Europeans in India, Company Rule, Governor-Generals and Constitutional Acts
Europeans in India, Company Rule, Governor-Generals and Constitutional Acts
From the first Portuguese voyage to the Government of India Act 1935, this period explains how the East India Company became a ruling power and how British rule was organised by law. NTPC asks the first European arrivals, the battles of Plassey and Buxar, Governor-General reforms, and the main provision of each Act.
1. Arrival of the Europeans
| Power | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498; first viceroy Francisco de Almeida; Albuquerque captured Goa (1510) |
| Dutch | Dutch East India Company 1602 |
| English | East India Company chartered in 1600; first factory at Masulipatnam (1611); first permanent factory at Surat (1613) |
| French | French East India Company 1664; headquarters Pondicherry |
2. Battles in Bengal and the South
| Battle (year) | Sides and result |
|---|---|
| Plassey (1757) | Robert Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah (Mir Jafar's betrayal) |
| Buxar (1764) | Company under Hector Munro defeated Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah and Shah Alam II; Treaty of Allahabad (1765) gave diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa |
| Anglo-Mysore wars | Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan; Tipu died in the Fourth war (1799) |
3. Governor-Generals and Their Measures
| Governor-General or Viceroy | Measure |
|---|---|
| Warren Hastings | First Governor-General of Bengal (1773) |
| Lord Cornwallis | Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) |
| Lord Wellesley | Subsidiary Alliance |
| Lord William Bentinck | First Governor-General of India (1833); abolished sati (1829) |
| Lord Dalhousie | Doctrine of Lapse; first railway Bombay-Thane (16 April 1853); telegraph |
| Lord Canning | Last Governor-General and first Viceroy (1858) |
| Lord Ripon | Local self-government (1882); repealed the Vernacular Press Act |
| Lord Curzon | Partition of Bengal (1905) |
4. Constitutional Acts
| Act | Main provision |
|---|---|
| Regulating Act 1773 | Governor-General of Bengal; Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) |
| Charter Act 1833 | Governor-General of India |
| Government of India Act 1858 | Crown takes over; Secretary of State for India |
| Indian Councils Act 1909 (Morley-Minto) | Separate electorates for Muslims |
| Government of India Act 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford) | Dyarchy in provinces |
| Government of India Act 1935 | Provincial autonomy; federal court; dyarchy at the centre (proposed) |
✗ The first railway line in India ran from Howrah to Hooghly in 1853 | ✓ The first passenger train ran from Bombay to Thane on 16 April 1853
✗ Separate electorates came with the 1919 Act | ✓ They came with the Indian Councils Act 1909
हिंदी नोट: प्लासी का युद्ध (1757) क्लाइव और सिराजुद्दौला के बीच, बक्सर का युद्ध (1764) कंपनी और मीर कासिम, शुजाउद्दौला व शाह आलम द्वितीय के बीच हुआ। पहली रेल 16 अप्रैल 1853 को बंबई से ठाणे तक डलहौजी के समय चली। 1909 के अधिनियम ने पृथक निर्वाचन मंडल दिया।
Exam Pointer: Verified NTPC pattern: the Company's commander at Plassey (July 2021 CBT-1). Governor-General and Act questions are tagged syllabus-based.
Pariksha Pattern: Every Way NTPC Asks This Topic
Pattern 1: Battles of Plassey and Buxar
[PYQ: NTPC CBT-1 23-Jul-2021 Shift-2]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Who led the East India Company's army in the Battle of Plassey?
Robert Clive, against Siraj-ud-Daulah in 1757.
Answer: Robert Clive
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Who commanded the Company at Buxar, against which three rulers, and which treaty followed?
Hector Munro defeated Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah and Shah Alam II in 1764. The Treaty of Allahabad (1765) gave the Company the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
Answer: Hector Munro; Treaty of Allahabad
Pattern 2: Arrival of Europeans
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Where did Vasco da Gama land in 1498?
Calicut (Kozhikode), on the Malabar coast.
Answer: Calicut
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Where did the English set up their first permanent factory, and what was the headquarters of the French in India?
Surat (1613; an earlier factory came up at Masulipatnam in 1611); Pondicherry.
Answer: Surat; Pondicherry
Pattern 3: Governor-Generals and their measures
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Who introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal?
Lord Cornwallis, in 1793.
Answer: Lord Cornwallis
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Under which Governor-General did the first railway run in India, between which places, and who abolished sati?
Lord Dalhousie; Bombay to Thane on 16 April 1853. Lord William Bentinck abolished sati in 1829.
Answer: Dalhousie, Bombay-Thane; Bentinck
Pattern 4: Constitutional Acts
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Which Act introduced dyarchy in the provinces?
The Government of India Act 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms).
Answer: Government of India Act 1919
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Which Act set up the Supreme Court at Calcutta, and which Act introduced provincial autonomy?
The Regulating Act 1773 (the court was set up in 1774). The Government of India Act 1935 gave provincial autonomy.
Answer: Regulating Act 1773; Government of India Act 1935
60-Second Revision
- Vasco da Gama 1498 Calicut; English first permanent factory Surat (1613).
- Plassey 1757 (Clive); Buxar 1764 (Munro); Allahabad 1765.
- Cornwallis: Permanent Settlement; Bentinck: sati abolished; Dalhousie: first railway 1853.
- 1909 separate electorates; 1919 provincial dyarchy; 1935 provincial autonomy.