8TH SST Lesson 3

 

MOTHER MIRACLE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Notes of Ch 3 Ruling the Countryside| Class 8th History

 

The Company Becomes the Diwan
• On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the East India Company as the Diwan of Bengal.

• As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial administrator of the territory under its control.

Revenue for the Company
• The company made effort was to increase the revenue as much as it could and buy fine cotton and silk cloth as cheaply as possible.
• Within five years the value of goods bought by the Company in Bengal doubled.

→ Now the revenue collected in Bengal could finance the purchase of goods for export.
• Bengal economy was facing a deep crisis because artisans were deserting villages since they were being forced to sell their goods to the Company at low prices.
→ Agricultural cultivation showed signs of collapse.

• In 1770 a terrible famine killed ten million people in Bengal.

The need to improve agriculture
• Most Company officials began to feel that investment in land had to be encouraged and agriculture had to be improved.
• In 1793, the Company finally introduced the Permanent Settlement.

→ By the terms of the settlement, the rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars.
• They were asked to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the Company which was fixed permanently.
• This would ensure a regular flow of revenue to the Company’and at the same time encourage the zamindars to invest in improving the land.

The problem
• The zamindars were not investing in improving the quality of land.
• The revenue fixed was too high for the zamindars.

• As long as the zamindars could earn by giving out their land to tenants, they were not interested in improving the land.
• On the other hand, in the villages, the cultivator found the system extremely oppressive.

A new system is devised

• By the early nineteenth century, many of the Company officials were convinced that the system of revenue had to be changed again to meet the growing expenses.

Mahalwari settlement

• The collectors went from village to village to estimate the land revenue that each village (mahal) had to pay.
• The charge of collecting the revenue and paying it to the Company was given to the village headman, rather than the zamindar.

• This system came to be known as the mahalwari settlement.

The Munro system

• The new system that was devised came to be known as the ryotwar (or ryotwari).
• It was tried on a small scale by Captain Alexander Read.
• It was subsequently developed by Thomas Munro, which was gradually extended all over south India.

Ryotwari system and its problem

• The settlement had to be made directly with the cultivators ( ryots ) who had tilled the land for generations.
• British should act as paternal father figures protecting the ryots under their charge.
• To increase the income from land, revenue officials fixed too high a revenue demand.
• Peasants were unable to pay, ryots fled the countryside, and villages became deserted in many regions.

Crops for Europe
• The British persuaded or forced cultivators in various parts of India to produce other commercial crops:
→ jute in Bengal
→ tea in Assam
→ sugarcane in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh)
→ wheat in Punjab
→ cotton in Maharashtra and Punjab

→ rice in Madras.

• The British used a variety of methods for increasing cultivation of crops that they needed.
• One such crop was Indigo, which had a great worldwide demand.

Why the demand for Indian indigo?
• By the thirteenth century, Indian indigo was being used by cloth manufacturers in Italy, France and Britain to dye cloth.
→ But the price of indigo was very high.
• European cloth manufacturers, therefore, had to depend on another plant called woad to make violet and blue dyes which were pale and dull.
→ Therefore, cloth dyers, however, preferred indigo as a dye.

• The French began cultivating indigo in St Domingue in the Caribbean islands, the Portuguese in Brazil, the English in Jamaica, and the Spanish in Venezuela.

• Between 1783 and 1789 the production of indigo in the world fell by half.
• Cloth dyers in Britain started looking for new sources of indigo supply.

Britain turns to India
• The Company in India looked for ways to expand the area under indigo cultivation.
• By 1810, 95 percent of the indigo imported into Britain was from India.
• Many Company officials left their jobs and numerous Scotsmen and Englishmen came to India and became planters attracted by the prospect of high profits.

How was indigo cultivated?
• There were two main systems of indigo cultivation –  nij and ryoti.

Nij cultivation and problems
• The planter produced indigo in lands that he directly controlled.
• The planters found it difficult to expand the area under nij cultivation.
• Indigo could be cultivated only on fertile lands which were all already densely populated.
• A large plantation required large number of labour at a time when peasants were usually busy with their rice cultivation.
• It also required many ploughs and bullocks.
• Till the late nineteenth century, planters were therefore reluctant to expand the area under  nij cultivation.

Indigo on the land of ryots
• Under the ryoti system, the planters pressurised the village headmen to sign the contract on behalf of the ryots.
→ Those who signed the contract got cash advances from the planters at low rates of interest to produce indigo.
→ But the ryot to had to cultivate indigo on at least 25 percent of the area under his holding.

