Editing History of India (section)

== Early modern period (1526–1858) ==
The [[early modern period]] of Indian history is dated from 1526 to 1858, corresponding to the rise and fall of the [[Mughal Empire]], which inherited from the [[Timurid Renaissance]]. During this age India's economy expanded, relative peace was maintained and arts were patronised. This period witnessed the further development of [[Indo-Islamic architecture]];{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2006|p = 115}}{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 90–91}} the growth of [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] and [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]] enabled them to rule significant regions of India in the waning days of the Mughal empire.<ref name="exeter">{{cite web|title=India before the British: The Mughal Empire and its Rivals, 1526–1857|website=[[University of Exeter]]|url=http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/history/modules/hih1407/}}</ref> With the discovery of the [[Cape route]] in the 1500s, the first Europeans to arrive by sea and establish themselves, were the [[Portuguese in Goa and Bombay]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITxsDwAAQBAJ&q=early+modern+India|title=Unwanted Neighbours: The Mughals, the Portuguese, and Their Frontier Zones|isbn=978-0-19-909368-7|last1=Flores|first1=Jorge|date=5 June 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

=== Mughal Empire ===
{{Main|Mughal Empire}}
{{See also|Bengal Subah|Muslin trade in Bengal|Mughal architecture|Army of the Mughal Empire|Mughal clothing|Mughal painting}}
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 450
| caption_align     = center
| title             = Mughal Empire
| image1            = Joppen1907India1700a.jpg
| caption1          = Map of the [[Mughal Empire]] at its peak in year 1700
| image2            = Taj Mahal (Edited).jpeg
| caption2          = [[Taj Mahal]] is the jewel of Muslim architecture in India [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] declaration, 1983.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/252/|title=Taj Mahal|first=UNESCO World Heritage|last=Centre|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref>
}}

In 1526, [[Babur]] swept across the [[Khyber Pass]] and established the Mughal Empire, which at its zenith covered much of South Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/empires/mughals/|title=The Islamic World to 1600: Rise of the Great Islamic Empires (The Mughal Empire)|website=University of Calgary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927170951/http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/empires/mughals/|archive-date=27 September 2013}}</ref> However, his son [[Humayun]] was defeated by the Afghan warrior [[Sher Shah Suri]] in 1540, and Humayun was forced to retreat to [[Kabul]]. After Sher Shah's death, his son [[Islam Shah Suri]] and his Hindu general [[Hemu Vikramaditya]] established secular rule in North India from [[Delhi]] until 1556, when [[Akbar]] ({{Reign|1556|1605}}), grandson of Babur, defeated Hemu in the [[Battle of Panipat (1556)|Second Battle of Panipat]] on 6 November 1556 after winning [[Battle of Delhi (1556)|Battle of Delhi]]. Akbar tried to establish a good relationship with the Hindus. Akbar declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism. He rolled back the ''[[jizya]]'' tax for non-Muslims. The Mughal emperors married local royalty, allied themselves with local ''[[maharajas]]'', and attempted to fuse their Turko-Persian culture with ancient Indian styles, creating a unique [[Indo-Persian culture]] and [[Mughal architecture|Indo-Saracenic architecture]].

Akbar married a [[Rajput]] princess, [[Mariam-uz-Zamani]], and they had a son, [[Jahangir]] ({{Reign|1605|1627}}).<ref>Jeroen Duindam (2015), [https://books.google.com/books?id=5ky2CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 ''Dynasties: A Global History of Power, 1300–1800'', p. 105], Cambridge University Press</ref> Jahangir followed his father's policy. The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by 1600. The reign of [[Shah Jahan]] ({{Reign|1628|1658}}) was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several large monuments, the most famous of which is the [[Taj Mahal]] at Agra.

