The East India Decline in year 1833 - Essay Example

? The East India Decline in year 1833 The East India Decline in year 1833 Thesis: Account for the decline in commercial and political influence of the East India Company in India in 1833. Outline: I. Introduction II. Reasons for Decline (Charter Act 1833) III. Conclusion IV. Work Cited. Introduction This paper accounts for the decline of the East India Company in light of the political and commercial influences occurring in the Year 1833. It considers the fall in the East India Company with specific concern Charter Act 1833. The East India Decline in year 1833: § Introduction The East India Company was perhaps among the most powerful commercial organization that the world had ever witnessed. In its heyday it not only had monopoly on British trade with Far East and India but it was even responsible for the government of already vast Indian sub-continent. All of these factors meant that the British East India Company marked a greater historical event. The East India Company came into being in 1600 before collapsing completely in 1858 this was the phase when the Company was taken over under the direct control of Great British government. There are a number of reasons that contributed towards the decline of the Company and eventually it being taken over. The decline of this megalomaniacal commercial entity was already destined by its own actions as far back as the mid-eighteenth century These include the short term factors such as the Indian Sepoy Mutiny as well as the other long term factors such as the internal mal administration of the Company (which had taken birth earlier than 1833), the ever increasing power of British government and to some lesser extent this can even be attributed to the change in public opinion over time. Charter Act 1833 Reform Act The period that had followed the enactment of the great Charter Act of 1833 witnessed very great change in England. (The Richest East India Merchant: The Life and Business of John Palmer of Calcutta, 1767-1836.) The industrial revolution had actually a greater impact in England. In the year 1830, the time when the Whigs came into super power in the wider political scenario of England, this opened a way of the triumph for the liberal principles. Consequently, the Reform Act was passed in the annual year 1832. (Reform Bill actually came into being by Parliament in June 1832. The Bill actually was directed against the political monopoly of the financial aristocracy and landed gave representatives of such industrial bourgeoisie access to the Parliament. However, the proletariat and petty bourgeoisie, the main forces towards the struggle for the reform had gained no electoral rights. ) The Reform Act with that the concepts of laissez faire and the rights of men were then duly emphasized. Introduction of Laissez Faire Laissez faire is a kind of style that is positive only in condition where the workers are very responsible and in the case of creative jobs where any person is thereby guided by his own aspirations. In such cases, less direction would be required so this style could have acted better. This was the kind of style where most people don't like someone looking over their shoulder of responsibility, in that manner laissez faire style would promote a sense of trust in the workers. This style has more disadvantages this is due to the view that it is imposed as the lack of interest of the leader that leads to him being adopting this style. It just proves that there is an ineffective or poor management which makes the workers lose their sense of direction, purpose and focus. The disinterest of the leadership and management causes the workers to become less interested in their work and their dissatisfaction even increases. A laissez faire management might makes it easier for workers to do substandard job or to slack it off entirely but that usually cause a very high visibility problem to bring such workers to a lighter situation. Laissez faire, or a sort of hands off style of the governing, can lead to lots of corruption and anarchy. Many businesses along with workers will take full advantage of whatsoever they can, inconsiderate of being morally correct or not. Furthermore, if the government remains too heavy handed, the business is squelched kind of too laid back thereby bad things begin to develop. This is exactly what happened to East India Company. Negative Effects of Laissez faire on East India Company The liberal of the Whigs controlled the great Parliament and that upheld the triumph of much liberal ideas. Though many supporters of the East India Company who did not advocate the so called transference of powers to Crown, majority considered that the East India Company should cease to function as the political body. Increasing Power of British The Charter Act of 1833 was seen to come into existence after massive socio political changes in England. The Act thereby gave another lease of life to the East India Company for 20 years to administer Indians territories. However power was subjected to the so called trust of His Majesty, his heirs and the successors. The increasing power of the British government was one another important factor in the decline of East India Company. Before the late of 18th century, the level of the government interference in the East India Company’s affairs was kept to a minimum. But the government increased its power over the East India Company in two ways. The first was through the legislation or such Parliamentary Acts. The second was the charter renewal.  The increasing power of this government was visible in the amendments occurring to the trading charters of the East India Company. The first assault was at the time when the charter came to as renewed in 1813. The main points that were set down in this charter effectively changed the East India Company beyond recognition. It even ended the Company’s monopoly over the Indian trade. The only monopoly that was left with was the trade of tea with the Canton, China and this was due to the government where it felt that the trade is sufficient for the East India Company to run efficiently.( Report of the Committee of the Liverpool East India Association on the Subject of the Trade with India, 21 March 1828) Lost Monopoly over India and China 1783 embarked the beginning of free and independent tea trade with the China. The success of such trade made some of the people in Britain question the very wisdom of the East India Company's consistent monopoly on British trading with the East. However, in the year 1813, the Company lost its monopoly over trading with India, but still had complete monopoly over trade with China, which only meant that it was heavily dependent on the tea trade with China. Unfortunately, when the East India Company's charter was offered for the renewal in the year 1834 there came growing call for the abolition of monopoly and an instigation of free trade with the China. The East India Company thereby had even lost its monopoly of China Trade.