Expansion of British Power (1765–1856) — Mysore, Marathas, Sikhs
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Why This Chapter Matters
After Buxar (1764), the East India Company held Bengal. Between 1765 and 1856 it swallowed the rest of India in a series of wars and two policy instruments, the Subsidiary Alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse. This chapter covers the four Anglo-Mysore wars, the three Anglo-Maratha wars, the two Anglo-Sikh wars, the Burmese and Afghan wars in brief, and the annexation of Awadh in 1856. SSC and RRB pull questions from here constantly. Expect 1 to 2 questions from this chapter in almost every SSC CGL/CHSL GA section, and RRB NTPC loves it too.
The repeat toppers are easy to list: which treaty ended which war, who introduced the Subsidiary Alliance, which state was the first to sign it, which states Dalhousie annexed under Doctrine of Lapse and in which year, the year Tipu Sultan died, and the treaties of the First Anglo-Maratha War in order. If you master the treaty tables in this chapter, you will rarely lose a mark from this era.
1. The Setting after 1765
The Treaty of Allahabad (1765) gave the Company the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. With Bengal's revenue funding its army, the Company turned to the three powers still capable of resisting it: Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, the Maratha Confederacy, and later the Sikh kingdom of Punjab built by Ranjit Singh. Each was defeated in turn. States that could not fight were absorbed through paper, first the Subsidiary Alliance of Wellesley, then the Doctrine of Lapse of Dalhousie. By 1856, with Awadh annexed, the map of British India was essentially complete.
2. The Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767–1799)
Haidar Ali became the de facto ruler of Mysore in 1761, sidelining the Wodeyar dynasty. His capital was Srirangapatna (Seringapatam). He modernised his army with French help and set up an arsenal at Dindigul.
First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–69)
The British, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas initially combined against Haidar. Haidar broke the alliance through diplomacy, then carried the war to the gates of Madras. The frightened Madras Council signed the Treaty of Madras (1769). Both sides returned conquered territory, and the British promised to help Haidar if a third power attacked him. This is the rare case of an Indian ruler dictating terms to the Company.
Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–84)
The British did not help Haidar when the Marathas attacked him in 1771, and they seized the French port of Mahe (in Haidar's territory) during the Anglo-French war. Haidar formed a grand alliance with the Nizam and the Marathas and attacked the Carnatic in 1780. He defeated Colonel Baillie, but Sir Eyre Coote defeated Haidar at Porto Novo (1781). Haidar Ali died in December 1782 during the war, and his son Tipu Sultan carried it on. The inconclusive war ended with the Treaty of Mangalore (1784), signed by Tipu, restoring each side's conquests. Warren Hastings was Governor-General during this war.
Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92)
Tipu attacked Travancore, a British ally, in 1789. Governor-General Cornwallis himself took command, with the Nizam and the Marathas as allies. Tipu was besieged in Srirangapatna and signed the Treaty of Seringapatam (1792). Its terms hurt: Tipu ceded half his territory (shared among the three allies), paid an indemnity of about 3 crore rupees, and surrendered two of his sons as hostages until payment.
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799)
Governor-General Wellesley accused Tipu of intriguing with the French and demanded he accept the Subsidiary Alliance. Tipu refused. The war of 1799 was short. Tipu Sultan died fighting at the gates of Srirangapatna on 4 May 1799. The British general Harris led the campaign; Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington) also served in it. Mysore's core was restored to the child Krishnaraja Wodeyar III of the old Hindu dynasty, who signed a Subsidiary Alliance. The rest was divided between the British and the Nizam.
Tipu Sultan — facts exams ask
- Called the Tiger of Mysore; ruled 1782–1799 from Srirangapatna.
- Planted a Tree of Liberty at Srirangapatna and became a member of the French Jacobin Club, calling himself Citizen Tipu.
- Sent embassies to France, Turkey (the Ottoman Caliph) and Afghanistan seeking allies.
- Pioneered the military use of iron-cased rockets; British copied them later.
- Attempted a modern navy, introduced sericulture in Mysore, and issued new coins and a new calendar.