• When the crop was delivered to the planter after the harvest, a new loan was given to the ryot, and the cycle started all over again.

• The price provided to the peasants for the indigo they produced was very low and the cycle of loans never ended.

• Indigo also exhaust the soil rapidly.
→ After an indigo harvest the land could not be sown with rice.

The “Blue Rebellion” and After

• In 1859, the indigo ryots felt that they had the support of the local zamindars and village headmen in their rebellion against the planters.

• As the rebellion spread, intellectuals rushed to the indigo districts and wrote of the misery of the ryots, the tyranny of the planters, and the horrors of the indigo system.

• The government set up the Indigo Commission to enquire into the system of indigo production.
→ The Commission held the planters guilty, and criticised them for the coercive methods they used with indigo cultivators.

• After the revolt, indigo production now shifted their operation to Bihar.

• Mahatma Gandhi’s visit in 1917 marked the beginning of the Champaran movement against the indigo planters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOLUTIONS
1. Match the following:
Answer

ryot	peasant
mahal	village
nij	cultivation on planter’s own land
ryoti	cultivation on ryot’s lands

2. Fill in the blanks:
(a)Growers of woad in Europe saw indigo as a crop which would provide competition to their earnings.

(b)The demand for indigo increased in the late-eighteenth-century Britain because of the expansion of cotton production as a result of industrialization, which in turn created an enormous demand for cloth dyes.

(c)The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of synthetic dyes.

(d)The Champaran movement was against indigo planters.

Let's Discuss

3. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.

Answer
In order to get a stable revenue income, most of the East India Company’s officials believed that investment in land had to be encouraged and agriculture had to be improved. This led to introduction of permanent settlement in 1793
→ By the terms of the settlement the rajas and taluqdars were recognized as zamindars.
→ They were asked to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the company.

→ The amount to be paid was fixed permanently.
→ It was felt that this would ensure a regular flow of revenue into the company’s coffers and at the same time encourages the zamindars to invest is improving the land.
→ If the zamindars failed to pay the revenue, which they usually did as the fixed revenue was very high, they lost their zamindari.

4. How was the mahalwari system different from the Permanent Settlement?

Answer

Mahalwari Settlement	Permanent Settlement
The mahalwari system, devised by Holt Mackenzie, came into effect in 1822, in the North Western provinces of the Bengal Presidency.	The Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis.
It was devised as an alternative to the Permanent Settlement.	It was aimed at ensuring stable revenue for the East India Company.
The village headmen were in charge of collecting revenue.	The rajas and taluqdars were in charge of collecting revenue.
The revenue amount was not fixed, and was to be revised periodically. The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each village or mahal had to pay.	The revenue amount was fixed and was never to be increased in the future.

5. Give two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue.

Answer

Two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue were:
→ Driven by the desire to increase the income from land, revenue officials fixed too high a revenue demand.

→Peasants were unable to pay ryats fled the countryside and villages became deserted in many regions.

6. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Answer

The ryots reluctant to grow indigo because:
→ The planters paid a very low price for indigo.

→ The ryots was not in a position to even recover his cost, earning a profit was a far-fetched idea. This meant that the ryot was always under debt.

→ The planters insisted that the peasants cultivate indigo on the most fertile parts of their land, but the peasants preferred growing rice on the best soils as after an indigo harvest, the land could not be used for sowing rice.

7. What were the circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal?

Answer

The ryots began to refuse to grow indigo. They were supported by the village headmen and some zamindars in their fight. The scale of protest was so much that the government had to intervene. The Indigo Commission of set up to enquire into the problems. The Commission accepted the faults of the planters and allowed the ryots to grow whatever they wished. This led to eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal.

 

8th sst Lesson 2 solutions

 MOTHER MIRACLE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Solutions for Class 8th: Ch 2 From Trade to Territory Our Past Part I

1. Match the following:

Answer

Diwani	right to collect land revenue
“Tiger of Mysore”	Tipu Sultan
faujdari adalat	criminal court
Rani Channamma	led an anti-British movement in Kitoor
sipahi	Sepoy

2. Fill in the blanks:

(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 South-Western part of India.

3. State whether true or false:

(a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth century. False

(b) The English East India Company was the only European company that traded with India. False
(c) Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab. True
(d) The British did not introduce administrative changes in the territories they conquered.
► False

 

Let's Discuss

4. What attracted European trading companies to India?

Answer
European trading companies were attracted to India because of a number of reasons:
→ Trading with India was highly profitable and fruitful to the businessmen in Europe.
→ The European trading companies purchased goods at cheaper and sold them in Europe at the higher prices.
→ The fine qualities of cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe.
→ Indian spices like - pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon were in great demand in Europe.

