Subsidiary Alliance System by Lord
Wellesley / സൈനിക
സഹായവ്യവസ്ഥ
The doctrine of
subsidiary alliance was introduced by Lord Wellesley, British Governor-General in India from 1798
to 1805. Early in his governorship Wellesley adopted a policy of
non-intervention in the princely states,
but he later adopted the policy of forming subsidiary alliances. This policy
was to play a major role in British expansion in India. According to the term
of this alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent
armed force . They were to be protected by the company, but had to pay for the
'subsidiary forces' that the company was supposed to maintain for the purpose
of this protection. If the Indian rulers failed to make the payment, then part
of their territory was taken away as penalty.For example,the ruler of Awadh was
forced to give over half of his territory to the company in 1801,as he failed
to pay for the "subsidiary forces".Hyderabad was also forced to cede
territories on similar grounds. By the late 18th century, the power of the Maratha Empire had
weakened in the Indian subcontinent, and India was left with a
great number of states, most small and weak. Many rulers accepted the offer of
protection by Lord Wellesley, as it gave them security against attack by their
neighbors.
The main
principles of a subsidiary alliance were:
1.
An Indian ruler entering into a subsidiary
alliance with the British had to accept British forces within his territory and
also agreed to pay for their maintenance.
2.
The ruler would accept a British Resident in
his state.
3.
An Indian ruler who entered into a
subsidiary alliance would not enter into any further alliance with any other
power, nor would he declare war against any power without the permission of the
British.
4.
The ruler would not employ any Europeans
other than the British, and if he were already doing so, he would dismiss them.
5.
In case of a conflict with any other state,
he would agree the resolution decided upon by the British.
6.
The ruler would acknowledge the East India Company as the paramount power
in India.
7.
In return for the ruler accepting its
conditions, the Company undertook to protect the state from external dangers
and internal disorders.
8.
If the Indian rulers failed to make the
payments required by the alliance, then part of their territory was to be taken
away as a penalty.
Under this
doctrine, Indian rulers under British protection surrendered the control of
their foreign affairs to the British. Most disbanded their native armies,
instead maintaining British troops within their states to protect them from
attack. As British power grew, in most parts of India this became increasingly
unlikely.
The Nizam of Hyderabad was
the first to enter into such an alliance. Tipu Sultan of Mysore refused
to do so, but after the British victory in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, Mysore was forced
to become a subsidiary state. The Nawab of Awadh was the next to accept the
Subsidiary Alliance, in 1801. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the Maratha ruler Baji Rao II also
accepted a subsidiary alliance.
Subsidiary Alliance System by Lord
Wellesley
It was Wellesley who effectively reverted the policy of
"non intervention" followed by his predecessors. He made the Nawab
and Nizams subsidiary allies by signing almost 100 such treaties. Initially
Wellesley compelled the friendly rulers to accept this alliance. The policy of
subsidiary alliance was first used by Wellesley in dealing with the Nizam of
Hyderabad. Wellesley neutralized the Nizam by getting him to sign the
Subsidiary alliance to replace his French detachments. He also forbade Nizam to
correspond with the Marathas without British consent. As the Nawab was a French
protégé, he had appointed many Frenchmen at his court, but after this treaty,
he was forced to dismiss the French employees and maintained six expensive.British Battalions. Marathas in
Deccan had not entered into any kind of treaty, but still they were neutralized
by Wellesley by a promise of share in the spoils of Tipu. After that only
Wellesley demanded submission of Tipu and followed an invasion. In summary, the
system of Subsidiary Alliance could be any of the following: 1. The company
lent its army in place of the Cash 2. Company kept the armies near the border
of the Protectorate and collected cash. 3. Company kept the army inside the
border for protection and collected cash. 4. Company kept its army inside the
border of army and got some territories. The last among the above given 4 types
was dangerous. It was Nawab of Oudh that entered into this kind of arrangement
in 1801 (Treaty of Lucknow) and ceded half of Awadh to the British East India
Company and also agreed to disband his troops in favor of a hugely expensive,
British-run army. After this, the British were able to use Oudh's vast
treasuries, repeatedly digging into them for loans at reduced rates. They also
got revenues from running Oudh's armed forces. Last, but not least, the
subsidiary alliance made Oudh a "buffer state", which gave strategic
advantage to the British.
