws in India.
Lord Macaulay made Indian Penal Code with equality before law for all.
But separate courts and different laws existed for European people.
Common Indian people found new laws hard to understand.
Legal cases were very expensive and took many years to complete.

Economic Policies of the British

Since ancient times there were invasions in India. Many invaders settled in India and were absorbed in the Indian culture. Even though they ruled here, they never made any changes in the basic Indian economic system. The Britishers were an exception.

England was a modern nation. Due to industrial