A map of the Indian subcontinent showing British Expansion between 1805 and 1910.A map of the
British Indian Empire in 1909, showing British India in two shades of pink (
coral and
pale) and the
princely states in yellow.
British India is the term used to describe the territory on the
Indian subcontinent that was under the
tenancy or the
sovereignty of either the
English East India Company or the
British Crown between 1612 and 1947; the term has also been used as a shortened form for "the
Britishnation in India."[1] 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.[2] However, after its victory in the
Battle of Plassey in 1757, the Company gradually began to formally administer its expanding dominions.[3] By the early 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.[4]
Company rule in India, however, ended in 1858 following the events of the
Indian rebellion of 1857.[4] India was thereafter directly ruled by the British Crown as a colony of the
United Kingdom, and officially known after 1876 as the Empire of India.[5] India consisted of regions referred to as British India that were directly administered by the British,[6] and other regions, the Princely States,[7] 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.[8] In addition, there were
Portuguese and
Frenchexclaves 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.[6] 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
Persian Gulf.[9]
^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), 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. IV (1908), 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.
Copland, Ian (2001), India 1885-1947: The Unmaking of an Empire (Seminar Studies in History Series), Harlow and London: Pearson Longmans. Pp. 160,
ISBN0582381738.
Majumdar, R. C.; Raychaudhuri, H. C.; Datta, Kalikinkar (1950), An Advanced History of India, London: Macmillan and Company Limited. 2nd edition. Pp. xiii, 1122, 7 maps, 5 coloured maps. {{
citation}}: Text "authorlink1" ignored (
help).
Peers, Douglas M. (2006), India under Colonial Rule 1700-1885, Harlow and London: Pearson Longmans. Pp. xvi, 163,
ISBN058231738{{
citation}}: Check |isbn= value: length (
help).
Sarkar, Sumit (1983), Modern India: 1885-1947, Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd. Pp. xiv, 486,
ISBN0333904257.
Smith, Vincent A. (1921), India in the British Period: Being Part III of the Oxford History of India, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press. 2nd edition. Pp. xxiv, 316 (469-784) {{
citation}}: Text "authorlink1" ignored (
help).
24. Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under the
Antarctic Treaty.
A map of the Indian subcontinent showing British Expansion between 1805 and 1910.A map of the
British Indian Empire in 1909, showing British India in two shades of pink (
coral and
pale) and the
princely states in yellow.
British India is the term used to describe the territory on the
Indian subcontinent that was under the
tenancy or the
sovereignty of either the
English East India Company or the
British Crown between 1612 and 1947; the term has also been used as a shortened form for "the
Britishnation in India."[1] 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.[2] However, after its victory in the
Battle of Plassey in 1757, the Company gradually began to formally administer its expanding dominions.[3] By the early 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.[4]
Company rule in India, however, ended in 1858 following the events of the
Indian rebellion of 1857.[4] India was thereafter directly ruled by the British Crown as a colony of the
United Kingdom, and officially known after 1876 as the Empire of India.[5] India consisted of regions referred to as British India that were directly administered by the British,[6] and other regions, the Princely States,[7] 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.[8] In addition, there were
Portuguese and
Frenchexclaves 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.[6] 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
Persian Gulf.[9]
^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), 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. IV (1908), 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.
Copland, Ian (2001), India 1885-1947: The Unmaking of an Empire (Seminar Studies in History Series), Harlow and London: Pearson Longmans. Pp. 160,
ISBN0582381738.
Majumdar, R. C.; Raychaudhuri, H. C.; Datta, Kalikinkar (1950), An Advanced History of India, London: Macmillan and Company Limited. 2nd edition. Pp. xiii, 1122, 7 maps, 5 coloured maps. {{
citation}}: Text "authorlink1" ignored (
help).
Peers, Douglas M. (2006), India under Colonial Rule 1700-1885, Harlow and London: Pearson Longmans. Pp. xvi, 163,
ISBN058231738{{
citation}}: Check |isbn= value: length (
help).
Sarkar, Sumit (1983), Modern India: 1885-1947, Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd. Pp. xiv, 486,
ISBN0333904257.
Smith, Vincent A. (1921), India in the British Period: Being Part III of the Oxford History of India, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press. 2nd edition. Pp. xxiv, 316 (469-784) {{
citation}}: Text "authorlink1" ignored (
help).
24. Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under the
Antarctic Treaty.