Presidencies and provinces of British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another, they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods:
- Between 1612 and 1757 the Calcutta, had grown in size.
- During the period of Company rule in India, 1757–1858, the Company gradually acquired sovereignty over large parts of India, now called "Presidencies". However, it also increasingly came under British government oversight, in effect sharing sovereignty with the Crown. At the same time, it gradually lost its mercantile privileges.
- Following the Upper Burma. Increasingly, however, the unwieldy presidencies were broken up into "Provinces".[1] The EIC presidency armies were restructured into the British Indian Army.
"British India" did not include the many princely states which continued to be ruled by Indian princes, though by the 19th century under British suzerainty—their defence, foreign relations, and communications relinquished to British authority and their internal rule closely monitored.[2] At the time of Indian Independence, in 1947, there were officially 565 princely states, a few being very large although most were very small. They comprised a quarter of the population of the British Raj and two fifths of its land area, with the provinces comprising the remainders.[3] The British India Army formed the Indian Armed Forces which was further divided into the Pakistan Armed Forces following the partition of India.
British India (1600–1947)
In 1608,
Company rule in Bengal (after 1793) was terminated by the
The term British India also applied to
Administration under the East India Company (1793–1858)
The
Meanwhile, in
The presidencies
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The Indian peninsula in 1700, showing the Mughal Empire and the European trading settlements.
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The Indian peninsula in 1760, three years after the Battle of Plassey, showing the Maratha Empire and other prominent political states.
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The presidency town of Madras in a 1908 map. Madras was established asFort St. Georgein 1640.
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The presidency town of Bombay (shown here in a 1908 map) was established in 1684.
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The presidency town of Calcutta (shown here in a 1908 map) was established in 1690 as Fort William.
- Madras Presidency: established 1640.
- Bombay Presidency: East India Company's headquarters moved from Surat to Bombay (Mumbai) in 1687.
- Bengal Presidency: established 1690.
After
Portions of the Kingdom of Mysore were annexed to the Madras Presidency after the Third Anglo-Mysore War ended in 1792. Next, in 1799, after the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War more of his territory was annexed to the Madras Presidency.[15] In 1801, Carnatic, which had been under the suzerainty of the company, began to be directly administered by it as a part of the Madras Presidency.[16]
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Map of India in 1765.
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Map of India in 1795.
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Map of India in 1805.
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Map of India in 1823.
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Map of India in 1837.
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Map of India in 1848.
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Map of India in 1857.
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Expansion of British Bengal and Burma.
The new provinces
By 1851, the East India Company's vast and growing holdings across the sub-continent were still grouped into just four main territories:
- Calcutta
- Bombay
- Madras
- Act of the British Parliament (statute 3 and 4, William IV, cap. 85) promulgated the elevation the Ceded and Conquered Provinces to the new Presidency of Agra, and the appointment of a new governor for the latter, but the plan was never carried out. In 1835 another act of Parliament (statute 5 and 6, William IV, cap. 52) renamed the region the North-Western Provinces, this time to be administered by a lieutenant-governor, the first of whom, Sir Charles Metcalfe, would be appointed in 1836.[17]
By the time of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and the end of Company rule, the developments could be summarised as follows:
- Anglo-Maratha Wars.
- Carnatic Wars and Anglo-Mysore Wars.
- Bengal Presidency: expanded after the battles of Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764), and after the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha Wars.
- Penang: became a residency within the Bengal Presidency in 1786, the fourth presidency of India in 1805, part of the presidency of the Straits Settlements until 1830, again part of a residency within the Bengal Presidency when the Straits Settlements became so, and finally separated from British India in 1867.
- Presidency of Agraunder a governor in 1835, but proposal not implemented.
- Sindhia of Gwalior in 1818 at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
- Coorg: Annexed in 1834.
- North-Western Provinces: established as a lieutenant-governorship in 1836 from the erstwhile Ceded and Conquered Provinces.
- Sind: annexed to the Bombay Presidency in 1843.
- SecondAnglo-Sikh Wars.
- Nagpur Province: Created in 1853 from the princely state of Nagpur, seized by the doctrine of lapse. Merged into the Central Provinces in 1861.
- Oudh State annexed in 1856 and governed thereafter until 1905 as a chief commissionership, as a part of North-Western Provinces and Oudh.
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North-Western Provinces, constituted in 1836 from erstwhile Ceded and Conquered Provinces.
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Punjab annexed in 1849.
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Oudhannexed in 1856.