5. What were the areas of conflict between the Bengal nawabs and the East India Company?

Answer
In the 18th century, after the death of Aurangzeb, the Bengal nawabs asserted their power and autonomy. Through the eighteenth century, the conflicts between them and the East India Company intensified. The nawabs refused to grant the Company concessions, demanded large tributes, denied it the right to mint coins, and stopped it from extending its fortifications. They claimed that the Company was depriving the Bengal government of huge amounts of revenue, and also undermining their authority by refusing to pay taxes, writing disrespectful letters, and humiliating them and their officials.

On the other hand, the Company declared that its trade was getting ruined because of the unjust demands of the local officials. It believed that trade could only flourish if the duties were removed. To expand trade, it wanted to enlarge its settlements, buy up villages, and rebuild its forts.

6. How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India Company?

Answer

The Diwani right to the East India Company benefitted it in several ways:

→ The Diwani allowed the Company to use the vast revenue resources of Bengal.

→ The East India Company monopolized trade and began direct plunder of India’s wealth.

→ Revenues from India financed Company expenses. These revenues were used to purchase cotton and silk textiles in India, maintain Company troops, and meet the cost of building the Company fort and offices at Calcutta.
→ The company used its political power to monopolize trade & dictate terms. They could impose their own prices that had no relation to the costs of production.

→ The company used revenue of Bengal to finance exports of Indian goods.

7. Explain the system of "subsidiary alliance".

Answer
After the battle of Plassey in 1757, the battle of Buxar in 1764 and gaining the Diwani of Bengal, the company began to expand its rule in many parts of India. For that it had devised several plans, one among them was the “Subsidiary Alliance”. According to the terms of this alliance -
→ Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces.

→ They were to be protected by the company but pay for the Subsidiary Forces, that the company was supposed to maintain for the purpose of their protection.
→ If the Indian rulers failed to make payment, then that part of territory was taken away by the company as penalty. For example, in 1801, the nawab of Awadh was forced to give over half of his territory to the Company for failing to pay for the “subsidiary forces”.

8. In what way was the administration of the Company different from that of Indian rulers?

Answer
→ British territories were broadly divided into administrative units called Presidencies. There were three Presidencies like - Bengal, Madras & Bombay whereas under the Indian rulers administration was divided into four parts - District (Zila), Paragana, Tehsil and Villages.

→ Each administrative unit was ruled by a Governor.

→ The supreme head of the administration was the Governor-General, whereas under the Indian Administrative system the supreme head was King or Nawab.
→ Warren Hastings introduced the new system of justice. Each district was to have two courts- civil & criminal court.
→ The European District Collector presided over civil courts.
→ The criminal courts were still under a Qazi and a Mufti.

→ Under the Regulating Act of 1773, a new supreme court was established.
→ The main figure in an Indian District was Collector.
→ According to his title Collector, his main job was to collect the revenue and the taxes and maintain law & order in his district with the help of judges, police officers and darogas.

9. Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the Company's army.

Answer
During the eighteenth century, when the East India Company began recruitment for its own army, it started recruiting peasants and began training them as professional soldiers. Like the Mughal army, the Company's army was also composed of the cavalry and the infantry regiments, with the cavalry dominating the army. However, as warfare technology changed during the nineteenth century, the cavalry requirements of the Company's army declined. As the soldiers had to be armed with muskets and matchlocks, the infantry regiments became more important.

 

8th SST notes Lesson-2

MOTHER MIRACLE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Notes of Ch 2 From Trade to Territory Class 8th History

End of Mughal Empire

• Aurangzeb was the last of the powerful Mughal rulers.

 • In 1707, after his death, many Mughal governors (subadars) and big zamindars established regional kingdoms.

 East India Company Comes East

 • Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer, who had discovered this sea route to India in 1498.

 • The Portuguese were the first Europeans who came to India. 

 • They established their presence in the western coast of India, and had their base in Goa.

 • In 1600, the East India Company acquired a charter from the ruler of England.

 • By early seventeenth century, the Dutch and the French also arrived on the scene.

 • All the companies were interested in buying the same things such as cotton and silk, pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon which created competition and ultimately reduced the profits that could be earned.

 • To secure markets, therefore, led to fierce battles between the trading companies.

East India Company begins trade in Bengal

• The first English factory was set up on the banks of the river Hugli in 1651.

• As trade expanded, the Company persuaded merchants and traders to come and settle near the factory. 

