The Subsidiary Alliance
Lord Wellesley introduced the system
of Subsidiary Alliance to bring the princely states under the control of the
British. It was the most effective instrument for the expansion of the British
territory and political influence in India. The princely state was called ‘the
protected state’ and the British came to be referred as ‘the paramount power’.
It was the duty of the British to safeguard the state from external aggression
and to help its ruler in maintaining internal peace.
Main Features of
Subsidiary Alliance
* An Indian ruler entering into this
alliance with the British had to dissolve his own armed forces and accept
British Forces.
* A British Resident would stay in
his capital.
* Towards the maintenance charges of
the army, he should make annual payments or cede some territory permanently to
the Company.
* All the non-English European
officials should be turned out of his state.
* The native ruler should deal with
foreign states only through the English Company.
* The British would undertake to
defend the state from internal trouble as well as external attack.
Merits for the British
* The British Company maintained a
large army at the expense of the Indian rulers.
* All Frenchmen in the service of
native rulers were dismissed, and the danger of French revival was completely
eliminated.
* The British Company began to
control the foreign policy of the Princely States.
* Wellesley’s diplomacy made the
British the paramount power in India. He transformed the British Empire in
India into the British empire of India.
Defects of the
Princely states
The Subsidiary Alliances made the
Indian rulers weak, oppressive and irresponsible. Protected by British arms,
they neglected their duty towards their subjects and even exploited them.
The first Indian state
to accept the Subsidiary Alliance was Hyderabad (1798). It was followed byTanjore(1799),
Awadh(1801), Peshwa (1802), Bhonsle (1803), Gwalior (1804), Indore (1817),
Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur (1818).
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