It was one of the largest empires to have existed in the Indian subcontinent,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Turchin|first1=Peter|author-link=Peter Turchin|last2=Adams|first2=Jonathan M.|last3=Hall|first3=Thomas D|date=December 2006|title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires|url=https://peterturchin.com/PDF/Turchin_Adams_Hall_2006.pdf|journal=[[Journal of World-Systems Research]]|volume=12|issue=2|page=223|issn=1076-156X|access-date=2 October 2021|archive-date=14 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914101602/https://peterturchin.com/PDF/Turchin_Adams_Hall_2006.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> and surpassed China to become the world's largest economic power, controlling 24.4% of the [[world economy]],<ref>[[Angus Maddison|Maddison, Angus]] (2003): ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rHJGz3HiJbcC&pg=PA261 Development Centre Studies The World Economy Historical Statistics: Historical Statistics]'', [[OECD Publishing]], {{ISBN|92-64-10414-3}}, p. 261</ref> and the world leader in manufacturing,<ref>{{Citation|title=Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic Divergence, 1600–1850|given=Prasannan|surname=Parthasarathi|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-1-139-49889-0|page=2}}</ref> producing 25% of global industrial output.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tcd.ie/Economics/staff/orourkek/Istanbul/JGWGEHNIndianDeind.pdf|title=India's Deindustrialization in the 18th and 19th Centuries|author=[[Jeffrey G. Williamson]], David Clingingsmith|publisher=[[Harvard University]]|date=August 2005|access-date=18 May 2017}}</ref> The economic and demographic upsurge was stimulated by Mughal [[agrarian reform]]s that intensified agricultural production,<ref>{{cite book|last=Richards|first=John F.|author-link=John F. Richards|year=1995|orig-year=First published 1993|title=The Mughal Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&pg=PA190|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|page=190|isbn=978-0-521-56603-2}}</ref> and a relatively high degree of [[urbanisation]].<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Abraham Eraly]]|year=2007|title=The Mughal World: Life in India's Last Golden Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zpa8gyGW_twC&pg=PA5|publisher=Penguin Books|page=5|isbn=978-0-14-310262-5}}</ref>

{{Gallery|align=center|title=Other Mughal UNESCO World Heritage Sites
|width=180|File:Agra Fort 20180908 143826.jpg|[[Agra Fort]] showing [[Yamuna]] river and Taj Mahal in the background
|File:Fatehput Sikiri Buland Darwaza gate 2010.jpg|[[Fatehpur Sikri]], near Agra, showing [[Buland Darwaza]], the complex built by [[Akbar]], the third Mughal emperor
|||File:Red Fort in Delhi 03-2016 img1.jpg|[[Red Fort]], Delhi, constructed in the year 1648
}}

The Mughal Empire reached the zenith of its territorial expanse during the reign of [[Aurangzeb]] ({{Reign|1658|1707}}), under whose reign India surpassed Qing China as the world's largest economy.<ref>[[Angus Maddison|Maddison, Angus]] (2003): ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rHJGz3HiJbcC&pg=PA259 Development Centre Studies The World Economy Historical Statistics: Historical Statistics]'', [[OECD Publishing]], {{ISBN|9264104143}}, pages 259–261</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=How India Clothed the World: The World of South Asian Textiles, 1500–1850|author=Giorgio Riello, Tirthankar Roy|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=2009|page=174|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niuwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA174|isbn=9789047429975}}</ref> Aurangzeb was less tolerant than his predecessors, reintroducing the ''jizya'' tax and destroying several historical temples, while at the same time building more Hindu temples than he destroyed,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ian Copland|author2=Ian Mabbett|author3=Asim Roy|author4=Kate Brittlebank|author5=Adam Bowles|title=A History of State and Religion in India|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-45950-4|page=119|display-authors=3}}</ref> employing significantly more Hindus in his imperial bureaucracy than his predecessors, and advancing administrators based on ability rather than religion.<ref>{{cite book|title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King|author=Audrey Truschke|author-link=Audrey Truschke|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|year=2017|pages=56, 58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUUkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT50|isbn=978-1-5036-0259-5}}</ref> However, he is often blamed for the erosion of the tolerant syncretic tradition of his predecessors, as well as increasing religious controversy and centralisation. The [[English East India Company]] suffered a defeat in the [[Anglo-Mughal War (1686–1690)|Anglo-Mughal War]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Conflict and Cooperation in Anglo-Mughal Trade Relations during the Reign of Aurangzeb|first=Farhat|last=Hasan|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=34|issue=4|year=1991|pages=351–360|doi=10.1163/156852091X00058|jstor=3632456}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=John Company Armed: The English East India Company, the Anglo-Mughal War and Absolutist Imperialism, c. 1675–1690|first=James|last=Vaugn|journal=Britain and the World|volume=11|issue=1|date=September 2017}}</ref>

