Modern History Archives - Page 2 of 5 - West Bengal PCS Exam Notes

The European Trading Companies In India

: Struggle for supremacy The Portuguese From time immemorial India had commercial relations with countries of the west. The commercial route then was not direct by sea. The merchants sailed over the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea and reached Europe through Arabia. But in the seventh century when Arabia became very strong as … Read more

Lord Wellesley (1789-1805)

Lord Wellesley (1789-1805) INTRODUCTION Lord Wellesley became the Governor General of India at a time when the British were involved in a life and death struggle with France all over the world. He soon realized that the political conditions in India were favorable for the expansion of the British Empire in India. Lord Wellesley adopted … Read more

Non Co-operation and Khilafat Movement

Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms 1919: Dyarchy In a system called “dyarchy,” the nation-building departments of government — agriculture, education, public works, and the like — were placed under ministers who were individually responsible to the legislature. The departments that made up the “steel frame” of British rule — finance, revenue, and home affairs — were retained by … Read more

Policy Of Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine Of Lapse, Structure Of British Raj Upto 1857

Of all the European East India companies which came to India as traders in different periods of the 15th and 16th centuries, only the British and the French East India companies remained as dominant ones by the beginning of the 18th century. In the first decade of the 18th century, the fortunes of the then … Read more

Freedom of Press

On 29th January 1780, the Hickey’s Bengal Gazette or the Calcutta General Advertizer was published. It was the first English newspaper to be printed in the Indian sub-continent. The press was the chief instrument of forming a nationalist ideology The resolutions and proceedings of the Congress were propagated through press. Trivia: nearly one third of … Read more

Mahatma Phule

Jyotirao ‘Jyotiba’ Govindrao Phule was a prominent social reformer and thinker of the nineteenth century India. He led the movement against the prevailing caste-restrictions in India. He revolted against the domination of the Brahmins and struggled for the rights of peasants and other low-caste people. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was also a pioneer for women … Read more

Development Of Hindi And Urdu Language

Hindi and Urdu are two Hindustani Languages; spoken mostly in the northern and Central India and in Pakistan. Hindi and Urdu are two different languages but these languages have many common things. Both Hindi and Urdu are developed in a similar phase and adopted many changes. We will discuss about the … Read more

August Offer (1940)

After the WWII began, British sought cooperation from India. August Offer offered three proposals. Firstly, it called for an immediate expansion of Viceroy’s Executive Council with the inclusion of India representatives; secondly, an advisory body with the members from British India and Indian princely states which were supposed to meet at consequent intervals was established … Read more

Lord Auckland, 1836-42

Lord Auckland, 1836-42 INTRODUCTION Lord Auckland was the Governor-General of India and had decided that Dost Mohammed could no longer be trusted after his invitation of Yan Vitkevich to Kabul in 1837. He sided with the pro-British Ranjit Singh in the border dispute over Peshawar. It was Lord Auckland’s issuing of the Simla Manifesto … Read more

Wars and Treaties

War	Year	Treaty	Gov General	Battles et al
Anglo Marathas
First	1775-82	Began: Treaty of Surat End: Treaty of Salbai	Warren Hastings	Battle of Wadgaon
Second	1803-05	Began: treaty of Bassein	Lord Wellesley	Battle of Assaye
Third	1816-19	Treaty of Gwalior	Marquess of Hastings	Battle of Pindari End of Peshwa rule

Anglo French
First	1746-48	Treaty of Aix-la-Chepelle	Reason: Austrian succession in Europe	1746: Battle of Adyar/San Thome
Second	1749-54		War of succession between Nasir Jung (English) and Muzaffar Jung (French) after death of Nizam	1749: Battle of Ambur Rise of Robert Clive
Third	1758-63	Treaty of Paris	Reason: 7 years war in Europe	1760: Battle of Wandiwash (French defeat)

Anglo Mysore
First	1766-69
Second	1780-1784	Treaty of Mangalore	Warren Hastings	After death of Hyder Ali in 1782 Tipu led the war
Third	1789-92	Treaty of Seringapatnam	Cornwallis	Defeat of Tipu
Fourth	1799		Wellesley	Battle of Seringapatnam. Death of Tipu.

Anglo Sikh War
First	1845-46	Treaty of Lahore	Hardinge
Second	1848-49		Dalhousie	Final Subjugation of the Sikhs