( The Twilight of the East India Company: The Evolution of Anglo-Asian Commerce and Politics, 1790-1860.) The East India Company was even asked to halt their commercial transactions as early as they can. But the interests of shareholders had to be protected by granting them a dividend of 10.5 % per annum till the point East India Company`s stock was purchased. Hence there forth all the restrictions on the European acquisitions of land and property and immigration into India by them were there by removed. This clause just resulted in the removal of the European colonization’s legal obstructions of India. Centralization Centralized the administration The Charter Acts of 1833 had centralized the administration in the India. The Governor General of Bengal, according to this act was declared thereby the Governor General of India. The jurisdiction of this Governor General in council was even extended considerably. The Charter Act of 1833 thereby vested the Governor General in Council with several powers of control and superintendence over the civil and the military affairs of East India Company. The Bombay, Madras, Bengal and other several territories came under the direct control of Governor General in Council. All revenues were to only rise under the direct authority of the governor general in Council who even had control over the entire system of expenditure. Centralized the Legislation Moreover, The Charter Acts of 1833 had emphasized legislative centralization. As a result the government of Madras and Bombay were deprived off their powers of legislation. The state governments were then only left with powers of proposing the projection of laws to governor general in council. The whole state was in control of British Government. Section 87 Apart from the above judicial and the administrative procedures, this Charter Act provided some of the other general provisions. (East India Patronage and the British State: The Scottish Elite and Politics in the Eighteenth Century). Among these general provisions envisaged by the Charter Act of 1833, the most important were the Section 87. The Sections 87 provided that there would generally be no indiscrimination between the Indian and the British residents whatsoever in Indian provinces on the basis of anything whether caste, creed and religion. The Directors defined in very clears terms that the motto behind this provision was basically to remove disqualification. How Section 87 was not put in reality? Indian Sepoy Mutiny The Indians were degraded literally on the basis of the religion differences. Their values were not given importance and much discrimination was made on the basis of cast, creed and religion. The Indian Sepoy Mutiny ignited in 1833 and lasted until 1858 and this was perhaps the most apparent reason for East India Company’s downfall. It was in the Bengal division of the army where the mutinied occurred though the Madras and the Bombay wings completely remained relatively loyal.  The mutiny then broke out the over new cartridges for rifles that were in use by the sepoys, the native branch of East India Company army. This had been greased with pork and beef fat which was required to be bitten by sepoys before they could permissibly load them into the rifles. If seen the beef grease was the one thing offensive to the Hindus and pork greased the Muslims. These two groups were the ones who made up the majority of that army and such acts were against their religion this resulted in feelings and sufficient grounds for rebelling.  Policy by Cornwallis The so called provisions declared by the Charters Acts of 1833 had all ended up with the shortsighted and the ill conceived policy introduced by Cornwallis. (Guardian of the East India Company: The Life of Laurence Sulivan ) Cornwallis had shut the doors of high military and similar civil services to the Indians. Under this Cornwallis the Indians could just hold only the minor posts. Conclusion The Acts of 1833 undoubtedly had brought about important changes in constitutions of India. For instance, the Company was relieved of its monopoly of the tea trade in India and trades with China there forth and this Acts of 1833 authorized governments of India to appoint Law commission. Though the Charter Acts of 1833 had introduced several schemes for betterment of the judicial and administrative procedures in India, but the Act did not have any far reaching effects for the success of East India Company. Thus the Charters Act of 1833 did nothing better than but took measures for betterments of the condition of their slaves and ultimate the abolitions of slavery in India. By the great Act V 1843, slavery was completely abolished in India. The charter renewal at the time of 1833 was the point which marked the end of the English East India Company as the trading entity. It removed the overall monopoly of tea trade throwing literally the whole trade of the East open. These charter amendments just removed the trading and the commercial powers of the East India Company while legislative assaults completetly removed political and diplomatic powers. This in short meant that the Company had no commitments or engagements whatsoever. This made the end and the decline of the East India Company inevitable. (The Business of Empire: The East India Company and Imperial Britain, 1756-1833.) Work Cited 1. Anthony Webster. The Twilight of the East India Company: The Evolution of Anglo-Asian Commerce and Politics, 1790-1860. Rochester: Boydell & Brewer, 2009. 205 S. $90.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-84383-475-5. 2. Anthony Webster. The Richest East India Merchant: The Life and Business of John Palmer of Calcutta, 1767-1836. Rochester: Boydell & Brewer, 2007. 194 S. $80.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-84383-303-1. 3. Hugh V. Bowen. The Business of Empire: The East India Company and Imperial Britain, 1756-1833. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 304 S. $99.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-521-84477-2. 4. George K. McGilvary. East India Patronage and the British State: The Scottish Elite and Politics in the Eighteenth Century. London: I.B.Tauris, 2008. 280 S. ISBN 978-1-4416-0851-2. 5. George K. McGilvary. Guardian of the East India Company: The Life of Laurence Sulivan. London: I.B.Tauris, 2006. 328 S. ISBN 978-1-4237-8768-6. 6. Report of the Committee of the Liverpool East India Association on the Subject of the Trade with India, 21 March 1828 (Liverpool, 1828) Read More