[[File:1751 map of India from "Historical Atlas of India", by Charles Joppen.jpg|thumb|150px|18th-century political formation in India]]
The Mughals suffered several blows due to invasions from [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], [[Rajput]]s, [[Bharatpur State|Jats]] and [[Durrani Empire|Afghans]]. In 1737, the Maratha general [[Bajirao]] of the Maratha Empire invaded and plundered Delhi. Under the general Amir Khan Umrao Al Udat, the Mughal Emperor sent 8,000 troops to drive away the 5,000 Maratha cavalry soldiers. Baji Rao easily routed the novice Mughal general. In 1737, in the final defeat of Mughal Empire, the commander-in-chief of the Mughal Army, Nizam-ul-mulk, was routed at Bhopal by the Maratha army. This essentially brought an end to the Mughal Empire.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} While Bharatpur State under Jat ruler [[Suraj Mal]], overran the Mughal garrison at Agra and plundered the city.<ref>{{cite book|author=Royina Grewal|title=In the Shadow of the Taj: A Portrait of Agra|year=2007|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-310265-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATpFImGZdVEC&pg=PA220|page=220}}</ref> In 1739, [[Nader Shah]], emperor of Iran, defeated the Mughal army at the [[Battle of Karnal]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Dupuy, R. Ernest|name-list-style=and|author2=Trevor N. Dupuy|title=The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History|edition=4th|publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|year=1993|page=711}}</ref> After this victory, Nader captured and sacked Delhi, carrying away treasures including the [[Peacock Throne]].<ref>{{cite web|website=avalanchepress.com|title=Iran in the Age of the Raj|url=http://www.avalanchepress.com/Soldier_Shah.php|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] commenced his own invasions as ruler of the [[Durrani Empire]], eventually [[Sack of Delhi (1757)|sacking Delhi in 1757]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TmU9AAAAMAAJ |title=Marathas and Panipat |date=1961 |publisher=Panjab University |language=en|page=326}}</ref> Mughal rule was further weakened by constant native Indian resistance; [[Banda Singh Bahadur]] led the [[Sikh]] [[Khalsa]] against Mughal religious oppression; Hindu [[Raja]]s of Bengal, [[Pratapaditya]] and [[Raja Sitaram Ray]] revolted; and [[Maharaja]] [[Chhatrasal]], of [[Bundela]] Rajputs, fought the Mughals and established the [[Panna State]].{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=265}} The [[Mughal emperors|Mughal dynasty]] was reduced to puppet rulers by 1757. [[Vadda Ghalughara]] took place under the Muslim provincial government based at [[Lahore]] to wipe out the Sikhs, with 30,000 Sikhs being killed, an offensive that had begun with the Mughals, with the [[Chhota Ghallughara]],<ref>''A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 p. 86], Routledge, W. Owen Cole, Piara Singh Sambhi, 2005</ref> and lasted several decades under its Muslim successor states.<ref>[[Khushwant Singh]], ''A History of the Sikhs'', Volume I: 1469–1839, Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1978, pp. 127–129</ref>

=== Maratha Empire ===
{{Main|Maratha Empire}}
{{Further|Maratha Army|Maratha Navy|Battles involving the Maratha Empire}}
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 400
| caption_align     = center
| title             = Maratha Empire
| image1            = India1760 1905.jpg
| caption1          = Maratha Empire at its peak in 1760 (yellow area), covering much of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from [[South India]] to present-day [[Pakistan]]
| image2            = Shaniwarwada gate.JPG
| caption2          = [[Shaniwarwada]] palace fort in [[Pune]], the seat of the Peshwa rulers of the Maratha Empire until 1818
}}

The Maratha kingdom was founded and consolidated by [[Chatrapati Shivaji]].<ref>''Shivaji and his Times'' (1919) – J.N. Sarkar</ref> However, the credit for making the Marathas formidable power nationally goes to ''[[Peshwa]]'' (chief minister) [[Bajirao I]]. Historian K.K. Datta wrote that Bajirao I "may very well be regarded as the second founder of the Maratha Empire".<ref>''[[An Advanced History of India]]'', Dr. K.K. Datta, p. 546</ref>

