India on the Eve of British Conquest

[ArainGang]

In 1764 India was ripe for the picking.

The Mughal Empire, which had ruled much of the region for the past two centuries, had shattered. The various smaller states that arose in its place were relatively weak, both militarily and economically. Recent advances in artillery and infantry techniques had given Europeans a significant edge on the battlefield, as had been demonstrated only a few years earlier when the French dealt a number of crushing defeats to the Nawab of Carnatic.

The British East India Company observed all this with a curious eye, and after evicting the French from the region, had a mind to take a more active role in the subcontinent (having previously been largely restricted to trade concessions).

The spark for outright conquest came from India, when the Jagat Seth bankers of Bengal, being fed up with the cruelty of the Nawab, invited (and financed) the British invasion. Their reasoning, not unfounded, being that the British were the least-worst option for providing a stable, business-friendly environment.

In response to British incursion came a triple alliance, described as the, “last gasp” of the Mughals, which included the Nawab of Bengal, Nawab of Awadh, and Mughal remnants under Shah Alam. The conflict that followed was a close-run affair, but the British ultimately emerged victorious and annexed the Bengal region (then the richest province in India).

Over the next 100 years the British East India Company would conquer the remaining states across India, often doing so by exploiting rivalries between adversarial Indian rulers. While local polities quickly closed the military gap and acquitted themselves well on the battlefield (the Mysore Sultans and Sikh Empire earning particular praise from the British), the economic gap only widened, and ultimately, guaranteed the Company’s success.

British rule would last until 1947, only being seriously threatened in the 1857 rebellion, during which North-Indians attempted to oust the British and reinstall the Mughals under, “Emperor” Bahdur Shah Zafur (who was only a ceremonial figurehead at this point).

Link to full post w/ additional reading/sources.

 

[Bilal9]

Some of the map sections seem to be fictional. Such as Bhonsales of Nagpur controlling all of present day Odisha. It is well known that they were beaten back by the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh.

 

[namefield_empty]

Lol at the fake map construction, no part of Arunachal was ever under the direct or indirect control of the Qing or any other Chinese empire. If at all, major parts of Arunachal in the late 1700s were under the suzerainty of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam(my tribe).

 

[GHALIB]

Some of the map sections seem to be fictional. Such as Bhonsales of Nagpur controlling all of present day Odisha. It is well known that they were beaten back by the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh.

nasim hezazi novels are fiction.
bhonsle were incharge of orissa and bangal , these states gave ransom to marathas . awadh was never under maratha influence .

 

[ArainGang]

Lol at the fake map construction, no part of Arunachal was ever under the direct or indirect control of the Qing or any other Chinese empire. If at all, major parts of Arunachal in the late 1700s were under the suzerainty of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam(my tribe).

Arunachal was referred to as "Lower Tibet" and considered part of the Qing Empire's Tibet region before the arrival of the British. The Ahom's did not exercise control over that region during this period, from what I've read.

 

[namefield_empty]

Arunachal was referred to as "Lower Tibet" and considered part of the Qing Empire's Tibet region before the arrival of the British. The Ahom's did not exercise control over that region during this period, from what I've read.

Nope, only 2 % of Arunachal Pradesh's territory in the form of the Tawang Tract was ceded by Tibet to India much before the Chinese incursion to Tibet. Rest of Arunachal never formed any part of lower Tibet or whatever. The tribes of Arunachal had their local chieftains who plegded allegiance to our Ahom ruler, and fought with us to ward off the Mughal invasions into NE India. Need more proof? Assamese was the link language in Arunachal till a few decades back when Hindi took over.

Also, much of Arunachal was directly ruled by the pre-Ahom kingdoms like the Chutiyas. Assamese and Naga tribes form a major part of the population of Arunachal.

 

[ArainGang]

Nope, only 2 % of Arunachal Pradesh's territory in the form of the Tawang Tract was ceded by Tibet to India much before the Chinese incursion to Tibet. Rest of Arunachal never formed any part of lower Tibet or whatever. The tribes of Arunachal had their local chieftains who plegded allegiance to our Ahom ruler, and fought with us to ward off the Mughal invasions into NE India. Need more proof? Assamese was the link language in Arunachal till a few decades back when Hindi took over.

Also, much of Arunachal was directly ruled by the pre-Ahom kingdoms like the Chutiyas. Assamese and Naga tribes form a major part of the population of Arunachal.

If you have any primary sources I'd be interested, but you are really mixing up your sequence of events here. The border agreed upon by Tibet/Britain in the early 20th century is not a reflection of who controlled AP in 1764. Same regarding this alleged Ahom alliance which took place much earlier than 1764. Assamese being a link language in the 20th century has no bearing on who controlled the region in 1764.

It can be argued the region should be classified as independent, but there's little chance it can be designated as under Assamese control.

 

[Minho]

Lol at the fake map construction, no part of Arunachal was ever under the direct or indirect control of the Qing or any other Chinese empire. If at all, major parts of Arunachal in the late 1700s were under the suzerainty of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam(my tribe).