- Gave grants to the Sringeri temple after its plunder by Maratha horsemen.
3. The Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775–1818)
After Panipat (1761) the Marathas recovered under Peshwa Madhavrao I, but his death in 1772 began a succession mess that the British exploited for forty years. The confederacy's five houses: Peshwa (Poona), Scindia (Gwalior), Holkar (Indore), Gaekwad (Baroda), Bhonsle (Nagpur).
First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82)
Raghunath Rao (Raghoba), wanting the Peshwaship after murdering his nephew's claim, signed the Treaty of Surat (1775) with the Bombay government, promising Salsette and Bassein for military help. The Calcutta Council annulled it and made the Treaty of Purandar (1776). War resumed anyway. A British force surrendered to the Marathas and signed the humiliating Convention of Wadgaon (1779). Warren Hastings rejected it and sent fresh armies. The war ended with the Treaty of Salbai (1782), negotiated with Mahadji Scindia. The British kept Salsette, Madhavrao Narayan was recognised as Peshwa, and Raghoba got a pension. Salbai bought roughly twenty years of peace with the Marathas, freeing the British to deal with Mysore.
Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05)
After Peshwa Baji Rao II was crushed by Yashwantrao Holkar at Poona, he fled to the British and signed the Treaty of Bassein (31 December 1802), accepting the Subsidiary Alliance. Scindia and Bhonsle treated this as surrender of Maratha independence and fought. Arthur Wellesley won at Assaye (September 1803) and Argaon, while General Lake took Delhi and won at Laswari (1803). The defeated chiefs signed separate treaties: Deogaon (1803) with Bhonsle, Surji-Anjangaon (1803) with Scindia, and later Rajghat (1805–06) with Holkar. The Mughal emperor Shah Alam II passed under British protection after the fall of Delhi.
Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–19)
Governor-General Lord Hastings launched operations against the Pindaris (plunderer bands led by Amir Khan, Karim Khan and Chitu) and forced fresh treaties on the Maratha chiefs, including the Treaty of Poona (1817) on the Peshwa. Baji Rao II, Bhonsle and Holkar rose in a last effort. The British won at Khadki (Peshwa), Sitabuldi (Bhonsle) and Mahidpur (1817) (Holkar; followed by the Treaty of Mandsaur, January 1818). Baji Rao II surrendered in 1818. The Peshwaship was abolished; Baji Rao II was pensioned off at Bithur near Kanpur (his adopted son was Nana Saheb of 1857 fame). A small kingdom of Satara was created for Pratap Singh, a descendant of Shivaji, to soothe Maratha sentiment. With this, no Indian power capable of challenging the Company remained south of the Sutlej.
4. The Conquest of Sindh (1843)
The Amirs of Sindh had signed treaties with the British in 1832 and accepted a subsidiary force in 1839. In 1843, under Governor-General Ellenborough, Sir Charles Napier provoked a war, won the battles of Miani and Dabo (Hyderabad), and annexed Sindh. The conquest is remembered for the (probably apocryphal) one-word message "Peccavi", Latin for "I have sinned". Even many British contemporaries called the annexation unjust; it partly compensated for the Afghan disaster of 1842.
5. The Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845–49)
Maharaja Ranjit Singh (ruled 1799–1839, capital Lahore) built the strongest Indian state of his time with a European-trained army, the Khalsa. He took the title of Maharaja in 1801 and seized Amritsar in 1802. By the Treaty of Amritsar (1809), signed with the British envoy Charles Metcalfe during Lord Minto's tenure, the river Sutlej became the boundary between his kingdom and the Company. Ranjit Singh kept the treaty till his death on 27 June 1839.
His death set off palace murders and army politics. The young Maharaja Dalip Singh sat on the throne with his mother Rani Jindan as regent and Lal Singh as wazir.
