Residencies of British India
Encyclopedia
The Residencies of British India were political offices, each managed by a Resident
, which dealt with the relations between British India and a large number of princely state
s.
The Residency system has its origins in the system of subsidiary alliance
s devised by the british after the Battle of Plassey
in 1757, to secure Bengal
from attack by deploying East India Company
troops of the Bengal Army
within friendly Native States. Through this system, the Indian Princes of these Native States were assured of protection from internal and external aggression, through deployment of company troops. In return they had to pay for the maintenance of those troops and also accept a British Resident in their court. The Resident was a senior British official posted in the capital of these Princely States, technically a diplomat but also responsible for keeping the ruler to his alliance. This was seen as a system of indirect rule
that was carefully controlled by the British Resident. His role (and all were men) included advising in governance, intervening in succession disputes, and ensuring that the States did not maintain military forces other than for internal policing or else form diplomatic alliances with other States. The Residents attempted to modernize these Native States through promotion of European notions of progressive government. The first Native States to enter such subsidiary alliances included Arcot, Oudh, and Hyderabad. Before the Rebellion of 1857, the role of the British Resident in Delhi was more important than that of other Residents, because of the tension that existed between the declining Mughal Empire
and the emerging power of the East India Company
. Even after the establishment of British Crown rule in 1858, many of the indigenous States ruled by the Indian princes were allowed to be relatively autonomous in terms of political and administrative control. Indeed, in area over two-fifths of India was administered through native princes, although nothing like such a high proportion in terms of population.
The continuation of Princely rule allowed the British to concentrate their resources on the more economically significant areas under their direct control and also obscured the effective loss of independence of these States, especially in their external relations.
The Resident was a permanent reminder of the subsidiary relationship between the indigenous ruler and the European power. The physical manifestation of this was the Residency itself, which was a complex of buildings and land modified according to the aesthetic values of the suzerain power
. The Residency was a symbol of power because of its size and position within the capital. In many instances, the local prince even paid for the erection of these Residencies, as a gesture of his support for and allegiance to the British. The Nawab of Oudh, one of the richest native princes, paid for and erected a splendid Residency in Lucknow
as a part of a wider programme of civic improvements.
Resident (title)
A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....
, which dealt with the relations between British India and a large number of princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
s.
The Residency system has its origins in the system of subsidiary alliance
Subsidiary alliance
A subsidiary alliance is an alliance between a dominant nation and a nation that it dominates.-British policy in India:The doctrine of subsidiary alliance was introduced by Marquess Wellesley, British Governor-General of India from 1798 to 1805...
s devised by the british after the Battle of Plassey
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey , 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years...
in 1757, to secure Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
from attack by deploying East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
troops of the Bengal Army
Bengal Army
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...
within friendly Native States. Through this system, the Indian Princes of these Native States were assured of protection from internal and external aggression, through deployment of company troops. In return they had to pay for the maintenance of those troops and also accept a British Resident in their court. The Resident was a senior British official posted in the capital of these Princely States, technically a diplomat but also responsible for keeping the ruler to his alliance. This was seen as a system of indirect rule
Indirect rule
Indirect rule was a system of government that was developed in certain British colonial dependencies...
that was carefully controlled by the British Resident. His role (and all were men) included advising in governance, intervening in succession disputes, and ensuring that the States did not maintain military forces other than for internal policing or else form diplomatic alliances with other States. The Residents attempted to modernize these Native States through promotion of European notions of progressive government. The first Native States to enter such subsidiary alliances included Arcot, Oudh, and Hyderabad. Before the Rebellion of 1857, the role of the British Resident in Delhi was more important than that of other Residents, because of the tension that existed between the declining Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
and the emerging power of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. Even after the establishment of British Crown rule in 1858, many of the indigenous States ruled by the Indian princes were allowed to be relatively autonomous in terms of political and administrative control. Indeed, in area over two-fifths of India was administered through native princes, although nothing like such a high proportion in terms of population.
The continuation of Princely rule allowed the British to concentrate their resources on the more economically significant areas under their direct control and also obscured the effective loss of independence of these States, especially in their external relations.
The Resident was a permanent reminder of the subsidiary relationship between the indigenous ruler and the European power. The physical manifestation of this was the Residency itself, which was a complex of buildings and land modified according to the aesthetic values of the suzerain power
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
. The Residency was a symbol of power because of its size and position within the capital. In many instances, the local prince even paid for the erection of these Residencies, as a gesture of his support for and allegiance to the British. The Nawab of Oudh, one of the richest native princes, paid for and erected a splendid Residency in Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
as a part of a wider programme of civic improvements.
Residencies
- Baroda Residency
- Gwalior ResidencyGwalior ResidencyGwalior Residency was a political office in the British Indian Empire, which existed from 1782 until the British withdrawal from India in 1947. The Gwalior residency dealt with a number of Princely States of Central India, principally Gwalior State, but also the states of Benares and Rampur, the...
- Indore ResidencyIndore ResidencyIndore was one of the residencies of British India.Indore Residency included most of Indore State, and, after 1933, Rewa State, which formerly belonged to Bagelkhand Agency. It was part of Central India Agency....
- Mewar ResidencyMewar ResidencyMewar Residency was a residency of British India, during the British Raj, which was one of the three residencies of the Rajputana Agency, and had its headquarters at Udaipur, and included the state of Mewar...
- Persian Gulf Residency