British Expansion: Subsidiary Alliance & Major Wars

1. Policy of Ring Fence & Subsidiary Alliance

Policy of Ring Fence (Warren Hastings, 1772–85): The earliest policy aimed at creating a buffer zone of dependent states around British territories. British would protect client states from external enemies; in return, they expected cooperation. This was essentially a defensive policy.

Subsidiary Alliance (Lord Wellesley, 1798–1805): The Subsidiary Alliance was a masterstroke of British imperial policy that rapidly expanded British power across India without direct military cost.

Key Features of Subsidiary Alliance:

• The Indian ruler accepted a permanent British force stationed within his territory.
• The Indian ruler paid for the maintenance of this force — either in cash or by ceding territory ("subsidary" payment).
• The Indian ruler could NOT enter into any alliance or war without British permission.
• The Indian ruler could NOT employ any European (other than British subjects) without British permission.
• The British Resident was stationed at the ruler's court and wielded enormous real influence.
• In return, the British promised to protect the ruler from external threats.

Why it was Imperial Genius:

• If the ruler paid in cash → he would soon go bankrupt → British would take over administration.
• If the ruler paid in territory → British expanded territorially without a battle.
• The ruler lost his army (made dependent on British troops) → became militarily helpless.
• The British Resident controlled foreign policy, making the state a puppet in all but name.
• Eventually, any pretext (misgovernance, failure to pay, succession disputes) could be used to annex.

States that accepted (in order):

1. Hyderabad (1798) — first state to accept
2. Mysore (1799 — after Tipu's death)
3. Tanjore (1799)
4. Awadh (1801, revised treaty)
5. Peshwa (1802, Treaty of Bassein) — triggered the Second Anglo-Maratha War
6. Berar (1803), Orissa, Delhi region
7. Sindhia and Bhonsle (1803, after Second Anglo-Maratha War)

States that refused: Ranjit Singh of Punjab and Hyder Ali/Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

Criticism (Wellesley was recalled in 1805): The Court of Directors found the policy too aggressive and expensive (required constant warfare); recalled Wellesley.

2. Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767–1799)

Mysore under Hyder Ali and later Tipu Sultan was the most formidable challenge to British power in the 18th century. The four Anglo-Mysore Wars shaped the course of South Indian history.

First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–69):

• British allied with the Nizam of Hyderabad and Marathas against Hyder Ali.
• Hyder Ali won — forced the British to sign the Treaty of Madras (1769): a mutual defensive alliance. First major British defeat in India.

Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–84):

• Lord Warren Hastings vs Hyder Ali (and later Tipu Sultan after Hyder's death in December 1781).
• Hyder Ali died of cancer in December 1781; Tipu Sultan took over command.
• Ended with the Treaty of Mangalore (1784) — mutually agreed peace; both sides restored conquests. Second British defeat (or stalemate).

Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92):

• Lord Cornwallis vs Tipu Sultan.
• British allied with Marathas and Nizam.
• Tipu defeated — Treaty of Seringapatnam (1792): Tipu surrendered half his kingdom and paid Rs. 3.3 crore as war indemnity; two of his sons held as hostages.

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799):

• Lord Wellesley launched a pre-emptive attack, accusing Tipu of dealing with Napoleon Bonaparte (who was in Egypt).
• Battle of Seringapatnam (May 4, 1799): Tipu Sultan died fighting at the fall of Seringapatnam — became a symbol of heroic resistance against British imperialism.
• Mysore divided: part given to the old Wadiyar dynasty (British puppet), part taken by British directly, part given to Nizam.
• Significance: With Tipu dead, no ruler in the south could seriously challenge the British again.

Tipu Sultan — Key Facts:

• Called "Tiger of Mysore" — used tiger motif on everything including his throne.
• Introduced Rocket artillery (iron-cased rockets) — the world's first; influenced later British rocket development.
• Planted "Tree of Liberty" at Seringapatam; member of the Jacobin Club of France.
• Introduced new calendar, new coinage, new system of weights and measures.
• His rockets were studied by British after 1799 and led to the development of Congreve rockets.

3. Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775–1818)

The Marathas, who at their peak controlled most of the Indian subcontinent, were the primary obstacle to British supremacy in India. Three wars destroyed the Maratha Confederacy.

Background — The Maratha Confederacy: After Shivaji (d. 1680), the Maratha Empire was ruled by the Peshwas (Prime Ministers based at Pune), with semi-autonomous chiefs: the Bhonsle of Nagpur, Sindhia of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore, and Gaekwad of Baroda.

First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82):

• British intervened in a succession dispute backing Raghunathrao (Raghoba) against Nana Fadnavis.
• British suffered a humiliating defeat at Wadgaon (1779).
• Ended with the Treaty of Salbai (1782): Status quo — British surrendered Raghoba.

Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05):

• Lord Wellesley used the Treaty of Bassein (1802) — Peshwa Baji Rao II signed the Subsidiary Alliance after being defeated by Holkar.
• Other Maratha chiefs (Sindhia, Bhonsle) opposed the treaty → War broke out.
• British victories: Battle of Assaye (September 23, 1803) — Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington, victor of Waterloo) defeated Sindhia and Bhonsle. Duke called it his "hardest fought battle."
• Battle of Laswari (1803): Lake defeated Sindhia.
• Result: Sindhia and Bhonsle accepted Subsidiary Alliance; British gained vast territories including Delhi region, much of Orissa and Ceded Territories.

Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18):

• Lord Hastings (Moira) systematically crushed Maratha power.
• Battle of Sitabaldi (1817), Battle of Kirki (1817), Battle of Koregaon (January 1, 1818) — Peshwa's forces defeated.
• Peshwa Baji Rao II surrendered in June 1818 → pensioned off to Bithur (Kanpur).
• His adopted son, Nana Sahib, was denied pension → became one of the leaders of the 1857 revolt.
• Result: Maratha Confederacy completely destroyed. British became paramount power in India.
• Holkar and others accepted British suzerainty.
• Only the small Sikh kingdom of Punjab remained independent in the north.

4. Anglo-Sikh Wars & Annexation of Punjab

Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Kingdom:

• Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) unified Punjab under Sikh rule and built the most professional army in South Asia (the Khalsa Army, trained by European officers like General Ventura and General Allard — using French Napoleonic tactics).
• He wisely never signed the Subsidiary Alliance and maintained friendly relations with the British.
• Treaty of Amritsar (1809): Recognized the Sutlej River as the boundary between British and Sikh territories — Ranjit Singh confined to territories north of the Sutlej.
• After his death (June 27, 1839), the Sikh kingdom fell into anarchy — court intrigues, rapid succession of rulers.

First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46):

• Sikh army crossed the Sutlej → war began.
• British won battles at Mudki, Ferozeshah, Aliwal, and Sobraon.
• Treaty of Lahore (1846): Sikhs surrendered territories between Sutlej and Beas, paid Rs. 1.5 crore war indemnity; reduced their army.
• Treaty of Bhyroval (December 1846): British Resident (Henry Lawrence) stationed at Lahore with effective control; Dalip Singh (young Maharaja) remained under British guardianship.

Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–49):

• Rebellion in Multan and Hazara gave British pretext.
• Battles of Ramnagar, Chillianwala (Sikh victory), Gujrat (British decisive victory).
• Lord Dalhousie annexed Punjab in March 1849 — the last major independent kingdom in India fell.
• Young Maharaja Dalip Singh was pensioned off; his famous mother Rani Jind Kaur was separated from him.
• Koh-i-Noor diamond (from the Lahore treasury) was taken to Britain and presented to Queen Victoria.

Significance of British Conquest:

• By 1849, all of India was under British control — either directly administered or under Subsidiary Alliance puppet rulers.
• The British conquest was not inevitable; it was the result of superior organization, military tactics, divide-and-rule policy, and the political and economic disarray of Indian states.
• Railways (1853), Telegraph (1854), and Post (1854) introduced under Dalhousie helped consolidate the empire.