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46)
The Khalsa army crossed the Sutlej in December 1845. Governor-General was Lord Hardinge. The battles, in order: Mudki, Ferozeshah, Aliwal, Sobraon (February 1846). Betrayed by its own commanders Lal Singh and Teja Singh, the Khalsa lost. By the Treaty of Lahore (March 1846):
- The Jalandhar Doab (between Beas and Sutlej) went to the British.
- A war indemnity of 1.5 crore rupees was imposed. Unable to pay it all, the Lahore Durbar ceded Kashmir, which the British sold to Gulab Singh Dogra for 75 lakh rupees by the separate Treaty of Amritsar (16 March 1846). This created the Dogra state of Jammu and Kashmir.
- A British Resident, Henry Lawrence, was placed at Lahore.
By the Treaty of Bhairowal (December 1846), Rani Jindan was removed as regent and a Council of Regency under the Resident ran Punjab.
Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–49)
The revolt of Mulraj, governor of Multan, in April 1848 spread into a general Sikh rising joined by Sher Singh. Lord Dalhousie, the new Governor-General, welcomed the chance. After Ramnagar, the bloody and indecisive battle of Chillianwala (January 1849), and the decisive British victory at Gujrat (February 1849) where the Sikh army surrendered, Dalhousie annexed Punjab on 29 March 1849. Dalip Singh was pensioned and sent to England, and the Kohinoor diamond was taken and presented to Queen Victoria. Punjab was then administered by a Board headed by the Lawrence brothers.
6. Burmese and Afghan Wars — In Brief
Anglo-Burmese Wars
- First (1824–26): fought under Lord Amherst; ended by the Treaty of Yandabo (1826). Burma ceded Assam, Arakan and Tenasserim, paid an indemnity, and accepted a British Resident at Ava.
- Second (1852): under Dalhousie; the British annexed Lower Burma (Pegu) without a treaty.
- Third (1885): under Dufferin; King Thibaw was deposed and Upper Burma annexed (1886). This falls outside our period but complete the set for exams.
Anglo-Afghan War (First, 1839–42)
Fearing Russian influence at Kabul, Governor-General Auckland signed the Tripartite Treaty (1838) with Ranjit Singh and the exiled Afghan prince Shah Shuja, then invaded Afghanistan to replace Dost Mohammad with Shah Shuja. Kabul fell in 1839, but an Afghan uprising in 1841–42 destroyed the retreating British army in the passes; of about 16,000 who left Kabul, famously one man, Dr. Brydon, reached Jalalabad. Ellenborough sent an "army of retribution" in 1842, then withdrew. Dost Mohammad was restored. The Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80, Treaty of Gandamak 1879) came under Lytton, after our period.
7. Subsidiary Alliance — Wellesley's Instrument (1798)
Lord Wellesley (Governor-General 1798–1805) perfected the Subsidiary Alliance system. The French governor Dupleix had used the idea of hiring out European troops to Indian rulers decades earlier; Wellesley made it an empire-building machine.
Terms of the alliance:
- The Indian ruler kept a British force permanently stationed in his territory and paid for its maintenance, either in cash or by ceding territory in full sovereignty.
- A British Resident sat at his court.
- The ruler could not employ any other European in his service without British approval.
- He could not negotiate with any other Indian ruler without consulting the Governor-General.
- In return the British promised to defend the state from all enemies.
Effect: the ruler lost foreign policy and defence, kept internal administration, and paid for his own subjection. If payment fell into arrears, territory was taken. Awadh lost half its lands this way in 1801. The system disbanded thousands of soldiers of Indian courts, many of whom drifted into banditry (one root of the Pindari problem).
Order of acceptance (learn this sequence):
| Order | State | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyderabad (the Nizam) — first to sign | 1798 (revised 1800) |
| 2 | Mysore (after Tipu's fall) | 1799 |
| 3 | Tanjore | 1799 |
| 4 | Awadh | 1801 |
| 5 | Peshwa (Treaty of Bassein) | 1802 |
| 6 | Bhonsle of Nagpur | 1803 |
| 7 | Scindia | 1804 |
| 8 | Rajput states (Jodhpur, Jaipur etc.) and Holkar | 1817–18 |
SSC has repeatedly asked "which state first accepted the Subsidiary Alliance". The answer is the Nizam of Hyderabad, 1798.
