The period of the Mughals ended in 1757, when the British defeated the Mughal army in Bengal, beginning British rule in India (A). The British East India Company utilized military and political control as two means of acquiring trade power (B). In most of northern India, the British gained control through direct military conquest; in other parts of India, the British set up “subsidiary agreements (sanad) between the British and the local rulers, under which control of foreign affairs, defense, and communications was transferred from the ruler to the company and rulers were allowed to rule as they wished (up to a limit) on other matters.” (A) The British secured their control in 1765 when they defeated Shah Alam II and forced him to be the collector of revenue for the British East India Company, effectively putting the British in power (A). The conquest of India by the British would have been impossible without the efforts of Robert Clive, the mastermind of this takeover (F).
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| map of British India in 1947 showing majority religions |
The British East India Company remained in control for a century with a focus on trade domination.
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