Viewing Single Post From: MUGHAL EMPERORS (1526-1858)

Viewing Single Post From: MUGHAL EMPERORS (1526-1858)
waqarabro	Jul 1 2008, 03:31 AM
Swash-buckling Posts: 337 Group: Members Member #553 Joined: October 21, 2007	1605–27 JAHANGIR maintained his father's empire in northern India but allowed much political power to pass to his wife, Nur Jahan (1611). His personal interest in painting, however, led to expansion of Mughal cultural patronage, an important aspect in continuing political legitimacy. 1609–11 William Hawkins failed to secure a treaty for James I, as did Sir Thomas Roe (1615–19), but the English won trading rights at Surat after defeating a Portuguese fleet (1612). 1616 Bubonic plague, clearly identified for the first time, became epidemic. 1628–57 SHAH JAHAN (d. 1666) was greatly interested in artistic patronage but destroyed Ahmadnagar (1632) and defeated Golconda (1635) and Bijapur (1636). His active patronage of cultural production extended Akbar's cultural system. 1632–53 The Taj Mahal was built as tomb for Shah Jahan's wife, Mumtaz Mahal, for whom he had already built the splendid palace Khass Mahal on the fort at Agra. 1639 The site of Madras was granted to an Englishman. 1647 Aurangzib campaigned unsuccessfully in Badakhshan and Balkh as part of constant program for expansion carried on by the Mughals. 1649–53 Aurangzib failed to wrest Kandahar from the Persians. 1653–57 Again governing the Deccan, Aurangzib campaigned ambitiously and arrested the revival of Bijapur but failed to check the Maratha raider Sivaji. 1658 Dutch (East India Company) expelled Portuguese (1638–58) from Ceylon. 1658 Aurangzib rebelled, following the illness of Shah Jahan and competition for the succession among his four sons. 1658–1707 Having imprisoned Shah Jahan, AURANGZIB became emperor. The Mughal dominion was undermined, in part, by Aurangzib's continued effort to expand his dominions, lack of sufficient good land to award to new mansabdars, and a renewed emphasis on Islamic definitions of good rule, all of which led to reversals in Mughal cultural system and, thus, to a decline in political stability. 1659–80 Sivaji reduced Bijapur (1659) and sacked Surat (1664 and 1670); the English factory escaped harm. In 1667 he won the title of rajah from Aurangzib and began to levy land taxes in Mughal territory (Khandesh, 1670); he successfully organized Maratha government on Hindu principles with the guidance of the poets Ramdas and Tukaram and was enthroned as an independent ruler (1674). Marathas thus became most formidable force in the Deccan and laid claim to the mantle of Vijayanagara, which now stood as model of “Hindu” kingship. 1666 Chittagong was annexed for Aurangzib by the Bengal governor. 1669 In an attempt to placate restive immigrants from other parts of the Islamicate world who served as his most important military and administrative elite, Aurangzib adopted policies that led to prohibition of the Hindu religion and destruction of Hindu temples, with great loss to Indian art and the jizya reimposed on non-Muslims (1679). These actions appeared to abrogate the cultural system integrating Mughal rule with local elites. The period was marked by Jat rebellions (1669, 1681, 1688–1707), Hindu uprisings, and troubles with Afghan tribes and with the now militant and theocratic Sikhs (1675–78). 1679 Marwar was annexed in war against the Rajputs; hostilities continued nearly 30 years. 1681 Prince Akbar revolted unsuccessfully against his father's misgovernment and died in exile. 1681–1707 Assuming personal command in the Deccan, Aurangzib subjugated Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687) but failed to check the Marathas. 1685–88 Aurangzib seized Surat (1685), intending to expel the English, whose unwise attempt to seize Chittagong lost them all their claims in Bengal (1688); their naval superiority menaced Mughal trade, however, and they were encouraged to return to Bengal (Calcutta founded, 1690). Following the decline of the Portuguese power in India, that of the English had been increased by the acquisition of Bombay (1661) and the absorption of Dutch ambitions chiefly in the Spice Islands. Foundation of the French Compagnie des Indes Orientales (1664) under strict government control, along with numerous settlements (Pondichéry, 1674), now opened the way for acute Anglo-French rivalry. 1689 Capture of Sivaji's successor, Sambhaji, failed to crush the Marathas, and indecisive warfare continued until 1707. The intellectual curiosity and luxurious tastes of the Mughal rulers, except Aurangzib, fostered brilliant cultural progress. Histories, annals, and memoirs, chiefly in Persian, a dictionary supported by Jahangir, and the unsurpassed poems of Tulsi Das (1532–1623) formed important literary contributions. Slavish imitation of Persian painting was modified by Hindu and even European influences; a height of keen observation and delicate rendering was attained under Shah Jahan. Under him also the building of palaces, mausoleums, and mosques in Indo-Persian style attained an exquisite elegance. 