Company rule in India

This article is about the rule of the East India Company on the Indian subcontinent from 1773 to 1858. For rule by the British Crown from 1858 to 1947, see British Raj. For the history of the East India Company until 1756, see East India Company.

India
1757/1765/1773–1858
Located in South Asia
Areas of South Asia under Company rule (a) 1774–1804 and (b) 1805–1858 shown in two shades of pink
StatusColony and Princely states
CapitalCalcutta
Official languages1773–1858: English
1773–1836: Persian[1][2]
1837–1858: primarily Hindustani/Urdu[1][2][3][4]
but also: Languages of South Asia
GovernmentAdministered by the East India Company functioning as a quasi-sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown and regulated by the British Parliament
Governor-General 
• 1774–1785 (first Fort William)
Warren Hastings
• 1834–1835 (first India)
Lord William Bentinck
• 1857–1858 (last)
Charles Canning
Historical eraEarly modern
23 June 1757
16 August 1765
1767–1799
1772–1818
1845–1846, 1848–1849
2 August 1858
• Nationalisation of the Company and assumption of direct administration by the British crown
2 August 1858
Area
1858[5]1,940,000 km2 (750,000 sq mi)
CurrencyRupee
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Maratha Confederacy
Mughal Empire
Sikh Empire
Ahom kingdom
Bengal Subah
Oudh State
Carnatic Sultanate
See list of other states
British Raj
Today part ofIndia
Pakistan
Bangladesh

Company rule in India (also known as the Company Raj,[6] from Hindi rāj, lit. 'rule'[7]) refers to regions of the Indian subcontinent under the control of the British East India Company (EIC). The EIC, founded in 1600, established their first trading post in India in 1612, and gradually expanded their presence in the region over the following decades. During the Seven Years' War, the East India Company began a process of rapid expansion in India which resulted in most of the subcontinent falling under their rule by 1857, when the Indian Rebellion of 1857 broke out. After the rebellion was suppressed, the Government of India Act 1858 resulted in the EIC's territories in India being administered by the Crown instead. The India Office managed the EIC's former territories, which became known as the British Raj.

The range of dates is taken to have commenced either in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey, when the Nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah was defeated and replaced with Mir Jafar, who had the support of the East India Company;[8] or in 1765, when the Company was granted the diwani, or the right to collect revenue, in Bengal and Bihar;[9] or in 1773, when the Company abolished local rule (Nizamat) in Bengal and established a capital in Calcutta, appointed its first Governor-General of Fort William, Warren Hastings, and became directly involved in governance.[10] The East India Company significantly expanded its influence throughout the Indian subcontinent after the Anglo-Mysore Wars, Anglo-Maratha Wars, and Anglo-Sikh Wars.[11][12][13] Lord William Bentinck became the first Governor General of India in 1834 under the Government of India Act 1833.[14]

  1. ^ a b Garcia, Humberto (2020), England Re-Oriented: How Central and South Asian Travelers Imagined the West, 1750–1857, Cambridge University Press, p. 128, ISBN 978-1-108-49564-6, "Hindoostanee" was instrumental for Company rule in that Gilchrist's grammar books, dictionaries, and translations helped to standardize Urdu as an official language for lower level judicial courts and revenue administration in 1837, replacing Persian.
  2. ^ a b Schiffman, Harold (2011), Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice, BRILL, p. 11, ISBN 978-90-04-20145-3, In 1837 Urdu was formally adopted by the British, in place of Persian, as the language of interaction between the Government (which from then on conducted its affairs in English) and the local population.
  3. ^ Everaert, Christine (2009), Tracing the Boundaries between Hindi and Urdu: Lost and Added in Translation between 20th Century Short Stories, BRILL, pp. 253–, ISBN 978-90-04-18223-3, It was only in 1837 that Persian lost its position as official language of India to Urdu and to English in the higher levels of administration.
  4. ^ Bayly, Christopher Alan (1999), Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780–1870, Cambridge University Press, p. 286, ISBN 978-0-521-66360-1, Paradoxically, many British also clung to Persian. Indeed, the so-called Urdu that replaced Persian as the court language after 1837 was recognisably Persian as far as its nouns were concerned. The courtly heritage of Persian was also to exercise a constraint on the British cultivation of Hindustani/Urdu.
  5. ^ John Barnhill (14 May 2014). R. W. McColl (ed.). Encyclopedia of World Geography. Infobase Publishing. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8160-7229-3.
  6. ^ Robb 2002, pp. 116–147 "Chapter 5: Early Modern India II: Company Raj", Metcalf & Metcalf 2006, pp. 56–91 "Chapter 3: The East India Company Raj, 1857–1850," Bose & Jalal 2004, pp. 53–59 "Chapter 7: The First Century of British Rule, 1757 to 1857: State and Economy."
  7. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 1989: Hindi, rāj, from Skr. rāj: to reign, rule; cognate with L. rēx, rēg-is, OIr. rī, rīg king (see RICH).
  8. ^ Bose & Jalal 2004, pp. 47, 53
  9. ^ Brown 1994, p. 46, Peers 2006, p. 30
  10. ^ Metcalf & Metcalf 2006, p. 56
  11. ^ Naravane, M. S. (2014). Battles of the Honourable East India Company: Making of the Raj. New Delhi: A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. pp. 172–181. ISBN 978-8-1313-0034-3.
  12. ^ "Battle of Wadgaon, Encyclopædia Britannica". Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  13. ^ Hasrat, B. J. "Anglo-Sikh War I (1845–46)". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala.
  14. ^ team, EduGeneral (9 March 2016). "Important Acts in India Before Independence". EduGeneral. Retrieved 30 June 2020.