British Raj in India
They Came, They Saw, They Conquered
1600-1757 1757-1773 1773-1857
England
Europe
Arab
Cape of Good Hope
COLONIAL INDIA
Colonial India
The Portuguese India
The British
The Dutch India
The Danes
French India
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Famous for spices
Heavy population
Hub of raw material goods
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In those days trade with India was a very
profitable to the European Nations.
Traded mainly in spices, cotton, silk, indigo,
salt , Gun powder , tea and opium.
As a part of their trade Portugal people were
the first people who came India.
Vascodagama of Portuguese reached India
through a new sea route via the Cape of Good
Hope.
Under the Viceroyalty of Alfanso DAlbuclerk
Goa was occupied in 1510.
With the permission of local kings they established
trading settlements at Cochin, Diu and Daman.
Portuguese established their supremacy over entire
Arabian sea.
Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602. They
mainly concentrated on Indonesia and few places in
India.
Danes( Denmark): In 1676 they established trade
point atTanjore (Tamilnadu) and left India by 1845.
French East India Company founded in 1664 and
firmly established at Chandernagore and Pondicherry
on the east coast.
East India Company
On December 31, 1600, the last day of the
sixteenth century, the Queen granted a Royal
Charter to "George, Earl of Cumberland, and
215 Knights" under the name
Governor and Company of Merchants of London
trading with the East India.
The charter awarded the newly formed company,
for a period of fifteen years, a monopoly of
trade with all countries to the east of the Cape
of Good Hope.
Cape of Good Hope
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In 1608 it was decided that to open to factory, the
name given at the time to a trading depot at Surat.
By 1611 they established treading point at
Masulipatnam of South India. It was shifted to
Madras in 1639.
The Company achieved a major victory over the
Portuguese in the Battle of Swally in 1612.
By 1612 they reached Jahangir court to take
permission to open trade point.
Consequently English Company was given permission
by the royal formana to open their trade at several
places on the west cost.
Masulipatnam
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In 1615, Mughal rulers accepted to build factories
in Surat.
By 1623 it had established factories ( trading points) at
Surat, Broach or Bharuch and Ahmadabad.
Madras:
In 1639 they got Madras on a lease from local Raja
Damarla Venkatadri Nayudu and they were authorized to
construct forts, administer it and their won coin currency.
on the condition of payments to him of half of the
customs revenue of the port and they constructed a Fort
St. George.
Bombay
Bombay acquired from the British Government in 1668
and it was immediately fortified.
Calcutta
1698 the Company acquire the Zamindari of the three
villages Sutanati, Kalikata and Govindapur were it built
Fort William around its factory.
Constitution
General Court
Court of Directors
Governor
Share holders and members constituted themselves
as General Court.
The entire business of the company was to be
managed by this court which consisted of a Governor
and twenty four directors.
The members can elect their court of directors for a
period of one year.
Court of Directors and General Court were the
two impartment bodies to handle the affairs of East
Indian Company. 14
Legal powers of company
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The general court was empowered to make order for
the good government of itself, its servants and for
the better administration in trade activities.
Company could impose punishments and penalties by
way of imprisonment, fines based on the law of
England.
By 1623 company was given power of imposing
suitable punishments including death sentence on any
of its employees in British settlements.
the company was armed with adequate authority to
enforce discipline amongst its servants.
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By the charter 1661, Charles II granted a new
powers to the company authorizing the Governor
and Council of each factory to judge all persons,
whether they belonging to the company or living
under them, in both civil and criminal according
to law of England.
1. Judicial powers was granted to the Governor and
Council of a factory
2. Justice was required to be administered
according to the English Law
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Surat Factory
The British people regarding Surat as the most
suitable place for establishing a factory.
According to the 1615 farmana they were
allowed to live according together religion and
law.
A Factory was placed consisting of officers,
residences, employees and warehouses for
storage of goods.
Surat was the first center of the company
activities in India and its administration was
under the President or Governor.
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All the decisions in the council meetings were
taken by the majority of votes.
President also had one vote like other member
no veto power .
Under their administration, they maintained dual
system of law ie., English law and Indian Law.
Disputes among them were to be decided by
their president and disputes between English
and Indians were to be decided by the native
authority of Mughal judges.
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English sought to administration of justice to
them according to their won law.
All the officials were trades, they did not have
even an elementary knowledge in the English law
or any other system of law.
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