British Conquest of India

2.1 The Carnatic Wars (1746–1763)

Fought in South India (the Carnatic region, around Madras) largely between the English and French East India Companies, often using local rulers as pawns. The Third Carnatic War ended with the Treaty of Paris (1763), confirming British political and commercial supremacy over the French in India, though the French retained a few coastal trading enclaves (like Pondicherry) without political power.

2.2 Bengal: The Foundational Conquest

• Battle of Plassey (1757): Robert Clive, commanding EIC forces, defeated Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal through a combination of military action and the treachery of the Nawab's own commander, Mir Jafar (who had been promised the Nawab's throne in return for betrayal). This battle is conventionally regarded as the beginning of British political dominance in India, though it did not yet grant full administrative control.
• Battle of Buxar (1764): A combined force of Mir Qasim (the deposed Nawab of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daulah (Nawab of Awadh), and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II was decisively defeated by the East India Company under Hector Munro — this is often regarded by historians as more decisive than Plassey in establishing British supremacy, since it brought the Mughal emperor himself into subordination to Company power.
• Treaty of Allahabad (1765): Following Buxar, the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II granted the EIC the Diwani (right to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha — marking the formal beginning of Company rule and the notorious "Dual Government" system in Bengal (Company held revenue/Diwani rights, while the Nawab retained nominal administrative/Nizamat responsibility), which led to severe administrative neglect and contributed to the devastating Bengal Famine of 1770, in which an estimated one-third of the local population died.

2.3 Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767–1799)

Fought against the powerful South Indian kingdom of Mysore, first under Hyder Ali and then his son Tipu Sultan ("the Tiger of Mysore").

• First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–69): Ended favourably for Hyder Ali (Treaty of Madras).
• Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–84): Ended in stalemate (Treaty of Mangalore).
• Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92): Tipu Sultan was defeated by Lord Cornwallis; forced to cede half his territory and pay a large indemnity under the Treaty of Seringapatam.
• Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799): Tipu Sultan was killed defending his capital Seringapatam (Srirangapatna) against forces under Lord Wellesley; Mysore was reduced to a subordinate princely state under the restored Wodeyar dynasty.

2.4 Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775–1818)

Three wars that eventually broke the power of the Maratha Confederacy.

• First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82): Ended inconclusively with the Treaty of Salbai.
• Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05): Fought under Governor-General Lord Wellesley against Scindia and Bhonsle; the British gained significant territory including Delhi and Agra.
• Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18): Fought under Lord Hastings; ended the Peshwa's authority entirely (the last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, was pensioned off) and effectively established British paramountcy over virtually all of India, with the Maratha territories absorbed or reduced to subordinate status.

2.5 Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845–1849)

Fought against the Sikh Empire after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1839) led to internal instability. The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46) and Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–49) ended with the full annexation of Punjab in 1849 under Lord Dalhousie, along with the confiscation of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which was presented to Queen Victoria.

2.6 Anglo-Burmese Wars and Other Annexations

A series of three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–26, 1852–53, 1885) eventually brought Burma fully under British control (administered as part of British India until 1937). Sindh was annexed in 1843 under Charles Napier. Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse (denying succession to an adopted heir in the absence of a natural heir, in princely states considered subordinate to British paramountcy) was used to annex several states, including Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur, and Sambalpur; Awadh (Oudh) was annexed in 1856 on grounds of alleged misgovernance — this annexation was a major grievance leading directly into the Revolt of 1857.