In the early 18th century, under the Peshwas, the Marathas consolidated and ruled over much of South Asia. The Marathas are credited to a large extent for ending [[Mughal Empire|Mughal rule]] in India.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pearson|first=M.N.|date=February 1976|title=Shivaji and the Decline of the Mughal Empire|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|volume=35|issue=2|pages=221–235|doi=10.2307/2053980|jstor=2053980|s2cid=162482005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Delhi, the Capital of India|author=Capper, J.|date=1918|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1282-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqqBPS1TDUgC&pg=PA28|page=28|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=An Advanced History of Modern India|author=Sen, S.N.|date=2010|publisher=Macmillan India|isbn=978-0-230-32885-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&pg=PA1941-IA82|page=1941|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> In 1737, the Marathas defeated a Mughal army in their capital, in the Battle of Delhi. The Marathas continued [[Battles involving the Maratha Empire|their military campaigns]] against the Mughals, [[Nizam]], [[Nawab of Bengal]] and the Durrani Empire to further extend their boundaries. At its peak, the domain of the Marathas encompassed most of the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-12-01|title=Maratha empire {{!}} History, Definition, Map, & Facts {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maratha-Empire|access-date=2024-01-21|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> The Marathas even attempted to capture Delhi and discussed putting [[Vishwasrao]] Peshwa on the throne there in place of the Mughal emperor.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ghazi|first=Mahmood Ahmad|author-link=Mahmood Ahmed Ghazi|year=2002|title=Islamic Renaissance in South Asia 1707–1867: The Role of Shāh Walī Allāh and His Successors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QO4KjzuJ52QC&q=vishwasrao+peshwa+throne+delhi&pg=PA129|publisher=Islamic Research Institute|pages=129–130|isbn=969-408-232-3}}</ref>

The Maratha empire at its peak stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south,<ref>{{cite book|last=Mehta|first=Jaswant Lal|year=2005|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India, 1707–1813|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA204|publisher=New Dawn Press|page=204|isbn=978-1-932705-54-6|quote=The Maratha Governor of Trichinopoly}}</ref> to [[Maratha conquest of North-west India|Peshawar]] (modern-day [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Pakistan]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Sailendra Nath Sen|title=An Advanced History of Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&pg=PR22|year=2010|publisher=Macmillan India|isbn=978-0-230-32885-3|page=16}}</ref> {{#tag:ref|Many historians consider [[Attock]] to be the final frontier of the Maratha Empire<ref>Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bharatiya Itihasa Samiti, Ramesh Chandra Majumdar – ''[[The History and Culture of the Indian People]]: The Maratha supremacy''</ref>|group=note}}) in the north, and [[Maratha expeditions in Bengal|Bengal]] in the east. The Northwestern expansion of the Marathas was stopped after the [[Third Battle of Panipat]] (1761). However, the Maratha authority in the north was re-established within a decade under Peshwa [[Madhavrao I]].<ref>{{cite book|author=N.G. Rathod|title=The Great Maratha Mahadaji Scindia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPq640stHJ0C&pg=PA8|year=1994|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-85431-52-9|page=8}}</ref>

Under Madhavrao I, the strongest knights were granted semi-autonomy, creating a confederacy of United Maratha states under the [[Gaekwad]]s of [[Baroda State|Baroda]], the [[House of Holkar|Holkar]]s of [[Indore State|Indore]] and [[Malwa]], the [[Scindia]]s of [[Gwalior State|Gwalior]] and [[Ujjain]], the [[Bhonsle (clan)|Bhonsale]]s of [[Nagpur kingdom|Nagpur]] and the [[Paramara dynasty|Puars]] of [[Dhar State|Dhar]] and [[Dewas State (Maratha Confederacy)|Dewas]]. In 1775, the East India Company intervened in a Peshwa family succession struggle in [[Pune]], which led to the [[First Anglo-Maratha War]], resulting in a Maratha victory.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Naravane|first=M.S.|title=Battles of the Honorourable East India Company|publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation|year=2014|isbn=978-81-313-0034-3|pages=63}}</ref> The Marathas remained a major power in India until their defeat in the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War|Second]] and [[Third Anglo-Maratha War]]s (1805–1818).

=== Sikh Empire ===
{{Main|Sikh Empire}}
{{See also|Sikh architecture}}
The Sikh Empire was a political entity that governed the Northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent, based around the [[Punjab]], from 1799 to 1849. It was forged, on the foundations of the [[Khalsa]], under the leadership of [[Ranjit Singh|Maharaja Ranjit Singh]] (1780–1839).{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Maharaja Ranjit Singh consolidated much of northern India into an empire using his [[Sikh Khalsa Army]], trained in European military techniques and equipped with modern military technologies. Ranjit Singh proved himself to be a master strategist and selected well-qualified generals for his army. He successfully ended the [[Afghan-Sikh Wars]]. In stages, he added central Punjab, the provinces of Multan and Kashmir, and the Peshawar Valley to his empire.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Singh|first=Gulcharan|date=July 1981|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Principles of War|journal=USI Journal|volume=111|issue=465|pages=184–192}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Grewal|first=J.S.|author-link=J. S. Grewal|year=1990|title=The Sikhs of the Punjab|publisher=Cambridge University Press|series=The New Cambridge History of India|volume=II.3|pages=101, 103–104|isbn=978-0-521-26884-4|quote=Aggrandisement which made him the master of an empire ... the British recognized Ranjit Singh as the sole sovereign ruler of the Punjab and left him free to ... oust the Afghans from Multan and Kashmir ... Peshawar was taken over ... The real strength of Ranjit Singh's army lay in its infantry and artillery ... these new wings played an increasingly decisive role ... possessed 200 guns. Horse artillery was added in the 1820s ... nearly half of his army in terms of numbers consisted of men and officers trained on European lines ... In the expansion of Ranjit Singh's dominions ... vassalage proved to be nearly as important as the westernized wings of his army.}}</ref>

