European arrival and Company expansion
The conquest of Bengal: Plassey, Buxar and the dual system
Practise 2 PYQsConcepts to cover
- Siraj-ud-daulah, Black Hole episode, Clive's conspiracy with Mir Jafar and the Battle of Plassey
- Mir Kasim's reforms and defeat at Buxar; treaties of Allahabad and the grant of Diwani
- Dual government under Clive: Company holds diwani, nawab holds nizamat; abolished by Hastings 1772
- Company exports from Bengal (cotton and silk textiles, saltpetre, opium); dastak abuse; banians, gomasthas and aurangs
- Post-Plassey plunder: presents, private trade and the shift from bullion import to revenue-financed exports
Where to study
A Brief History of Modern India · Rajiv Ahir (Spectrum)
- ch. 5 Expansion and Consolidation of British Power in India
Our Pasts III, Textbook in History for Class VIII (prelims and contents)
- ch. 2 From Trade to Territory: The Company Establishes Power