Sambhav-2024

• Start the answer with a discussion that sets a context for the question.
• Discuss the key features of the subsidiary alliance system
• Discuss the implications of the subsidiary alliance system implemented by the British East India Company.
• Conclude suitably.

Introduction

The subsidiary alliance system was used by Lord Wellesley, who was governor general from 1798-1805, to build an empire in India. One of the key objectives behind Wellesley’s strengthening of the subsidiary alliance system was to prevent the French from reviving and expanding their influence in India.

Body

The key features of the subsidiary alliance system :

• Military Alliance: Under the system, the allying Indian state’s ruler was compelled to accept the permanent stationing of a British force within his territory and to pay a subsidy for its maintenance.
• British Control: The Indian ruler had to agree to the posting of a British resident in his court. The Indian ruler could not employ any European in his service without prior
• consultation with the Company.
• Prohibition of Relations: The Indian rulers were often restricted from forming alliances or maintaining relations with other foreign powers without British consent. This further solidified British influence and limited the sovereignty of the Indian states.
• Stagewise Application:
  • First Stage: The Company offered to help a friendly Indian state with its troops.
  • Second Stage: The Company started taking the field with its soldiers and those of the state.
  • Third Stage: The Indian ally was asked not for men but for money.
  • Fourth Stage: The money or the protection fee was fixed, usually at a high level; when the state failed to pay the money in time, it was asked to cede certain parts of its territories to the Company in lieu of payment.

The implications of the subsidiary alliance system:

• Increased British Influence: The British used the subsidiary alliance to expand their political and economic control over India. It became a tool for territorial expansion and the establishment of British hegemony.
  • During the seven-year rule of Wellesly alone, over 100 small and big states of India signed the subsidiary treaty.
• Economic Drain: The financial burdens imposed by maintaining British troops strained the economies of the Indian states, contributing to economic exploitation and draining resources.
• Erosion of Sovereignty: The Indian rulers lost their independence by buying
• Security. The subsidiary alliance system eroded the sovereignty of Indian princely states, making them de facto vassals of the British East India Company.
• Doctrine of Lapse: An extension of the subsidiary alliance system was the Doctrine of Lapse, wherein if an Indian ruler died without a male heir, the British could refuse to recognize the adopted heir and annex the state.

Conclusion

The imposition of Subsidiary alliances and the Doctrine of Lapse fueled resentment among the Indian rulers and their subjects. This discontent played a role in the outbreak of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the First War of Independence.