8. Doctrine of Lapse — Dalhousie's Instrument (1848–56)
Lord Dalhousie (Governor-General 1848–1856) applied the Doctrine of Lapse: when the ruler of a dependent state died without a natural male heir, his adopted son could not inherit the throne, and the state "lapsed" to the British. Adoption needed prior Company consent, which Dalhousie routinely refused. He did not invent the principle, earlier annexations of small states had used it, but he applied it systematically.
States annexed under Doctrine of Lapse:
| State | Year |
|---|---|
| Satara (first to lapse) | 1848 |
| Jaitpur (Bundelkhand) | 1849 |
| Sambalpur (Orissa) | 1849 |
| Baghat | 1850 |
| Udaipur (Chhattisgarh region) | 1852 |
| Jhansi | 1853 |
| Nagpur (largest to lapse) | 1854 |
Related grievances that fed 1857: Dalhousie refused Nana Saheb the pension of his adoptive father Baji Rao II, refused Rani Lakshmibai's adopted son the throne of Jhansi, and abolished the titles of the Nawab of Carnatic and the Raja of Tanjore. The proposal to annex Karauli (1849) was struck down by the Court of Directors, a fact exams use as a trick option.
9. Annexation of Awadh (1856) — Not by Lapse
Awadh had been a subsidiary ally since 1801 and had loyally supplied money and men to the Company for decades. Its nawab had a natural heir, so Lapse could not apply. Dalhousie instead used the charge of misgovernment. Based on a report by Resident William Sleeman (and later James Outram), Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was accused of misruling his people. In February 1856 Awadh was annexed; the Nawab was pensioned off to Calcutta (Matiaburj). The annexation angered not just the court but the large number of Company sepoys recruited from Awadh, and it became a major cause of the Revolt of 1857. Awadh's first Chief Commissioner arrangement was set up under this annexation, with Outram in charge.
With Punjab (1849), the lapsed states, and Awadh (1856) absorbed, Dalhousie left India in 1856 having added more territory to British India than any Governor-General before him. A year later, the Revolt of 1857 showed the price of that expansion.
Quick Revision — One-Line Facts
- Haidar Ali took power in Mysore in 1761; capital Srirangapatna.
- Treaty of Madras (1769) ended the First Anglo-Mysore War on terms favourable to Haidar.
- Eyre Coote defeated Haidar Ali at Porto Novo (1781).
- Haidar Ali died in 1782, during the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
- Treaty of Mangalore (1784) was signed by Tipu Sultan with the British.
- Treaty of Seringapatam (1792): Tipu ceded half his territory and gave two sons as hostages; Cornwallis led the British.
- Tipu Sultan died on 4 May 1799 at Srirangapatna in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.
- Tipu planted a Tree of Liberty and joined the Jacobin Club.
- After 1799, Mysore was restored to the Wodeyar dynasty (Krishnaraja III) under a Subsidiary Alliance.
- First Anglo-Maratha War treaties in order: Surat (1775) → Purandar (1776) → Wadgaon (1779) → Salbai (1782).
- Treaty of Bassein (1802): Peshwa Baji Rao II accepted the Subsidiary Alliance.
- Assaye and Laswari (both 1803) were the key battles of the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
- Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–19) ended the Peshwaship; Baji Rao II was pensioned at Bithur.
- Satara was created for Pratap Singh after the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
- Pindari leaders: Amir Khan, Karim Khan, Chitu; suppressed by Lord Hastings.
- Sindh annexed in 1843 by Charles Napier under Ellenborough; battles of Miani and Dabo.
- Treaty of Amritsar (1809): Ranjit Singh accepted the Sutlej as his boundary with the British.
- First Anglo-Sikh War battles: Mudki, Ferozeshah, Aliwal, Sobraon (1845–46).
- Treaty of Lahore (1846) ceded the Jalandhar Doab; Kashmir sold to Gulab Singh for 75 lakh (Treaty of Amritsar, 1846).
