Subsidiary Alliance - General Knowledge Of Modern India
The British East India Company started a policy of intervention and used the territories of the rulers occupied in the past for its political ambitions i.e. to bring the Indian states under British power. Subsidiary treaty was a policy of intervention which was used by the Governor General of India, Lord Wellesley (1798-1805 AD) to establish the British Empire in India. In this system it was said that every Indian ruler would have to pay money for the maintenance of the British army in his kingdom and in return the British would protect them from their opponents. This treaty greatly expanded the British Empire.
Read More History: Simon Commission - General Knowledge Of Modern India
It was first used by Lord Wellesley who institutionalized the policy of intervention in the form of subsidiary treaty. By signing about a hundred such treaties, he made the Nawabs and Nizams his assistants. The main points of this system are as follows-
- The states that signed the subsidiary treaty had to keep a permanent regiment of the British army in their state and had to pay money for its maintenance.
- No Indian ruler could appoint any European in his service without obtaining prior permission of the British.
- The Indian ruler will not enter into any settlement with any other Indian ruler without consulting the Governor General.
States That Accede To The Treaty
- This treaty was first signed by the Nizam of Hyderabad. In 1798 AD, the Nizam's French relations were terminated and they could not make any treaty with the Marathas without the permission of the British.
- Mysore was the second state which signed this treaty in 1799 AD.
- In 1801 AD, Wellesley forced the Nawab of Awadh to sign this treaty.
- In 1802 AD Peshwa Bajirao II also brought his kingdom under this treaty. Many other Maratha states, such as Scindia and Bhosale also signed this treaty in 1803. The last Maratha confederacy like Holkar also accepted the terms of this treaty.
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Modern India