At its peak in the 19th century, the empire extended from the [[Khyber Pass]] in the west, to [[Kashmir]] in the north, to [[Sindh]] in the south, running along Sutlej river to [[Himachal Pradesh|Himachal]] in the east. After the death of Ranjit Singh, the empire weakened, leading to conflict with the British East India Company. The [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] and [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] marked the downfall of the Sikh Empire, making it among the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to be conquered by the British.

=== Other kingdoms ===
[[File:India 1763 EN.svg|thumb|left|Territories of India in 1763]]
The [[Kingdom of Mysore]] in southern India expanded to its greatest extent under [[Hyder Ali]] and his son [[Tipu Sultan]] in the later half of the 18th century. Under their rule, Mysore fought series of wars against the Marathas and British or their combined forces. The [[Maratha–Mysore War]] ended in April 1787, following the finalising of ''treaty of Gajendragad'', in which Tipu Sultan was obligated to pay tribute to the Marathas. Concurrently, the [[Anglo-Mysore Wars]] took place, where the Mysoreans used the [[Mysorean rockets]]. The [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]] (1798–1799) saw the death of Tipu. Mysore's alliance with the French was seen as a threat to the British East India Company, and Mysore was attacked from all four sides. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas launched an invasion from the north. The British won a decisive victory at the [[Siege of Seringapatam (1799)]].

Hyderabad was founded by the [[Qutb Shahi dynasty]] of [[Golconda]] in 1591. Following a brief Mughal rule, Asif Jah, a Mughal official, seized control of Hyderabad and declared himself [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam-al-Mulk of Hyderabad]] in 1724. The Nizams lost considerable territory and paid tribute to the Maratha Empire after being routed in multiple battles, such as the [[Battle of Palkhed]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ga-pmgxsWwoC&q=Bajirao+I&pg=PA12|title=History Modern India|first=S. N.|last=Sen|date=15 August 2006|publisher=New Age International|isbn=9788122417746|via=Google Books}}</ref> However, the Nizams maintained their sovereignty from 1724 until 1948 through paying tributes to the Marathas, and later, being vassals of the British. [[Hyderabad State]] became a princely state in British India in 1798.

The [[Nawab of Bengal|Nawabs of Bengal]] had become the de facto rulers of Bengal following the decline of Mughal Empire. However, their rule was interrupted by Marathas who carried out [[Expeditions in Bengal|six expeditions in Bengal]] from 1741 to 1748, as a result of which Bengal became a tributary state of Marathas. On 23 June 1757, [[Siraj ud-Daulah]], the last independent Nawab of Bengal was betrayed in the [[Battle of Plassey]] by [[Mir Jafar]]. He lost to the British, who took over the charge of Bengal in 1757, installed Mir Jafar on the ''Masnad'' (throne) and established itself to a political power in Bengal.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chaudhury|first1=Sushil|last2=Mohsin|first2=KM|year=2012|chapter=Sirajuddaula|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sirajuddaula|editor1-last=Islam|editor1-first=Sirajul|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam|editor2-last=Jamal|editor2-first=Ahmed A.|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh|edition=Second|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614191817/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sirajuddaula|archive-date=14 June 2015|access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref> In 1765 the system of Dual Government was established, in which the Nawabs ruled on behalf of the British and were mere puppets to the British. In 1772 the system was abolished and Bengal was brought under the direct control of the British. In 1793, when the ''Nizamat'' (governorship) of the Nawab was also taken away, they remained as mere pensioners of the [[British East India Company]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Vipul|date=2009|title=Longman History & Civics (Dual Government in Bengal)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=75avUTXB11AC&pg=PA29|publisher=Pearson Education India|pages=29–|isbn=978-8131728888}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|date=2009|title=Madhya Pradesh National Means-Cum-Merit Scholarship Exam (Warren Hasting's system of Dual Government)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QnyaLNskRfEC&pg=PA11|publisher=Upkar Prakashan|pages=11–|isbn=978-81-7482-744-9}}</ref>

