British India

Italic text


Colonial India
Portuguese India	1510–1961
Dutch India	1605–1825
Danish India	1696–1869
French India	1759–1954
British India 1612–1947
East India Company	1612–1757
Company rule in India	1757–1857
British Raj	1858–1947
British rule in Burma	1826–1947
Princely states	1765–1947
Partition of India	1947
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The East India Company established its first permanent factory in India in 1612. For the next century and a half the Company functioned primarily as a trading company, establishing trading posts with the permission of the Mughal emperor of India and competing for business with other European trading companies. However, following the decline of the Mughal Empire in 1707 and after the East India Company's victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the Company gradually began to formally administer its expanding dominions. By the mid-19th century, the East India Company had become the paramount political and military power on the subcontinent, its territory held in trust for the British Crown.

Company rule in India, however, ended with the Government of India Act 1858 following the events of the Indian rebellion of 1857. British India was thereafter directly ruled by the British Crown as a colonial possession of the United Kingdom, and India was officially known after 1876 as the Empire of India. India consisted of regions referred to as British India that were directly administered by the British, and other regions, the Princely States, that were ruled by Indian rulers. These rulers were allowed a measure of internal autonomy in exchange for British suzerainty. British India constituted a significant portion of India both in area and population; in 1910, for example, it covered approximately 54% of the area and included over 77% of the population. In addition, there were Portuguese and French exclaves in India. Independence from British rule was achieved in 1947 with the formation of the Dominions of India and Pakistan, the latter also including present-day Bangladesh.

The term British India also applied to Burma (present-day Myanmar) for a shorter time period: starting in 1824, a small part of Burma, and by 1886, almost two thirds of Burma had come under British India. This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma commenced being administered as a separate British colony. British India did not apply to other countries in the region, such as Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), which was a British Crown Colony, or the Maldive Islands, which were a British protectorate. At its greatest extent, in the early 20th-century, the territory of British India (shown in the second map in two shades of pink) extended as far as the frontiers of Persia in the west; Afghanistan in the northwest; Tibet in the northeast; and China, French Indo-China and Siam in the east. It also included the Colony of Aden in the Arabian Peninsula.

Presidency towns (1600–1765)

India in 1700 showing the Mughal Empire and the European trading settlements.

The presidency town of Madras in a 1908 map. Madras was established as Fort St. George in 1640.

The presidency town of Bombay (shown here in a 1908 map) was established in 1684.

The presidency town of Calcutta (shown here in a 1908 map) was established in 1690 as Fort William.

Madras Presidency: established 1640.
Bombay Presidency: East India Company's headquarters moved from Surat to Bombay (Mumbai) in 1687.
Bengal Presidency: established 1690.

The East India Company, which was incorporated on December 31, 1600, established trade relations with Indian rulers in Masulipatam on the east coast in 1611 and Surat on the west coast in 1612. The company rented a trading outpost in Madras in 1639. Bombay, which was ceded to the British Crown by Portugal as part of the wedding dowry of Catherine of Braganza in 1661, was in turn granted to the East India Company to be held in trust for the Crown.

Meanwhile, in eastern India, after obtaining permission from the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to trade with Bengal, the Company established its first factory at Hoogly in 1640. Almost a half-century later, after Emperor Aurengzeb forced the Company out of Hooghly, Calcutta was founded by Job Charnock in 1686. By the mid-eighteenth century the three principal trading settlements, now called the Madras Presidency (or the Presidency of Fort St. George), the Bombay Presidency, and the Bengal Presidency (or the Presidency of Fort William) were each administered by a Governor.

Presidencies of British India (1765–1858)

Map of India in 1765	Map of India in 1795	Map of India in 1805	Map of India in 1823
Map of India in 1837	Map of India in 1848	Map of India in 1857	Expansion of British Bengal and Burma

After Robert Clive's victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the puppet government of a new Nawab of Bengal, was maintained by the East India Company. However, after the invasion of Bengal by the Nawab of Oudh in 1764 and his subsequent defeat in the Battle of Buxar, the Company obtained the Diwani of Bengal, which included the right to administer and collect land-revenue (land tax) in Bengal, the region of present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and Bihar. In 1772, the Company also obtained the Nizāmat of Bengal (the "exercise of criminal jurisdiction") and thereby full sovereignty of the expanded Bengal Presidency. During the period, 1773 to 1785, very little changed; the only exceptions were the addition of the dominions of the Raja of Banares to the western boundary of the Bengal Presidency, and the addition of Salsette Island to the Bombay Presidency.

