Physics Wallah is an Indian edtech platform that provides accessible & comprehensive learning experiences to students from Class 6th to postgraduate level. We also provide extensive NCERT solutions, sample paper, NEET, JEE Mains, BITSAT previous year papers & more such resources to students. Physics Wallah also caters to over 3.5 million registered students and over 78 lakh+ Youtube subscribers with 4.8 rating on its app.
We Stand Out because
We provide students with intensive courses with India’s qualified & experienced faculties & mentors. PW strives to make the learning experience comprehensive and accessible for students of all sections of society. We believe in empowering every single student who couldn't dream of a good career in engineering and medical field earlier.
Our Key Focus Areas
Physics Wallah's main focus is to make the learning experience as economical as possible for all students. With our affordable courses like Lakshya, Udaan and Arjuna and many others, we have been able to provide a platform for lakhs of aspirants. From providing Chemistry, Maths, Physics formula to giving e-books of eminent authors like RD Sharma, RS Aggarwal and Lakhmir Singh, PW focuses on every single student's need for preparation.
What Makes Us Different
Physics Wallah strives to develop a comprehensive pedagogical structure for students, where they get a state-of-the-art learning experience with study material and resources. Apart from catering students preparing for JEE Mains and NEET, PW also provides study material for each state board like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and others
CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 FAQs
How does the Company establish power from trade to territory?
In 1600, the East India Company acquired a charter from the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth I, granting it the sole right to trade with the East. This meant that no other trading group in England could compete with the East India Company.
How did the East India Company transform itself from a trading Company to a territorial colonial power?
As trade expanded, the Company persuaded merchants and traders to come and settle near the factory. By 1696, it began building a fort around the settlement. Two years later, it bribed Mughal officials into giving the Company zamindari rights over three villages.
What attracted European trading companies to India from trade to territory Class 8?
Apart from cotton and silk produced in India, European trading companies were attracted to India for its wide variety of spices.
What were the changes that occurred when the East India Company was established?
It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the South and Southeast Asia), and later with East Asia. The company gained control of large parts of South Asia and colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.
CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory
Here we have provided CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory for the ease of students so that they can prepare better for their exams.
Neha Tanna28 Aug, 2024
Share
CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2:
Chapter 2 in Class 8 CBSE History discusses how the British East India Company evolved from a trading organization into a colonial power in India. Initially, the Company came to trade in valuable goods like spices, cotton, and silk, but competition with other European powers, especially the French, led to military confrontations.
The British achieved a major breakthrough after winning the Battle of Plassey in 1757, which marked the beginning of their political control in Bengal. Over time, they expanded their influence through strategic alliances and policies like the Subsidiary Alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse, taking advantage of the divisions among Indian rulers.
CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 Overview
CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 explains how the British East India Company transitioned from a trading entity to ruling territories in India.
Initially, the British came to India for trade, seeking valuable commodities like spices, cotton, silk, and tea. Over time, they established trade settlements in cities like Surat, Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. The growing competition between European trading companies, particularly the French, led to conflicts, which culminated in the British securing military power.
The turning point was the Battle of Plassey in 1757, where Robert Clive's forces defeated Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal. This victory marked the beginning of British political dominance. Over the years, the British took advantage of internal conflicts between Indian rulers to expand their territories through policies like the Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse.
CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory
Following the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, a number of Mughal governors (subadars) and large zamindars started to seize power and form local kingdoms. Aurangzeb was the last strong Mughal ruler. A new political force, the British, began to develop by the latter part of the eighteenth century.
East India Company Comes East
The English monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, gave the East India Company a charter in 1600 that gave them the exclusive right to conduct business with the East. The Company's charter permitted it to search for new markets across the oceans in order to purchase items at a reduced cost and bring them back to Europe for a greater price. With their base located in Goa, the Portuguese made their mark on India's western coast. The Dutch were investigating the potential for trade in the Indian Ocean by the early seventeenth century, and the French quickly followed.