In the 18th century, the whole of Rajputana was virtually subdued by the Marathas. The [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]] distracted the Marathas from 1807 to 1809, but afterward Maratha domination of Rajputana resumed. In 1817, the British went to war with the [[Pindari]]s, raiders who were fled in Maratha territory, which quickly became the [[Third Anglo-Maratha War]], and the British government offered its protection to the Rajput rulers from the Pindaris and the Marathas. By the end of 1818 similar treaties had been executed between the other Rajput states and Britain. The Maratha [[Sindhia]] ruler of [[Gwalior]] gave up the district of [[Ajmer-Merwara]] to the British, and Maratha influence in Rajasthan came to an end.<ref>{{Citation|title=A Military History of Britain: from 1775 to the Present|first=Jeremy|last=Black|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2006|isbn=978-0-275-99039-8|location=Westport, Conn.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNVtQY4sXYMC&q=9780275990398|page=78}}</ref> Most of the Rajput princes remained loyal to Britain in the [[Revolt of 1857]], and few political changes were made in Rajputana until Indian independence in 1947. The [[Rajputana Agency]] contained more than 20 princely states, most notable being [[Udaipur State]], [[Jaipur State]], [[Bikaner State]] and [[Jodhpur State]].

After the fall of the Maratha Empire, many [[List of Maratha dynasties and states|Maratha dynasties and states]] became vassals in a subsidiary alliance with the British. With the decline of the Sikh Empire, after the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] in 1846, under the terms of the [[Treaty of Amritsar, 1846|Treaty of Amritsar]], the British government sold Kashmir to Maharaja [[Gulab Singh]] and the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the second-largest princely state in British India, was created by the [[Dogra dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kashmir-issue.com/images3/treatyOfamritsar.pdf|title=Treaty of Amritsar|access-date=25 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826235201/http://www.kashmir-issue.com/images3/treatyOfamritsar.pdf|archive-date=26 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rai|first=Mridu|title=Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2004|pages=27, 133|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x5azvT2hjW0C|isbn=978-0-691-11688-4}}</ref> While in eastern and north-eastern India, the Hindu and Buddhist states of [[Cooch Behar Kingdom]], [[Twipra Kingdom]] and [[Kingdom of Sikkim]] were annexed by the British and made vassal princely state.

After the fall of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]], [[Polygar]] states emerged in Southern India; and managed to weather invasions and flourished until the [[Polygar Wars]], where they were defeated by the British East India Company forces.<ref>{{cite book|title=Indian History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MazdaWXQFuQC&pg=SL3-PA114|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-81-8424-568-4|pages=C-114|year=1988}}</ref> Around the 18th century, the [[Kingdom of Nepal]] was formed by Rajput rulers.<ref>{{cite book|author=Karl J. Schmidt|title=An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqdzCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA138|date=20 May 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-47681-8|pages=138–}}</ref>

=== European exploration ===
{{Main|Colonial India}}
[[File:Gama route 1.svg|thumb|right|The route followed in [[Vasco da Gama]]'s first voyage (1497–1499)p]]

In 1498, a Portuguese fleet under [[Vasco da Gama]] discovered a new sea route from Europe to India, which paved the way for direct Indo-European commerce. The Portuguese soon set up trading posts in [[Velha Goa]], [[Damaon]], [[Dio island]], and [[Bombay]]. The Portuguese instituted the [[Goa Inquisition]], where new Indian converts were punished for suspected heresy against Christianity and non-Christians were condemned.<ref>{{cite book|author=Glenn Ames|editor=Ivana Elbl|title=Portugal and its Empire, 1250–1800 (Collected Essays in Memory of Glenn J. Ames).: Portuguese Studies Review, Vol. 17, No. 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hld-AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12|year=2012|publisher=Trent University Press|pages=12–15 with footnotes, context: 11–32}}</ref> Goa remained the main Portuguese territory until it was [[Indian annexation of Goa|annexed by India in 1961]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Praval|first=K. C.|year=2009|orig-year=First published 1987|title=Indian Army after Independence|location=New Delhi|publisher=Lancer|page=214|isbn=978-1-935501-10-7}}</ref>