1707 Following Aurangzib's death the empire rapidly disintegrated; various provincial governors became virtually independent (1772 ff.). As these regional rulers competed for control over territory, they sought alliances with Europeans to gain additional armies and military prowess. Political control devolved to the regional courts of successor states. In the cities, rule devolved to various self-regulating communities of merchants and to displaced Mughal courtiers, who took up cultural patronage and began to remake cultural systems in the interests of localities. This creative ferment was viewed as anarchy and decline by European observers. c. 1708 The Sikhs, who had been founded in the 15th century as a strictly religious order, proclaiming Muslim and Hindu fellowship and monotheism and opposing caste restrictions and priestcraft (except for the secular and religious authority vested in the guru Hargovind, 1606), became a thoroughly militant order under the last guru, Govind Singh (1666–1708); they menaced Mughal rights in the Deccan but their strength was broken by Bahadur Shah (1707–12). 1717 The English East India Company, through gifts and medical service, secured from the Mughal emperor exemption from customs duties and other concessions. The reorganized Maratha government gradually became preeminent in India, exacting taxes from the whole Deccan except Hyderabad, which became essentially independent of Delhi (1724) under its governor, the Nizam-ul-Mulk (d. 1748). The governors of Avadh (Oudh) (1724) and Bengal (1740) also became independent but maintained the fiction of allegiance to the Mughal emperor. 1739 A pillaging invasion of Persians under Nadir Shah checked the Maratha expansion northward, defeated imperial troops, and withdrew, retaining possession of Afghanistan and the wealth of Delhi. 1746–48 Following the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession in Europe, the French, strengthened by their participation in Indian intrigue under the guidance of Joseph Dupleix, captured Madras (1746) and defeated the protesting nawab of the Carnatic. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) restored Madras to Britain. 1748–54 Anglo-French rivalry continued, each side supporting candidates for the positions of nizam of the Deccan and nawab of the Carnatic. French domination, at its height in 1751 when Bussy virtually ruled the Deccan and Dupleix the Carnatic, was checked by Robert Clive's (1727–74) brilliant seizure of Arcot (Sept. 12, 1751). The recall of Dupleix (1754) left English prestige firmly established. Early 1700s As the Successor States attempted to solidify their authority through cultural patronage and military supremacy, distinct painting and architectural styles emerged, especially in the Deccan, Bengal, among Rajput princes, and at Awadh. Merchants and courtiers also sponsored expanding performance genres, from street theater to processions and including dance, poetry, and music. Local political competition often was expressed through artistic competition. 1756 The nawab (Siraj-ud-Daulah) of the Bengal region captured Calcutta (June 20) and imprisoned unescaped residents in a small storeroom in the fort (later called the Black Hole), where over a hundred perished from suffocation, wounds, and the heat. 1757 British forces under Watson and Clive retook Calcutta and, being again at war with France, seized Chandernagor (March 23). Clive formed a conspiracy with Hindu bankers and the nawab's general, Mir Jafar, which enabled his forces to rout those remaining loyal to the nawab at Plassey (June 23). Mir Jafar, having executed Siraj-ud-Daulah, was installed as nawab under what was in effect an English protectorate of Bengal. 1758–60 As part of a general expansion of influence, Maratha cultural patronage reached far into north India. Significant urban centers, such as the pilgrimage city of Banaras, were almost completely rebuilt by Maratha patrons, who also supported vast numbers of mendicants, intellectuals, and widows. Maratha occupation of the Punjab (1758) and renewed northern activity (1760) excited allied opposition of the Rohilla Afghans and Ahmad Shah Abdali (the Durani Afghan chief, who had invaded the Punjab almost annually between 1748 and 1759). 1761, Jan. 14 The Marathas were crushingly defeated by this coalition in the Battle of Panipat. Subsequent mutiny caused Ahmad Shah's withdrawal, leaving India in dissension. British supremacy over other European contenders in India's foreign relations was assured by their defeat of the Dutch (1759) and capture of Pondichéry from the French, who by the Treaty of Paris (1763) (See 1763, Feb. 10) retained only Pondichéry, Chandernagor, and other scattered stations, with limited numbers of troops. The Compagnie des Indes Orientales was dissolved in 1769. 