The English East India Company had begun very humbly in India with a few factories. However, they always combined trade with diplomacy and actively worked to get favours from local rulers to give themselves an advantage. South India became a convenient base for them as they did not have to face a strong government. The Vijaynagar kingdom had splintered into many small petty kingdoms which were easy to overpower. They leased Madras which became the centre of their activities. They decided to fortify it but cleverly billed the expenses to the local residents on the pretext of protecting Madras from attacks from other kingdoms or the Dutch. They had acquired Bombay from the Portuguese and they fortified it as well. In Bombay they found a good and easy to defend port. Bombay soon became the western headquarters of the company. In 1651 they were given permission to trade in Bengal and dreamed of controlling it one day. They began seriously contemplating political power as this would give them a way to compel the Mughals to do their bidding. Hostilities broke out in 1686 between the Mughals and the British. The English East India Company had underestimated the strength of the Mughal Empire and were defeated comprehensively in the war that followed and were forced to abandon their factories in Bengal. Their factories across the country were attacked. They realized that they could not take on the Mughal Empire yet. The English East India Company humbly begged for pardon which they got from the Mughals. The 
After this point there was no looking back for the company. After paying a fine they were restored their rights and even gained some new territory where they set up Fort William. They were unable to penetrate Bengal as it was under a powerful ruler who strictly monitored their activities. He was perhaps one of the few Indian rulers who understood their true intentions. Although politically frustrated they were doing extremely well commercially and employees would all hanker for an Indian posting. The salaries were meagre but they were allowed to carry on private trade which was extremely profitable.
Their dream of attaining Political influence was not extinguished and by 1740 the efforts were revived. It was not possible to penetrate either the West or the East as they had strong rulers. The South ,however, presented a favourable place for foreign intruders to try their luck. The English East India Company faced competition from the French who had now established themselves fairly well in that part of India. In a series of wars that followed the English emerged supreme and virtually removed the French from India. They learnt some valuable lessons from the conflict, especially the ability to set the local rulers against each other which furthered British interests. They were finally ready to take on Bengal, as the Mughal empire was weak by now. However, Bengal still had a strong ruler in Alivardi Khan and would not prove to be easy to acquire. The ruler prevented the misuse of the 1717 farman and imposed restrictions on their activities in Bengal. Matters heated up when Siraj-ud-Daulah succeeded his grandfather, the ruler. He demanded that the English trade fairly and not have an undue advantage over Indian merchants. The English fresh from their victories over the French staunchly refused to listen to him. He then ordered the French and English merchants to de-fortify their possessions in Bengal and quit fighting each other. The French complied with this order but the English refused to. Siraj-ud-Daulah invaded the English forts and comfortably defeated them. He then went back to Calcutta to celebrate the easy victory while the English escaped on their 
ships. Safe due to their naval superiority they waited for re-inforcements. Meanwhile they started a campaign of treachery in the courts of the Nawab. A plan was made to replace the Nawab with a man called Mir Jaffar, who happened to be the commander of the Nawab's army. They forced the Nawab into a war which was more or less a formality as only a handful of his soldiers actually fought since the rest were controlled by Mir Jaffar who had already made a deal with the British. The nawab lost and was killed, and Mir 
Jaffar was put on the throne.
ships. Safe due to their naval superiority they waited for re-inforcements. Meanwhile they started a campaign of treachery in the courts of the Nawab. A plan was made to replace the Nawab with a man called Mir Jaffar, who happened to be the commander of the Nawab's army. They forced the Nawab into a war which was more or less a formality as only a handful of his soldiers actually fought since the rest were controlled by Mir Jaffar who had already made a deal with the British. The nawab lost and was killed, and Mir Jaffar was put on the throne. The English now began to extort money and favours out of their puppet and soon the wealth of Bengal was being ruthelessly plundered. Mir Jaffar was finding it impossible to keep up with their demands. Eventually they forced him to abdicate in favour of Mir Quasim. Mir Quasim granted the British some favours upon getting appointed but his long term plans were to rid himself of the British. He began to improve the efficiency of 
revenue collection and re-organzied the army. The British were totally against this and defeated Mir Quasim in series of wars. He fled and made an alliance with the Nawab of Awadh and the fugitive Mughal emperor. Their combined forces fought at Buxar and the English defeated them comprehensively. This battle established the British as the supreme power in Bengal as well as a strong candidate to fill the vacuum of the Ruler of India, left open after the decline of the Mughals. The foundations for their empire had been laid. The 
conquest of Bengal was an important turning point, for the British now controlled one of the riches provinces in the world. With the tremendous wealth of Bengal at their disposal, and a puppet king made to saddle all responsibility, the British now were the most well positioned foreign power in India, and soon were able to drive their European competitors out of India. In addition the British used the massive wealth of Bengal to extend their territories. Such was the wealth of Bengal, that a large number of English East India < Company officials became millionaires because of the 'gifts' that the Nawab would bestow upon them.