The next to arrive [[Dutch India|were the Dutch]], with their main base in [[Ceylon]]. They established ports in [[Dutch Malabar|Malabar]]. However, their expansion into India was halted after their defeat in the [[Battle of Colachel]] by the [[Travancore|Kingdom of Travancore]] during the [[Travancore-Dutch War]]. The Dutch never recovered from the defeat and no longer posed a large colonial threat to India.<ref>{{cite book|first1=M.O.|last1=Koshy|title=The Dutch Power in Kerala, 1729–1758|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ro8SLhyAc9AC|year=1989|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-136-6|page=61}}</ref><ref>[http://mod.nic.in/samachar/april15-04/body.html#l1 http://mod.nic.in] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312081154/http://mod.nic.in/samachar/april15-04/body.html |date=12 March 2016}} 9th Madras Regiment</ref>

The internal conflicts among Indian kingdoms gave opportunities to the European traders to gradually establish political influence and appropriate lands. Following the Dutch, the British — who set up in the west coast port of [[Surat]] in 1619 — and the French both established trading outposts in India. Although continental European powers controlled various coastal regions of southern and eastern India during the ensuing century, they eventually lost all their territories in India to the British, with the exception of the French outposts of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Pondichéry]] and [[Chandernagore]], and the Portuguese colonies of [[Goa, Daman and Diu]].<ref>{{Cite web|website=themaparchive.com|title=The British in India – The Map Archive|date=18 February 2022 |url=https://www.themaparchive.com/the-british-in-india/|access-date=2024-11-16|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Magedera|first=Ian H.|date=November 2010|title=Arrested Development: The Shape of 'French India' after the Treaties of Paris of 1763 and 1814|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369801X.2010.516092|journal=Interventions|language=en|volume=12|issue=3|pages=331–343|doi=10.1080/1369801X.2010.516092|issn=1369-801X}}</ref>

=== East India Company rule in India ===
{{Main|East India Company|Company rule in India}}
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 1/2
| total_width       = 225
| caption_align     = center
| title             = India under East India Company rule
| image1            = India1765and1805b.jpg
| caption1          = India in 1765 and 1805 showing East India Company Territories in pink
| image2            = India1837to1857.jpg
| caption2          = India in 1837 and 1857 showing East India Company (pink) and other territories
}}

The English East India Company was founded in 1600. It gained a foothold in India with the establishment of a [[Factory (trading post)|factory]] in [[Masulipatnam]] on the Eastern coast of India in 1611 and a grant of rights by the Mughal emperor Jahangir to establish a factory in [[Surat]] in 1612. In 1640, after receiving similar permission from the [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara ruler]] farther south, a second factory was established in [[Madras]] on the southeastern coast. The islet of ''[[Bom Bahia]]'' in present-day Mumbai (Bombay) was a Portuguese [[outpost (military)|outpost]] not far from Surat. It was presented to [[Charles II of England]] as [[dowry]] in his marriage to [[Catherine of Braganza]]. Charles in turn leased Bombay to the Company in 1668. Two decades later, the company established a [[trade post]] in the [[River Ganges]] delta. During this time other companies established by the [[Portuguese East India Company|Portuguese]], [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]], [[French Indies Company|French]], and [[Danish East India Company|Danish]] were similarly expanding in the subcontinent.

The company's victory under [[Robert Clive]] in the 1757 [[Battle of Plassey]] and another victory in the 1764 [[Battle of Buxar]] (in Bihar), consolidated the company's power, and forced emperor [[Shah Alam II]] to appoint it the ''[[Diwan (title)|diwan]]'', or revenue collector, of Bengal, Bihar, and [[Odisha|Orissa]]. The company thus became the ''de facto'' ruler of large areas of the [[Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests|lower Gangetic plain]] by 1773. It also proceeded by degrees to expand its dominions around Bombay and Madras. The [[Anglo-Mysore Wars]] (1766–99) and the [[Anglo-Maratha Wars (disambiguation)|Anglo-Maratha Wars]] (1772–1818) left it in control of large areas of India south of the [[Sutlej River]]. With the defeat of the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], no native power represented a threat for the company any longer.<ref>{{cite book|year=2004|orig-year=First published 1994 as ''Histoire de l'Inde Moderne''|editor-first=Claude|editor-last=Markovits|title=A History of Modern India, 1480–1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C&pg=PA271|edition=2nd|location=London|publisher=Anthem Press|pages=271–|isbn=978-1-84331-004-4}}</ref>