1764, Oct. 22 Victory at Baksar over forces of the deposed nawab of Bengal, the nawab of Avadh, and the titular Mughal emperor gave the British uncontested control in Bengal and Bihar, awarded in the form of the diwani of Bengal (1756–67). Clive administered Bengal affairs for the company through collection of the land revenue in Bengal, Bihar, and part of Orissa, taking over the actual collection of revenue in 1771. Irresponsible administration in the face of famine as company servants lined their own pockets led to the reduction of official perquisites for those whose rapacity since 1757 Clive had encouraged by his own example. The militarism of the Mughals and the predatory policy of the Marathas led to an emphasis on warfare and piracy as sources of prestige and wealth and a gradual devolution of state responsibility for industry, education, and cultural progress. Such activity took place, instead, on a local and regional level, notably by the Delhi Muslim reformer Shah Wali-Ullah (1703–60) and the Bengali poet Bharatchandra (1717–60). General economic chaos ensued, with Europeans profiting greatly from gifts, forced sales, and usury. One exception was Indore (1765–95) under the rule of the pious Ahalya Bai. During dissension in the Maratha confederacy, Haidar Ali (1721–82) gained power, usurped the throne of Mysore (1761), and claimed the authority previously held by other Muslim rulers in the Deccan. 1769 He compelled the British at Madras, who became involved in war against him (1767), to sign a treaty of mutual assistance. 1769–70 Disastrous famine in Bengal wiped out an estimated third of the population. 1772–85 As governor of Bengal, Warren Hastings (1732–1818) initiated reforms, including simplification of the revenue system and improved coinage, government control of salt and opium manufacture, reduction of dacoity (robbery), and study of Muslim and Hindu law (Calcutta Madrasa, 1781). He was styled governor-general, with certain supervisory powers over the other two company presidencies (Bombay and Madras) under the Regulating Act. 1773 The REGULATING ACT, by which Parliament also established a supreme court for British subjects in the company's territories, limited the rights of the company's directors, and prohibited officers' private trade and receipt of presents. Hastings's high-handed measures kept the company solvent and relatively secure in a turbulent period but incurred the censure of jealous colleagues, notably Philip Francis, and led to his impeachment (after his retirement in 1785) with a trial (1788–95) resulting in acquittal. 1775–82 First Anglo-Maratha War, the result of the Bombay government's alliance with the would-be Maratha peshwa, Raghoba. Hastings sent an expedition across the peninsula from Calcutta to Surat (1778, arrived 1779) and broke the coalition between the Marathas, Haidar Ali, and the nizam. The Treaty of Salbai (1782) obtained for Bombay 20 years' peace with the Marathas and the cession of Salsette and Elephanta. 1778 France and Britain being again at war, Hastings took Pondichéry and Mahé. 1780–84 Provoked by this action, Haidar Ali, with French help, attacked the British in the Carnatic but was defeated at Porto Novo (1781) and died (1782); the Second Anglo-Mysore War, continued by his son, Tipu Sultan, was terminated when French aid was withdrawn. 1784 PITT'S INDIA ACT, in an endeavor to check territorial expansion, forbade interference by the East India Company in native affairs or declaration of war except in case of aggression and made the company's directors answerable to a board of control appointed by the crown. 1786–93 Lord Cornwallis (after a 20-month interregnum of Sir John MacPherson) became governor-general and commander in chief, with power to overrule his council. Under injunctions to preserve peace, he made administrative reforms: company officers given adequate fixed salaries and their private trade eliminated; separation of administrative from commercial branches of service. 1790–92 Tipu attacked Travancore, opening the Third Anglo-Mysore War; Cornwallis allied himself with the peshwa and the nizam, and Tipu was defeated and forced to cede half his territory, paying a large indemnity (March 19, 1792). 1791 The Sanskrit College was established at Benares by Jonathan Duncan. 1793 Cornwallis's Code inaugurated substantial reforms. The Permanent Settlement stabilized the revenue system by fixing the assessment in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa (and Benares Province, 1795) with collection through zamindars (large landlords) (zamindari system), but failed to check the latter's exploitation of the peasantry; it also effected ruthless sale of zamindar rights in case of default and closed the way to later reassessments, thereby eventually causing great financial loss to the government. The judicial system was reshaped on the British model but with a paucity of courts. Indians were excluded from all higher posts. Zamindars were left only revenue duties, their magisterial and police functions being transferred to European district judges and Indian police (darogas). In the Madras presidency a careful survey along the lines of local practice led to a system of direct levy (periodically reassessed) from the ryot (peasant), later extended to Bombay presidency (ryotwari system); in the Northwest and Central Provinces, somewhat later, a third type of revenue settlement, the mahalwari system, was introduced, collecting revenue through villages or estates. Meanwhile the principal Maratha leader, Mahadaji Sindhia (d. 1794), assumed protection of the emperor, reclaimed Delhi, and extended his power in northern India. 1793 Sir John Shore, governor-general. 1796 Ceylon conquered from the Dutch and administered jointly by the East India Company and the crown until 1802, the latter assuming full responsibility thereafter. [size=7]Completed[/size]
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