revenue collection and re-organzied the army. The British were totally against this and defeated Mir Quasim in series of wars. He fled and made an alliance with the Nawab of Awadh and the fugitive Mughal emperor. Their combined forces fought at Buxar and the English defeated them comprehensively. This battle established the British as the supreme power in Bengal as well as a strong candidate to fill the vacuum of the Ruler of India, left open after the decline of the Mughals. The foundations for their empire had been laid. The conquest of Bengal was an important turning point, for the British now controlled one of the riches provinces in the world. With the tremendous wealth of Bengal at their disposal, and a puppet king made to saddle all responsibility, the British now were the most well positioned foreign power in India, and soon were able to drive their European competitors out of India. In addition the British used the massive wealth of Bengal to extend their territories. Such was the wealth of Bengal, that a large number of English East India < Company officials became millionaires because of the 'gifts' that the Nawab would bestow upon them. The British would use clever expansionist policies in order to conquer the country. The most ingenious and successful one was the subsidiary alliance. The brainchild of Lord Wellesley ,that enabled the British to conquer the country at a relatively smaller financial 
cost. The Subsidiary alliance was offered to Indian states as a kind of alliance treaty, but actually the ruler was signing away his sovereignty. The important clauses of the treaty were:
cost. The Subsidiary alliance was offered to Indian states as a kind of alliance treaty, but actually the ruler was signing away his sovereignty. The important clauses of the treaty were: -Mandatory stationing of British troops in his kingdom, for which he had to pay an annual fee
-Stationing of a British resident in his court
-Could not employ any other European without the prior approval of the British
-Could not enter into any negotiations with any Indian or foreign king without consulting the British
-That they would recognize the British as the paramount power in India
The British in return agreed to protect the state from outside attacks, though it cleverly added a clause whereby the state would have to pay for the forces sent to its aid. As seen in the clauses above, an Indian king effectively lost his sovereignty. He now had little 
control over crucial matters of the state like defence and foreign relations. The high fee the British charged for maintaining their troops was a massive drain on the treasury and most rulers had to disband their armies (thereby reducing any scope of becoming independent) or cede parts of their territories to the British. From the British point of view, the treaty was an absolute brilliant idea. Not only did they have political influence over the various 'allies', they also now had a large army maintained at the cost of the Indian kings. This army would prove invaluable in conquering the regions of the country where their Subsidiary alliance did not work. A combination of the Subsidiary alliance and military conquests brought most of India under the control of the British. They then implemented another set of plans, which would be used to bring most of the states under their direct control. In some cases they were able to do this by outright annexation, while for the other
cases they implemented different tactics. One such tactic was the Doctrine of Lapse, whereby a kingdom would cede to the British if the king died without leaving a natural heir, or an adopted one approved by the British. In a number of states such a situation came up and the British were able to take over them. In a few states, the British simply annexed it under the pretext that they were liberating the state from the cruel rule of the king. In reality, however, while many Indian kings were not very able rulers, the British were also partly to blame for they had played a key role in undermining their power by encouraging treachery and intrigue in their kingdoms. The only possible challengers to the British rule, the Marathas were hopelessly divided, and the British were eventually able to conquer them as well. In the south, the Sultan of Mysore Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan made a valiant attempt to maintain their independence, but they were defeated after a series of battles. The British ultimately eliminated all their opponents and emerged as the undisputed rulers of India.