Administration under the Crown (1858–1947)
Historical background
The British Raj began with the idea of the presidencies as the centres of government. Until 1834, when a General Legislative Council was formed, each presidency under its governor and council was empowered to enact a code of so-called 'regulations' for its government. Therefore, any territory or province that was added by conquest or treaty to a presidency came under the existing regulations of the corresponding presidency. However, in the case of provinces that were acquired but were not annexed to any of the three presidencies, their official staff could be provided as the governor-general pleased, and was not governed by the existing regulations of the Bengal, Madras, or Bombay presidencies. Such provinces became known as 'non-regulation provinces' and up to 1833 no provision for a legislative power existed in such places.[18] The same two kinds of management applied for districts. Thus Ganjam and Vizagapatam were non-regulation districts.[19] Non-regulation provinces included:
- Ajmer Province (Ajmer-Merwara)
- Cis-Sutlej states
- Saugor and Nerbudda Territories
- North-East Frontier(Assam)
- Cooch Behar
- South-West Frontier(Chota Nagpur)
- Jhansi State
- Kumaon Province
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British India in 1880: This map incorporates the provinces of British India, the Princely States and the legally non-Indian Crown Colony of Ceylon.
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The Indian Empire in 1893 after the annexation ofUpper Burma and incorporation of Baluchistan.
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The Indian Empire in 1907 during the partition of Bengal (1905–1912).
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The Indian Empire in 1915 after the reunification of Bengal, the creation of the new province of Bihar and Orissa, and the re-establishment of Assam.
Regulation provinces
- Central Provinces: Created in 1861 from Nagpur Province and the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories. Berar was added to the province in 1903, and was renamed the Central Provinces and Berar in 1936.
- Upper Burma incorporated in 1886. Separated from British India in 1937 to become administered independently by the newly established British Government Burma Office.
- North-East Frontier non-regulation province. Incorporated into the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assamin 1905. Re-established as a province in 1912.
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands: established as a province in 1875.
- Baluchistan: Organised into a province in 1887.
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Madras Presidency shown in an 1880 map.
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Bombay Presidency in an 1880 map.
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Bengal Presidency in 1880.
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An 1880 map of Central Provinces. The province had been constituted in 1861.
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1908 map of Central Provinces and Berar. Berar was included in 1903.
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Beluchistan, shown as an independent kingdom along with Afghanistan and Turkestan, in an 1880 map.
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Baluchistan in 1908: the Districts and Agencies of British Baluchistan are shown alongside the States, mostly: Kalat.
- North-West Frontier Province: created in 1901 from the north-western districts of Punjab Province.
- Eastern Bengal and Assam: created in 1905 upon the partition of Bengal, together with the former province of Assam. Re-merged with Bengal in 1912, with north-eastern part re-established as the province of Assam.
- Bihar and Orissa: separated from Bengal in 1912. Renamed Bihar in 1936 when Orissa became a separate province.
- Delhi: Separated from Punjab in 1912, when it became the capital of British India.
- Orissa: Separate province by carving out certain portions from the Bihar-Orissa Province and the Madras Province in 1936.
- Sind: Separated from Bombay in 1936.
- Panth-Piploda: made a province in 1942, from territories ceded by a native ruler.
Major provinces
At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a governor or a lieutenant-governor. The following table lists their areas and populations (but does not include those of the dependent native states):[20] During the partition of Bengal (1905–1912), a new lieutenant-governor's province of Eastern Bengal and Assam existed. In 1912, the partition was partially reversed, with the eastern and western halves of Bengal re-united and the province of Assam re-established; a new lieutenant-governor's province of Bihar and Orissa was also created.
Province of British India[20] | Area (in thousands of square miles) | Population | Chief administrative officer |
---|---|---|---|
Burma | 170 | 9,000,000 | Lieutenant-Governor |
Bengal | 151 | 75,000,000 | Lieutenant-Governor |
Madras | 142 | 38,000,000 | Governor-in-Council |
Bombay | 123 | 19,000,000 | Governor-in-Council |
United Provinces | 107 | 48,000,000 | Lieutenant-Governor |
Central Provinces and Berar | 104 | 13,000,000 | Chief Commissioner |
Punjab | 138 | 20,000,000 | Lieutenant-Governor |
Assam | 49 | 6,000,000 | Chief Commissioner |
Minor provinces
In addition, there were a few provinces that were administered by a chief commissioner:[21]
Minor Province[21] | Area (in thousands of square miles) | Population (in thousands of inhabitants) | Chief administrative officer |
---|---|---|---|
North-West Frontier Province | 16 | 2,125 | Chief Commissioner |
Baluchistan | 46 | 308 | British political agent in Baluchistan served as ex officio Chief Commissioner |
Coorg | 1.6 | 181 | British Resident in Mysore served as ex officio Chief Commissioner |
Ajmer-Merwara | 2.7 | 477 | British political agent in Rajputana served as ex officio Chief Commissioner |
Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 3 | 25 | Chief Commissioner |
Aden
- As the Settlement of Aden, a dependency of the Bombay Presidency from 1839 to 1932; became a chief commissioner's province in 1932; separated from India and made the Crown Colony of Aden in 1937.