- Chillianwala and Gujrat (1849) were the main battles of the Second Anglo-Sikh War.
- Punjab annexed on 29 March 1849 by Dalhousie; the Kohinoor went to Queen Victoria.
- Treaty of Yandabo (1826) ended the First Anglo-Burmese War under Amherst.
- First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) was launched by Auckland; Dost Mohammad was later restored.
- Subsidiary Alliance was perfected by Wellesley (1798); Hyderabad signed first (1798).
- Under Subsidiary Alliance, a ruler could employ no European and negotiate with no ruler without British consent.
- Doctrine of Lapse annexations: Satara 1848, Jaitpur & Sambalpur 1849, Baghat 1850, Udaipur 1852, Jhansi 1853, Nagpur 1854.
- Satara was the first state annexed by Doctrine of Lapse; Nagpur the largest.
- Awadh was annexed in 1856 on grounds of misgovernment, not lapse; Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was sent to Calcutta.
- Dalhousie refused Nana Saheb his adoptive father's pension.
Memory Tables
Table 1: War → Treaty → Governor-General
| War | Years | Ending treaty/result | Governor-General |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Anglo-Mysore | 1767–69 | Treaty of Madras (1769) | Verelst (Bengal) / Madras Council |
| 2nd Anglo-Mysore | 1780–84 | Treaty of Mangalore (1784) | Warren Hastings |
| 3rd Anglo-Mysore | 1790–92 | Treaty of Seringapatam (1792) | Cornwallis |
| 4th Anglo-Mysore | 1799 | Tipu killed; Wodeyars restored | Wellesley |
| 1st Anglo-Maratha | 1775–82 | Treaty of Salbai (1782) | Warren Hastings |
| 2nd Anglo-Maratha | 1803–05 | Deogaon, Surji-Anjangaon, Rajghat | Wellesley |
| 3rd Anglo-Maratha | 1817–19 | Peshwaship abolished (1818) | Lord Hastings |
| Conquest of Sindh | 1843 | Annexation | Ellenborough |
| 1st Anglo-Sikh | 1845–46 | Treaties of Lahore & Bhairowal (1846) | Hardinge |
| 2nd Anglo-Sikh | 1848–49 | Punjab annexed (29 March 1849) | Dalhousie |
| 1st Anglo-Burmese | 1824–26 | Treaty of Yandabo (1826) | Amherst |
| 2nd Anglo-Burmese | 1852 | Lower Burma (Pegu) annexed | Dalhousie |
| 1st Anglo-Afghan | 1839–42 | Dost Mohammad restored | Auckland / Ellenborough |
Table 2: Subsidiary Alliance — order of signing
| Order | State | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyderabad | 1798 |
| 2 | Mysore | 1799 |
| 3 | Tanjore | 1799 |
| 4 | Awadh | 1801 |
| 5 | Peshwa | 1802 |
| 6 | Bhonsle | 1803 |
| 7 | Scindia | 1804 |
Table 3: Doctrine of Lapse annexations
| Year | State | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1848 | Satara | First to lapse |
| 1849 | Jaitpur, Sambalpur | Same year, two states |
| 1850 | Baghat | Small hill state |
| 1852 | Udaipur (Chhattisgarh) | Not the Rajasthan Udaipur |
| 1853 | Jhansi | Rani Lakshmibai's state |
| 1854 | Nagpur | Largest lapsed state |
| 1856 | Awadh | NOT lapse — misgovernment |
Practice MCQs
Q1. The Treaty of Mangalore (1784) was signed between the English and (a) Haidar Ali (b) Tipu Sultan (c) the Nizam of Hyderabad (d) the Peshwa
Q2. Which state was the first to accept Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance? (a) Awadh (b) Mysore (c) Hyderabad (d) Tanjore
Q3. Tipu Sultan died fighting at Srirangapatna in which year? (a) 1792 (b) 1799 (c) 1784 (d) 1805
Q4. Arrange the treaties of the First Anglo-Maratha War chronologically:
- Salbai 2. Surat 3. Wadgaon 4. Purandar (a) 2-4-3-1 (b) 2-3-4-1 (c) 4-2-3-1 (d) 2-4-1-3