The same products are of interest to all of the companies. There was a high demand for the excellent attributes of pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, cotton, and silk. The trading corporations engaged in violent conflicts with one another in an attempt to secure markets. Arms were used in trade, and trading sites were fortified for protection.
East India Company begins to trade in Bengal
The first English factory was established in 1651. It served as the foundation for the traders—referred to as "factors"—of the Company. Export items were kept at the factory's warehouse. By 1696, the Company had constructed a fort around the village. The Company made a consistent effort to manipulate current privileges and push for more concessions.
How trade led to battles
The Company's war with Bengal's Nawabs grew more intense. The Bengal nawabs prevented the Company from expanding its defences, refused to grant it concessions, demanding hefty tributes in exchange for the Company's ability to trade, and denied it the ability to issue currencies.
They further said that the Company was weakening the Nawab's power and stealing enormous sums of money from the Bengali government. Confrontations resulted from the conflicts, which ultimately culminated in the well-known Battle of Plassey.
The Battle of Plassey
Following the death of Alivardi Khan in 1756, Bengal's Nawab was Sirajuddaulah. The Company attempted to assist a challenger of Sirajuddaulah in becoming the Nawab. Upon learning of the Company's tactics, Sirajuddaulah demanded that they cease interfering in their internal affairs, cease fortification, and pay the taxes. Robert Clive commanded the Company's army at Plassey in 1757 against Sirajuddaulah. The forces under Mir Jafar's command lost the fight primarily because they never engaged in combat. Being the Company's maiden big victory in India, the Battle of Plassey went on to become famous.
The Company's main goal was to increase trade volume. Territories do not need to be directly conquered if they can be accomplished without fighting and with the assistance of local leaders. However, the Company quickly found that this was not so simple. The Mughal emperor named the Company the Diwan of the Bengali regions in 1765. It made it possible for the business to utilise Bengal's enormous revenue streams. Beginning in the early 1700s, the Company's commerce with India had grown. It was necessary to import gold and silver from Britain in order to transport goods from India.
Company officials become “nabobs”
Following the Plassey Battle, Bengal's real nawabs were coerced by Company officials into giving large quantities of money and land as gifts. Robert Clive's fortune in India was £401,102 when he left. When he was appointed Governor of Bengal in 1764, he was given the task of eliminating corruption from the Company's management.
Due to illness and conflict, many Company officials in India passed away at a young age. Several of the officials had come from lowly origins and wanted to go back to Britain with enough money earned in India to live well. The term "nabobs," which is an anglicised form of the Indian word "nawab," was applied to those who succeeded in returning wealthy.
Company Rule Expands
Upon examination of the East India Company's conquest of Indian territories between 1757 and 1857, a few crucial elements become apparent.
Rarely did the Company conduct a direct military assault on uncharted terrain. Before annexing an Indian country, it alternately employed a range of political, economic, and diplomatic strategies to increase its power. The Company appointed Residents in Indian states following the Battle of Buxar. Their role as political or commercial agents was to represent and advance the Company's interests.
Because of the subsidiary alliance, Indian kings were prohibited from having their own armed armies. They were to be safeguarded by the Company, but they were also required to foot the bill for the "subsidiary forces" that the Company was to keep in place to provide this protection. A portion of the Indian monarchs' domain was taken away as punishment if they did not make the payment.
Tipu Sultan – The “Tiger of Mysore”
Mysore had been more powerful under the tutelage of strongmen such as Haidar Ali (1761–1782) and his well-known son Tipu Sultan (1782–1799). The Company bought cardamom and pepper from the Malabar coast, where it dominated the lucrative trade. In 1785, Tipu Sultan banned the export of cardamom, pepper, and sandalwood. The Company and Mysore engaged in four wars (1767–69, 1780–84, 1790–92, and 1799). Finally, the Company prevailed in the final battle, the Battle of Seringapatam.
War with the Marathas
The late eighteenth-century Company intended to demolish Maratha authority. The Marathas' aspiration to rule from Delhi was dashed when they lost the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. They were split up into numerous states ruled by various chiefs (Sardars) from dynasties including the Bhonsle, Sindhia, Holkar, and Gaikwad. A Peshwa, or Principal Minister, who served as its functional military and administrative leader and was stationed in Pune, kept these chiefs united.