Some parts of the map may be incorrect, but the OP must be given credit for dispelling the myth that Muslims ruled the majority of the subcontinent until the British. The map does correctly show that the Marathas controlled the majority of the subcontinent until the second Anglo-Maratha war, with the main Muslim powers being the Durranis of the Northwest and the Nizam of hyderabad. Important to note though that the Nizam himself was paying tribute to the marathas.

@Joe Shearer @Nilgiri

Some of the map sections seem to be fictional. Such as Bhonsales of Nagpur controlling all of present day Odisha. It is well known that they were beaten back by the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh.

The Marathas ruled Odisha until the British. In north India, the Mughals became tributaries/puppets of the Marathas.

 

[GHALIB]

Nope, only 2 % of Arunachal Pradesh's territory in the form of the Tawang Tract was ceded by Tibet to India much before the Chinese incursion to Tibet. Rest of Arunachal never formed any part of lower Tibet or whatever. The tribes of Arunachal had their local chieftains who plegded allegiance to our Ahom ruler, and fought with us to ward off the Mughal invasions into NE India. Need more proof? Assamese was the link language in Arunachal till a few decades back when Hindi took over.

Also, much of Arunachal was directly ruled by the pre-Ahom kingdoms like the Chutiyas. Assamese and Naga tribes form a major part of the population of Arunachal.

very nice

 

[Foxtrot Delta]

Mother fuckers were fighting each other... Kinda similar to whats happening in the middle east right now. They deserved iron clad of english empire... Lunatics.

Would have been great if afghan and pak durani lands were one..

 

[crankthatskunk]

Thus proven that there was no country called India at the time British forcefully took over sub-continent.
But when they were leaving they wanted to leave a "united India", which never existed.
Jinnah and Muslims disagreed and demanded their own countries.
Those who say Pakistan and India were the same, are wrong.
Remember, there was no India at the time of British Take over.

Now it is up to us to make sure, there is no non-existed India.
We have excellent ally callled "Na Mo".

 

[jamahir]

@ArainGang, yes you took the trouble of typing up the article and annotating the map but sorry, what's the point of the article ?? The Mughal empire is done and gone and it was an empire like any other in world history.

What thing from the 1700s that we should stop and consider is the rule of Tipu Sultan because he was a Progressive. The next thing we should stop and consider from those times is the publication of The Communist Manifesto.

And then from the previous century ( the 1900s ) we need to stop and consider the publication of the Green Book from Libya.

We really need to look at the near-future of humanity.

 

[newb3e]

Lol at the fake map construction, no part of Arunachal was ever under the direct or indirect control of the Qing or any other Chinese empire. If at all, major parts of Arunachal in the late 1700s were under the suzerainty of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam(my tribe).

yes not according to rss history where bakhts are showns as rulers when infact your kind were cheap slaves cleaning mughal horse shit!

 

[-blitzkrieg-]

View attachment 598737

In 1764 India was ripe for the picking.

The Mughal Empire, which had ruled much of the region for the past two centuries, had shattered. The various smaller states that arose in its place were relatively weak, both militarily and economically. Recent advances in artillery and infantry techniques had given Europeans a significant edge on the battlefield, as had been demonstrated only a few years earlier when the French dealt a number of crushing defeats to the Nawab of Carnatic.

The British East India Company observed all this with a curious eye, and after evicting the French from the region, had a mind to take a more active role in the subcontinent (having previously been largely restricted to trade concessions).

The spark for outright conquest came from India, when the Jagat Seth bankers of Bengal, being fed up with the cruelty of the Nawab, invited (and financed) the British invasion. Their reasoning, not unfounded, being that the British were the least-worst option for providing a stable, business-friendly environment.

In response to British incursion came a triple alliance, described as the, “last gasp” of the Mughals, which included the Nawab of Bengal, Nawab of Awadh, and Mughal remnants under Shah Alam. The conflict that followed was a close-run affair, but the British ultimately emerged victorious and annexed the Bengal region (then the richest province in India).

Over the next 100 years the British East India Company would conquer the remaining states across India, often doing so by exploiting rivalries between adversarial Indian rulers. While local polities quickly closed the military gap and acquitted themselves well on the battlefield (the Mysore Sultans and Sikh Empire earning particular praise from the British), the economic gap only widened, and ultimately, guaranteed the Company’s success.

British rule would last until 1947, only being seriously threatened in the 1857 rebellion, during which North-Indians attempted to oust the British and reinstall the Mughals under, “Emperor” Bahdur Shah Zafur (who was only a ceremonial figurehead at this point).

Link to full post w/ additional reading/sources.

Title of the map is wrong.

There was no India back then.It was Britishers who gave this land the name 'India'

 

[jamahir]

Title of the map is wrong.

There was no India back then.It was Britishers who gave this land the name 'India'

Yet you are able to speak the Hindustani language which I too understand. An Indian language.