• By 1696 it began building a fort around the settlement. 

• Two years later, the Company gained zamindari rights over three villages.

→ One of the villages was Kalikata

(later came to be known as Kolkata).

 

How trade led to battles

• After the death of Aurangzeb, the Bengal nawabs asserted their power and autonomy.

The Battle of Plassey

• In 1756, Sirajuddaulah became the nawab of Bengal after the death of Alivardi Khan.

• The Company was keen on a puppet ruler so it help one of Sirajuddaulah’s rivals become the nawab without success. 

• Angry Sirajuddaulah asked the Company to stop interfering in the political affairs of his dominion, stop fortification, and pay the revenues.

• After negotiations failed, the Nawab marched with 30,000 soldiers to the English factory at Kassimbazar, captured the Company officials, locked the warehouse, disarmed all Englishmen, and blockaded English ships. 

→ He then marched to Calcutta to establish his control over the Company’s fort.

 • As the news of the fall of Calcutta reached, Company officials in Madras sent forces under the command of Robert Clive.

 • In 1757, the Robert Clive-led Company’s army marched against Sirajuddaula at Plassey.

 • The Nawab was defeated, as the forces led by Mir Jafar, one of Sirajuddaulah’s commanders, never fought the battle. 

 • After the defeat at Plassey, Sirajuddaulah was assassinated and Mir Jafar made the nawab.

 • Mir Jafar died in 1765 the mood of the Company had changed. 

 • Finally, in 1765 the Mughal emperor appointed the Company as the Diwan of the provinces of Bengal.

 • The outflow of gold from Britain entirely stopped after the assumption of Diwani as now revenues from India could finance Company expenses.

 

Company officials become “nabobs”

 • After the Battle of Plassey the actual nawabs of Bengal were forced to give land and vast sums of money as personal gifts to Company officials.

 • Many company officials like Clive made vast wealth however, not all Company officials succeeded in making money. 

• Those who managed to return Britain with wealth led flashy lives and flaunted their riches. They were called “nabobs” – an anglicised version of the Indian word nawab.

 

Company Rule Expands

• After the Battle of Buxar (1764), the Company appointed Residents in Indian states.

 • Through the Residents, the Company officials began interfering in the internal affairs of Indian states. 

 • Sometimes the Company forced the states into a “subsidiary alliance”. 

→ According to the terms of this alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces.

→ They were to be protected by the Company though they had to pay huge amounts for this

protection. 

→ If Indian rulers failed to make these payments, a part of their territory was to be taken away by the Company.

 

Tipu Sultan – The “Tiger of Mysore”

• Mysore had grown in strength under the leadership of powerful rulers like Haidar Ali (ruled from 1761 to 1782) and his famous son Tipu Sultan (ruled from 1782 to 1799). 

 • In 1785 Tipu Sultan stopped the export of sandalwood, pepper and cardamom through the ports of his kingdom, and disallowed local merchants from trading with the Company.

 • He established close relationship with the French in India, and modernised his army with their help.

 • Four wars were fought with Mysore (1767-69, 1780-84, 1790-92 and 1799). 

→ In the last – the Battle of Seringapatam – did the Company ultimately win a victory. 

 • Tipu Sultan was killed defending his capital Seringapatam, Mysore 

 • The former ruling dynasty of the Wodeyars placed and a subsidiary alliance was imposed on the state.

 War with the Marathas

 • After the defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, they were divided into many states under different chiefs ( sardars ) belonging to dynasties such as Sindhia, Holkar, Gaikwad and Bhonsle. 

→ These chiefs were held together in a confederacy under a Peshwa (Principal Minister).

• Anglo-Marathas war were fought between these and the company.

→ The first war that ended in 1782 with the Treaty of Salbai, there was no clear victor. 

→ The Second Anglo- Maratha War (1803-05) resulting in the British gaining Orissa and the territories north of the Yamuna river including Agra and Delhi. 

→ The Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1817-19 crushed Maratha power, the Peshwa was removed and Company now had complete control over the territories south of the Vindhyas.

The claim to paramountcy

• Under Lord Hastings (Governor- General from 1813 to 1823) a new policy of “paramountcy” was initiated which claimed its power was greater than that of Indian states. 

→ In order to protect its interests it was justified in annexing or threatening to annex any Indian kingdom.

• In the late 1830s the East India Company became worried about Russia as Russia might expand across Asia and enter India from the north-west.

 • They fought a prolonged war with Afghanistan between 1838 and 1842 and established indirect Company rule there.