Marathas engaged in numerous conflicts. There was no obvious winner of the first war, which came to an end in 1782 with the Treaty of Salbai. Several fronts were engaged in the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-05), which gave the British control over Orissa and the regions north of the Yamuna River, including Delhi and Agra. Ultimately, Maratha power was destroyed during the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819).
The claim to paramountcy
Under Lord Hastings, a new policy known as paramountcy was implemented (Governor General from 1813 to 1823). The Company asserted that it has more power than the states of India. The East India Company started to worry about Russia in the late 1830s. Russia was thought to be able to spread throughout Asia and reach India from the northwest. Between 1838 and 1842, the Company engaged in a protracted battle with Afghanistan, establishing indirect Company sovereignty in that country. 1849 saw the annexation of Punjab following two protracted battles.
The Doctrine of Lapse
Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General from 1848 to 1856, oversaw the last round of annexations. He created the Doctrine of Lapse, a theory that said that an Indian ruler's kingdom would "lapse," or join Company territory, if he passed away without a male heir. The Company seized control of Awadh in 1856. Outraged by the dehumanising process of the Nawab's removal, the Awadh people participated in the 1857 great uprising.
Setting up a New Administration
Warren Hastings, the Governor-General from 1773 to 1785, was a major contributor to the growth of Company authority. The Company had grown to be powerful in Bengal, Bombay, and Madras throughout his tenure. Presidencies were the administrative divisions used to categorise British possessions. The three Presidencies were in Bombay, Madras, and Bengal. Everybody was subject to a Governor. A new judicial system was instituted in 1772. Each district was required to have two courts under the new system: a civil court (diwani adalat) and a criminal court (Faujdari adalat).
diverse schools of the Dharmashastra lead to diverse interpretations of local laws by the Brahman pandits. In 1775, eleven pandits were requested to assemble a summary of Hindu rules in order to create uniformity. A compilation of Muslim laws was also made by 1778 for the use of European judges. A new Supreme Court and the Sadar Nizamat Adalat, a court of appeal, were both formed in Calcutta by the Regulating Act of 1773. In an Indian district, the Collector was the main person. In collaboration with judges, police officers, and darogas, it was his responsibility to collect revenue and taxes and uphold law and order in his district.
The Company army
Colonial control introduced new administrative and reform concepts to India. Infantry, or paidal (foot) soldiers, and cavalry, or sawars—trained men on horses—made up the Mughal army. The Mughals' army was primarily composed of cavalry. When Mughal successor states like Awadh and Benaras began enlisting peasants into their armies and educating them as professional soldiers, developments happened in the eighteenth century.
The East India Company followed suit, and this approach became known as the "sepoy army" (derived from the Indian word sipahi, which means soldier). The British started creating a consistent military culture from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The training, practice, and discipline that soldiers received in Europe governed their lives significantly more than they had previously.
CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 PDF
The chapter emphasizes how trade gradually paved the way for territorial dominance and set the stage for the eventual British colonial rule in India. Hence, here we have provided CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory pdf -
Benefits of CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2
The benefits of studying CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory are numerous, helping students gain a deeper understanding of India's colonial past. Some key benefits include:
Understanding Historical Events
: Students learn how the British East India Company transitioned from a trading company to a colonial power through military victories, treaties, and strategic policies.
Contextualizing Colonial Rule
: It helps students grasp how British rule was established in India and the long-term impact on the country’s economy, society, and governance.
Critical Thinking
: Analyzing the policies such as the Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse encourages students to think critically about how external powers exploited internal conflicts to gain control.
Building Analytical Skills
: By understanding the causes and consequences of the British conquest, students can develop their ability to analyze complex historical processes.
Preparing for Exams
: The concise and structured CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Notes Chapter 2 aid in quick revision, helping students recall important events and policies effectively for their exams.
Talk to a counsellorHave doubts? Our support team will be happy to assist you!
