Page 98 - SST Class 05

Establishment of British Rule in India

Starting with the setting up of their first factory at Surat,
which they did with the permission of Jahangir , the then Know It!
Mughal emperor, the British went on to set up more factories v A ‘factory’ meant a place
where traders lived and
in other parts of India too. They noticed that the Indian rulers
stored their goods.
were weak, inefficient and disunited, so they started to build
v The sea route from
forts and maintain strong armies. They fought with other Europe to India was

Europeans and defeated them. Thus, the British established discovered by Vasco da
their influence in India. Now, they had set their eyes to Gama in 1498.
expand their influence and power.
It was about this time that the Industrial Revolution was taking place in Europe. The

Europeans needed more raw materials for their machines, which they could get in
other countries like India. Moreover, they wanted to sell their finished machine-made
goods which were being produced in large quantities, so they needed large markets,
which were available in India. Thus, they wanted to dominate India. They had an idea,
why not to become rulers here.

Siraj-ud-Daula was the Nawab of Bengal. He
permitted the British to trade in his territory.
The British set up their factory at Fort William
in Calcutta (now Kolkata). However, they
started to misuse the trading rights, so the
Nawab was unhappy with them and punished
them. At this, the British fought with him in

1757 at the Battle of Plassey and defeated him. Siraj-ud-Daula Fort William at Kolkata
This brought Bengal, Bihar and Orissa under the British control.

With this, the British started to bring more territories under their control. As the Indian
rulers were not united, the British took advantage of them and put them against one
another. They defeated some rulers with the help of other rulers. In this way, they
captured a large part of India. They also recruited a large number of Indian soldiers to
fight for them. Thus, they controlled India with the help of Indians.

The British fought many wars with Mysore, the Marathas and the Sikhs and
subjugated them. In this way, the British brought almost the whole of India under their
control. By 1857, the British were the undisputed masters of India.

Uprising In 1857

The British had a large army, in which the number of Indian soldiers (called ‘sepoys’)
was larger than the British or European soldiers. This meant that the Indians won
battle after battle for the British. However, the British treated these Indians soldiers

98 Contemporary Social Science-5