Q5. By which treaty did Peshwa Baji Rao II accept the Subsidiary Alliance? (a) Treaty of Salbai (b) Treaty of Bassein (c) Treaty of Purandar (d) Treaty of Deogaon
Q6. Which of the following states was NOT annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse? (a) Satara (b) Jhansi (c) Awadh (d) Nagpur
Q7. The Treaty of Amritsar (1809) fixed which river as the boundary between Ranjit Singh's kingdom and the East India Company? (a) Ravi (b) Beas (c) Indus (d) Sutlej
Q8. Who sold Kashmir to Gulab Singh Dogra for 75 lakh rupees in 1846? (a) The Lahore Durbar (b) The British (c) The Nizam (d) The Afghans
Q9. The battle of Porto Novo (1781) was won by which British commander against Haidar Ali? (a) Charles Napier (b) Eyre Coote (c) Arthur Wellesley (d) General Lake
Q10. Match the following: A. Treaty of Yandabo — 1. Anglo-Sikh War B. Treaty of Lahore — 2. Anglo-Burmese War C. Treaty of Seringapatam — 3. Anglo-Maratha War D. Treaty of Salbai — 4. Anglo-Mysore War (a) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3 (b) A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4 (c) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4 (d) A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1
Q11. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Peshwa Baji Rao II was pensioned off and settled at (a) Satara (b) Bithur (c) Poona (d) Gwalior
Q12. Under the Subsidiary Alliance system, which of the following statements is INCORRECT? (a) The ruler paid for a British force stationed in his state (b) A British Resident was posted at the ruler's court (c) The ruler kept full control of his foreign relations (d) The ruler could not employ Europeans without British consent
Q13. The annexation of Awadh in 1856 was carried out on the ground of (a) failure of natural heirs (b) misgovernment (c) non-payment of subsidy (d) alliance with the French
Q14. Which battle of the Second Anglo-Sikh War, fought in February 1849, finally broke Sikh resistance and led to the annexation of Punjab? (a) Chillianwala (b) Sobraon (c) Gujrat (d) Aliwal
Q15. Consider the following annexations under Dalhousie and arrange them chronologically:
- Nagpur 2. Satara 3. Jhansi 4. Awadh (a) 2-3-1-4 (b) 2-1-3-4 (c) 3-2-1-4 (d) 2-3-4-1
Answer Key
| Q | Answer | One-line reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (b) | Haidar had died in 1782; Tipu signed Mangalore in 1784. |
| 2 | (c) | The Nizam of Hyderabad signed first, in 1798. |
| 3 | (b) | Tipu fell defending Srirangapatna on 4 May 1799. |
| 4 | (a) | Surat 1775 → Purandar 1776 → Wadgaon 1779 → Salbai 1782. |
| 5 | (b) | Treaty of Bassein, 31 December 1802. |
| 6 | (c) | Awadh (1856) was annexed for misgovernment, not lapse. |
| 7 | (d) | The Sutlej became the boundary in 1809. |
| 8 | (b) | The British sold Kashmir by the Treaty of Amritsar, 1846. |
| 9 | (b) | Sir Eyre Coote defeated Haidar Ali at Porto Novo. |
| 10 | (a) | Yandabo-Burmese, Lahore-Sikh, Seringapatam-Mysore, Salbai-Maratha. |
| 11 | (b) | Baji Rao II lived at Bithur near Kanpur on a pension. |
| 12 | (c) | The ruler surrendered his foreign relations to the British. |
| 13 | (b) | Dalhousie used the charge of misrule against Wajid Ali Shah. |
| 14 | (c) | Gujrat (February 1849) was the decisive battle; Chillianwala (January) was indecisive. |
| 15 | (a) | Satara 1848 → Jhansi 1853 → Nagpur 1854 → Awadh 1856. |