control over crucial matters of the state like defence and foreign relations. The high fee the British charged for maintaining their troops was a massive drain on the treasury and most rulers had to disband their armies (thereby reducing any scope of becoming independent) or cede parts of their territories to the British. From the British point of view, the treaty was an absolute brilliant idea. Not only did they have political influence over the various 'allies', they also now had a large army maintained at the cost of the Indian kings. This army would prove invaluable in conquering the regions of the country where their Subsidiary alliance did not work. A combination of the Subsidiary alliance and military conquests brought most of India under the control of the British. They then implemented another set of plans, which would be used to bring most of the states under their direct control. In some cases they were able to do this by outright annexation, while for the other cases they implemented different tactics. One such tactic was the Doctrine of Lapse, whereby a kingdom would cede to the British if the king died without leaving a natural heir, or an adopted one approved by the British. In a number of states such a situation came up and the British were able to take over them. In a few states, the British simply annexed it under the pretext that they were liberating the state from the cruel rule of the king. In reality, however, while many Indian kings were not very able rulers, the British were also partly to blame for they had played a key role in undermining their power by encouraging treachery and intrigue in their kingdoms. The only possible challengers to the British rule, the Marathas were hopelessly divided, and the British were eventually able to conquer them as well. In the south, the Sultan of Mysore Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan made a valiant attempt to maintain their independence, but they were defeated after a series of battles. The British ultimately eliminated all their opponents and emerged as the undisputed rulers of India. By the time of the Revolt of 1857 most of India was either directly under the British or as protected princely states. The English East India Company had successfully risen from a small trading company, to masters of India. After the revolt, however, they would be replaced by the British Parliament, which took over the task of ruling India.
t employ any other European without the prior approval of the British
-Could not enter into any negotiations with any Indian or foreign king without consulting the British
-That they would recognize the British as the paramount power in India
The British in return agreed to protect the state from outside attacks, though it cleverly added a clause whereby the state would have to pay for the forces sent to its aid. As seen in the clauses above, an Indian king effectively lost his sovereignty. He now had little control over crucial matters of the state like defence and foreign relations. The high fee the British charged for maintaining their troops was a massive drain on the treasury and most rulers had to disband their armies (thereby reducing any scope of becoming independent) or cede parts of their territories to the British. From the British point of view, the treaty was an absolute brilliant idea. Not only did they have political influence over the various 'allies', they also now had a large army maintained at the cost of the Indian kings. This army would prove invaluable in conquering the regions of the country where their Subsidiary alliance did not work. A combination of the Subsidiary alliance and military conquests brought most of India under the control of the British. They then implemented another set of plans, which would be used to bring most of the states under their direct control. In some cases they were able to do this by outright annexation, while for the other cases they implemented different tactics. One such tactic was the Doctrine of Lapse, whereby a kingdom would cede to the British if the king died without leaving a natural heir, or an adopted one approved by the British. In a number of states such a situation came up and the British were able to take over them. In a few states, the British simply annexed it under the pretext that they were liberating the state from the cruel rule of the king. In reality, however, while many Indian kings were not very able rulers, the British were also partly to blame for they had played a key role in undermining their power by encouraging treachery and intrigue in their kingdoms. The only possible challengers to the British rule, the Marathas were hopelessly divided, and the British were eventually able to conquer them as well. In the south, the Sultan of Mysore Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan made a valiant attempt to maintain their independence, but they were defeated after a series of battles. The British ultimately eliminated all their opponents and emerged as the undisputed rulers of India.
control over crucial matters of the state like defence and foreign relations. The high fee the British charged for maintaining their troops was a massive drain on the treasury and most rulers had to disband their armies (thereby reducing any scope of becoming independent) or cede parts of their territories to the British. From the British point of view, the treaty was an absolute brilliant idea. Not only did they have political influence over the various 'allies', they also now had a large army maintained at the cost of the Indian kings. This army would prove invaluable in conquering the regions of the country where their Subsidiary alliance did not work. A combination of the Subsidiary alliance and military conquests brought most of India under the control of the British. They then implemented another set of plans, which would be used to bring most of the states under their direct control. In some cases they were able to do this by outright annexation, while for the other cases they implemented different tactics. One such tactic was the Doctrine of Lapse, whereby a kingdom would cede to the British if the king died without leaving a natural heir, or an adopted one approved by the British. In a number of states such a situation came up and the British were able to take over them. In a few states, the British simply annexed it under the pretext that they were liberating the state from the cruel rule of the king. In reality, however, while many Indian kings were not very able rulers, the British were also partly to blame for they had played a key role in undermining their power by encouraging treachery and intrigue in their kingdoms. The only possible challengers to the British rule, the Marathas were hopelessly divided, and the British were eventually able to conquer them as well. In the south, the Sultan of Mysore Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan made a valiant attempt to maintain their independence, but they were defeated after a series of battles. The British ultimately eliminated all their opponents and emerged as the undisputed rulers of India. By the time of the Revolt of 1857 most of India was either directly under the British or as protected princely states. The English East India Company had successfully risen from a small trading company, to masters of India. After the revolt, however, they would be replaced by the British Parliament, which took over the task of ruling India.
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