Question

Which one of the following statements does not apply to the system of Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley?

• A. To maintain a large standing army at other’s expense
• B. To keep India safe from Napoleonic danger
• C. To secure a fixed income for the company
• D. To establish British paramountcy over the Indian States

Answer 1

Answer:

C. To secure a fixed income for the company

• Governor-General Lord Wellesly came to India in 1798 at a time when the British were locked in a life and death struggle with France all over the world.

• The fear of Napoleon haunted the Britishers everywhere.

• To achieve his political aims, Wellesly relied on the system of Subsidiary Alliance.

• While the practice of helping Indian rulers with a paid British force was quite old, it was given shape by Wellesley who used it to sub-ordinate the Indian states to the paramountcy of the company.

• Under the subsidiary Alliance system, the ruler of the allying state was compelled to accept the permanent stationing of a British force within his territory and to pay a subsidy for its maintenance.

• However, to secure a fixed income for the company was not under the agenda of the Subsidiary Alliance.