Next, in 1799, after the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War a large part of his territory was annexed to the Madras Presidency. In 1801, Carnatic, which had been under the suzerainty of the Company, began to be directly administered by it as a part of the Madras Presidency.

North-Western Provinces, constituted in 1836 from erstwhile Ceded and Conquered Provinces

Punjab annexed in 1849

Oudh annexed in 1856

Madras Presidency: Expanded in the mid-to-late 18th century Carnatic Wars and Anglo-Mysore Wars.
Bombay Presidency: expanded after the Anglo-Maratha Wars.
Bengal Presidency: Expanded after the battles of Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764), and after the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha Wars.
Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri: ceded by Sindhia of Gwalior in 1818 at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
Coorg: Annexed in 1834.
Ceded and Conquered Provinces: Established in 1802 within the Bengal Presidency. Proposed to be renamed the Presidency of Agra under a Governor in 1835, but proposal not implemented.
North-Western Provinces: established as a Lieutenant-Governorship in 1836 from the erstwhile Ceded and Conquered Provinces
Sind annexed to the Bombay Presidency in 1843.
Punjab: Established in 1849 from territories captured in the Anglo-Sikh Wars.
Nagpur Province: Created in 1853 from the princely state of Nagpur, seized by the doctrine of lapse. Merged into the Central Provinces in 1861.
Oudh annexed in 1856 and governed thereafter until 1905 as a Chief Commissionership, as a part of North-Western Provinces and Oudh.

Provinces of India (1858–1947)

The British Indian Empire in 1880, when, three years after the formal name-change to "Empire of India," it was still being called "British India.")

The British Indian Empire in 1893, after the annexation of Upper Burma and incorporation of Baluchistan

A map of the British Indian Empire in 1907 during the partition of Bengal (1905–1911)

The Indian Empire in 1915 after the reunification of Bengal and the creation of the separate provinces of Bihar, Orissa, and Assam.

Central Provinces: Created in 1861 from Nagpur Province and the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories. Berar administered since 1903, renamed the Central Provinces and Berar in 1936.
Burma: Lower Burma annexed 1852, established as a province in 1862, Upper Burma incorporated in 1886. Separated from British India in 1937 to become administered independently by the newly established British Government Burma Office.
Assam: separated from Bengal in 1874.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands: established as a province in 1875.
Baluchistan: Organized into a province in 1887.

Madras Presidency shown in an 1880 map.

Bombay Presidency in an 1880 map.

Bengal Presidency in 1880

An 1880 map of Central Provinces. The province had been constituted in 1861.

1908 map of Central Provinces and Berar. Berar was included in 1903.

Beluchistan, shown as an independent kingdom along with Afghanistan and Turkestan, in an 1880 map.

Beluchistan, shown as a part of the British Indian Empire in a 1908 map.

North-West Frontier Province: created in 1901 from the north-western districts of Punjab Province.
East Bengal: separated from Bengal from 1905. Re-merged with Bengal in 1912
Bihar and Orissa: separated from Bengal in 1912. Renamed Bihar in 1935 when Orissa became a separate province.
Delhi: Separated from Punjab in 1912, when it became the capital of British India.
Aden: separated from Bombay Presidency to become province of India in 1932; separated from India and made the Crown Colony of Aden in 1937.
Orissa: Separated from Bihar in 1935.
Sindh: Separated from Bombay in 1935.
Panth-Piploda: made a province in 1942, from territories ceded by a native ruler.

Major Provinces

A map of the British Indian Empire in 1909 during the partition of Bengal (1905–1911), showing British India in two shades of pink (coral and pale) and the princely states in yellow.

At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor. The following table lists their areas and populations (but does not include those of the dependent Native States): During the partition of Bengal (1905–1911), a new province, Assam and East Bengal was created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became: Assam, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

Minor Provinces

In addition, there were a few minor provinces that were administered by a Chief Commissioner:

Provinces at independence, 1947

Map of the British Indian Empire on the eve of independence in 1947. The provinces are shown in different (non-yellow) colours.

At Independence in 1947, British India had seventeen provinces:

Upon the Partition of India into Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan, twelve provinces (Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Central Provinces and Berar, Coorg, Delhi, Madras, Panth-Piploda, Orissa, and the United Provinces) became provinces within India, three (Baluchistan, North-West Frontier, and Sindh) within Pakistan, and two (Bengal and Punjab) were partitioned between India and Pakistan.