Partition and independence (1947)
At the time of independence in 1947, British India had 17 provinces:
Upon the
) were partitioned between India and Pakistan.In 1950, after the new Indian constitution was adopted, the provinces in India were replaced by redrawn states and union territories. Pakistan, however, retained its five provinces, one of which, East Bengal, was renamed East Pakistan in 1956 and became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971.
See also
Citations
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 5 Quote: "The history of British India falls ... into three periods. From the beginning of the 17th to the middle of the 18th 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 ..."
- from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ISBN 9780230270787, archivedfrom the original on 17 March 2024, retrieved 20 June 2022
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II 1908, pp. 452–472
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II 1908, pp. 473–487
- ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II 1908, pp. 488–514
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II 1908, pp. 514–530
- ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, pp. 46–57
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, pp. 58–103
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, pp. 59–61
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, pp. 104–125
- ^ a b c d e Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 6
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 7
- ^ a b c Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 9
- ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 10
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 11
- Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. V, 1908
- ^ "Full text of "The land systems of British India : being a manual of the land-tenures and of the systems of land-revenue administration prevalent in the several provinces"". archive.org. 1892.
- ^ Geography of India 1870
- ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 46
- ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV 1908, p. 56
General references
- The Imperial Gazetteer of India (26 vol, 1908–31), highly detailed description of all of India in 1901. online edition
- 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. III (1908), "Chapter X: Famine", The Indian Empire, Economic, Published under the authority of His Majesty's Secretary of State for India in Council, Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Pp. xxxvi, 1 map, 520, pp. 475–502
- 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
Further reading
- Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. New Delhi and London: Orient Longmans. Pp. xx, 548. ISBN 81-250-2596-0.
- ISBN 0-19-873113-2.
- Copland, Ian (2001). India 1885–1947: The Unmaking of an Empire (Seminar Studies in History Series). Harlow and London: Pearson Longmans. Pp. 160. ISBN 0-582-38173-8.
- Harrington, Jack (2010). Sir John Malcolm and the Creation of British India. New York: ISBN 978-0-230-10885-1.
- Judd, Dennis (2004). The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600–1947. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Pp. xiii, 280. ISBN 0-19-280358-1.
- 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.
- Markovits, Claude, ed. (2005). A History of Modern India 1480–1950 (Anthem South Asian Studies). Anthem Press. Pp. 607. ISBN 1-84331-152-6.
- Metcalf, Barbara; Metcalf, Thomas R. (2006). A Concise History of Modern India (Cambridge Concise Histories). Cambridge and New York: ISBN 0-521-68225-8..
- Mill, James (1820). The History of British India, in six volumes. London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 3rd edition, 1826. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
- Peers, Douglas M. (2006). India under Colonial Rule 1700–1885. Harlow and London: Pearson Longmans. Pp. xvi, 163. ISBN 0-582-31738-X.
- Riddick, John F. (2006). The history of British India: a chronology. Praeger. ISBN 9780313322808. Archivedfrom the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- Riddick, John F. (1998). Who Was Who in British India.
- Sarkar, Sumit (1983). Modern India: 1885–1947. Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd. Pp. xiv, 486. ISBN 0-333-90425-7.
- Seymour, William. "The Indian States under the British Crown" History Today. (Dec 1967), Vol. 17 Issue 12, pp 819–827 online; covers 1858 to 1947.
- 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).
- ISBN 0-14-013836-6.
External links
- Cahoon, Ben. "Provinces of British India". WorldStatesmen.org. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- Statistical abstracts relating to British India, from 1840 to 1920 at uchicago.edu
- Digital Colonial Documents (India) Homepage at latrobe.edu.au
- Collection of early 20th century photographs of the cities of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras with other interesting Indian locations from the magazine, India Illustrated, at the University of Houston Digital Library
- Coins of British India