The expansion of the company's power chiefly took two forms. The first of these was the outright annexation of Indian states and subsequent direct governance of the underlying regions that collectively came to comprise British India. The annexed regions included the [[North-Western Provinces]] (comprising [[Rohilkhand]], [[Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh|Gorakhpur]], and the [[Doab]]) (1801), Delhi (1803), Assam ([[Ahom Kingdom]] 1828) and [[Sindh]] (1843). [[Punjab]], [[North-West Frontier Province]], and [[Kashmir]] were annexed after the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War|Anglo-Sikh Wars]] in 1849–56 (Period of tenure of Marquess of Dalhousie Governor General). However, Kashmir was immediately sold under the [[Treaty of Amritsar, 1846|Treaty of Amritsar]] (1850) to the [[Dogra Dynasty]] of [[Jammu]] and thereby became a princely state. In 1854, [[Berar Province|Berar]] was annexed along with the state of [[Oudh State|Oudh]] two years later.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

{{Gallery|align=center
|width=180 |File:Warren Hastings greyscale.jpg|[[Warren Hastings]], the first governor-general of [[Bengal Presidency|Fort William (Bengal)]] who oversaw the company's territories in India
|File:India 1835 2 Mohurs.jpg|Gold coin, minted 1835, with obverse showing the bust of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]], king of United Kingdom from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837, and reverse marked "Two mohurs" in English (do [[ashrafi]] in [[Urdu]]) issued during [[Company rule in India]]
|File:Railway bridge bhor ghaut incline1855.jpg|Photograph (1855) showing the construction of the Bhor Ghaut incline bridge, Bombay; the incline was conceived by George Clark, the Chief Engineer in the East India Company's Government of Bombay
||}}

The second form of asserting power involved treaties in which Indian rulers acknowledged the company's [[hegemony]] in return for limited internal [[autonomy]]. Since the company operated under financial constraints, it had to set up ''political'' underpinnings for its rule.<ref name="brown-p67">{{Harvnb|Brown|1994|p=67}}</ref> The most important such support came from the ''[[subsidiary alliance]]s'' with Indian princes.<ref name="brown-p67" /> In the early 19th century, the territories of these princes accounted for two-thirds of India.<ref name="brown-p67" /> When an Indian ruler who was able to secure his territory wanted to enter such an alliance, the company welcomed it as an economical method of indirect rule that did not involve the economic costs of direct administration or the political costs of gaining the support of alien subjects.<ref name="brown-68">{{Harvnb|Brown|1994|p=68}}</ref>

In return, the company undertook the "defense of these subordinate allies and treated them with traditional respect and marks of honor."<ref name="brown-68" /> Subsidiary alliances created the [[Princely States]] of the Hindu [[maharaja]]s and the Muslim [[nawab]]s. Prominent among the princely states were [[Kingdom of Cochin|Cochin]] (1791), [[Jaipur State|Jaipur]] (1794), [[Travancore]] (1795), [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]] (1798), [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]] (1799), [[Cis-Sutlej states|Cis-Sutlej Hill States]] (1815), [[Central India Agency]] (1819), [[Cutch State|Cutch]] and [[Baroda State|Gujarat Gaikwad territories]] (1819), [[Rajputana]] (1818),<ref>{{Harvnb|Ludden|2002|p=133}}</ref> and [[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Bahawalpur]] (1833).
<!--The East India Company also concluded treaties with various Afghan rulers and with [[Ranjit Singh]] of the Punjab, to counterbalance Russia's support of [[Iran|Persian]] plans in western [[Afghanistan]]. In 1839 the company's actions the [[First Anglo-Afghan War|First Afghan War]] (1839–42).  However, as the British expanded their territory in India, so did Russia in Central Asia, with the taking of [[Bukhara]] and [[Samarkand]] in 1863 and 1868 respectively, thereby setting the stage for the [[Great Game]] of Central Asia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ludden|2002|p=135}}</ref>-->

==== Indian indenture system ====
{{Main|Indian indenture system}}
The Indian indenture system was an ongoing system of indenture, a form of debt bondage, by which 3.5&nbsp;million Indians were transported to colonies of European powers to provide labour for the (mainly sugar) plantations. It started from the end of slavery in 1833 and continued until 1920. This resulted in the development of a large [[Indian diaspora]] that spread from the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean and the growth of large [[Indo-Caribbean]] and [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indo-African]] populations.