In 1950, after the new Indian Constitution was adopted, the provinces in India were replaced by redrawn states and union territories. Pakistan, however, retained its five provinces, one of which, East Bengal, was renamed East Pakistan in 1956 and became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Notes

^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 5 Quote: "The history of British India falls ... into three periods. From the beginning of the seventeenth to the middle of the eighteenth century the East India Company is a trading corporation, existing on the sufferance of the native powers, and in rivalry with the merchant companies of Holland and France. During the next century the Company acquires and consolidates its dominion, shares its sovereignty in increasing proportions with the Crown, and gradually loses its mercantile privileges and functions. After the Mutiny of 1857, the remaining powers of the Company are transferred to the Crown ..." (p. 5)
^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II 1908, pp. 452-472
^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II 1908, pp. 473-487
^ ^a ^b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II 1908, pp. 488-514
^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II 1908, pp. 514-530
^ ^a ^b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, pp. 46-57
^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, pp. 58-103
^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, pp. 59-61
^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, pp. 104-125
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1907, p. 6
^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1907, p. 7
^ ^a ^b ^c Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1907, p. 9
^ ^a ^b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1907, p. 10
^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1907, p. 11
^ ^a ^b ^c Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1907, p. 46
^ ^a ^b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1907, p. 56

References

Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II (1908), The Indian Empire, Historical, Published under the authority of His Majesty's Secretary of State for India in Council, Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Pp. xxxv, 1 map, 573.
Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. III (1907), The Indian Empire, Economic (Chapter X: Famine, pp. 475–502, Published under the authority of His Majesty's Secretary of State for India in Council, Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Pp. xxxvi, 1 map, 520.
Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV (1907), The Indian Empire, Administrative, Published under the authority of His Majesty's Secretary of State for India in Council, Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Pp. xxx, 1 map, 552.
Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II (1908), The Indian Empire, Historical, Published under the authority of His Majesty's Secretary of State for India in Council, Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Pp. xxxv, 1 map, 573.

External links

Mill, James (1820), The History of British India, in six volumes, London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 3rd edition, 1826, http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1867
Meyer, Sir W. S.; Burn, Sir R.; Cotton, J. S.; Risley, Sir H. H. (1908–1931: vol. 1, 1909), The Imperial Gazetteer of India (3rd edition), http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ .
Statistical abstracts relating to British India, from 1840 to 1920 at uchicago.edu
Digital Colonial Documents (India) Homepage at latrobe.edu.au
Provinces of British India at worldstatesmen.orgThe Mugal also visited to Bhimtal in Uttranchal

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Europe

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North America

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¹Occupied jointly with the United States ²In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. see Canada's name. ³Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

Latin America and the Caribbean

17th century 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1623–1883 Saint Kitts (Saint Kitts & Nevis)* 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis (Saint Kitts & Nevis)* 1629–1641 St. Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua (Antigua & Barbuda)* 1643–1860 Bay Islands since 1650 Anguilla 1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica since 1666 British Virgin Islands since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1688 St. Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1671–1816 Leeward Islands	18th century 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	19th century 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1860–1981 *Antigua and Barbuda 1871–1964 British Honduras (Belize)* 1882–1983 *St. Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 20th century 1958–1962 West Indies Federation
⁴Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia

Africa

18th century 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	19th century 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1816–1965 Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt 1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1888–1894 Matabeleland 1890–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	20th century 1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1911–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1914–1954 Nigeria Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon) ⁵ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania) ⁵ 1954–1960 Nigeria
⁵League of Nations mandate

Asia

17th Century 1685-1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra)	18th century 1757–1947 Bengal (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Philippines 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1796–1965 Maldives	19th century 1819–1826 British Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1941 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1888–1946 Sultanate of Sulu 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States protectorate 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison 1878–1960 Cyprus	20th century 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate 1920–1932 Iraq⁵ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁵ 1923–1948 Palestine⁵ 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory
⁵League of Nations mandate

Oceania

18th century 1788–1901 New South Wales	19th century 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁶ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands 1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji⁷ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1965 Cook Islands⁶ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁶ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands⁸ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands⁹	20th century 1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁶ 1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹⁰
⁶Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand ⁷Suspended member ⁸Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu ⁹Now the *Solomon Islands ¹⁰Now *Papua New Guinea

Antarctica and South Atlantic

17th century since 1659 St. Helena	19th century since 1815 Ascension Island¹¹ since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹¹ since 1833 Falkland Islands¹²	20th century since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹³ since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands^12, 13
¹¹Dependencies of St. Helena since 1922 (Ascension Island) and 1938 (Tristan da Cunha) ¹²Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982 ¹³Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidencies_and_provinces_of_British_India"

Categories: British rule in India | British Empire | History of Pakistan | Historical Indian regions

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British India

Contents

British India

Presidency towns (1600–1765)

Presidencies of British India (1765–1858)

Provinces of India (1858–1947)

Major Provinces

Minor Provinces

Provinces at independence, 1947

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links