Chronology Order of the British in India

The East India Company

  • 1600 Elizabeth I grants a charter to the East India Company
  • 1612 The East India Company establishes a factory at Surat
  • 1640 The East India Company establishes a factory at Madras
  • 1661 Charles II receives Bombay from Catherine of Braganza as part of her dowry, the East India Company establishes a factory there
  • 1690 The East India Company establishes a factory at Calcutta
  • 1756-63 The Seven Years War
  • 1757 The Battle of Plassey - the British defeat Siraj Ud Daulah
  • 1760 The Battle of Wandiwash - the British defeat the French
  • 1764 The Battle of Buxar - the British defeat Mir Kasim
  • 1765 The Treaty of Allahabad - the British granted Diwani Rights in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
  • 1767-1769 The First Mysore War - the British are forced to concede a peace treaty with Hyder Ali
  • 1772 Warren Hastings appointed as Governor of Bengal
  • 1773 The Regulating Act passed by the British Parliament, creates post of Governor-General of India
  • 1774-85 Warren Hastings Governor-General of India
  • 1774 The India Act
  • 1775-1782 The First Anglo-Maratha War
  • 1780-1784 The Second Mysore War - the British finally defeat Hyder Ali
  • 1784 The Government of India Act establishes a Board of Control
  • 1786-93 Lord Cornwallis Governor-General of India
  • 1790-1792 The Third Mysore War between the British and Tipu Sultan
  • 1793 Cornwallis’ permanent settlement of Bengal revenue
  • 1798 Lord Wellesley appointed Governor-General of India
  • 1799 The Fourth Mysore War, once again between the British and Tipu Sultan; The Battle of Seringapatam - the death of Tipu Sultan and the Partition of Mysore
  • 1802 The Treaty of Bassein
  • 1803 The Nawab of Oudh cedes the southern and western parts of his territories to the British
  • 1803-1805 The Second Anglo-Maratha war - the British defeat the Marathas at the Battle of Assaye
  • 1804 The Mughal Emperor at Delhi is placed under British protection
  • 1805 The Treaty of Amritsar
  • 1813 The East India Company’s charter is renewed but it's monopoly over Indian trade is abolished
  • 1814-1816 The Anglo-Gurkha War
  • 1817-1818 The Pindari War
  • 1817-1819 The Third Anglo-Maratha War - the Marathas finally crushed by the British who are now the paramount power in India
  • 1824-1826 The First Burmese War
  • 1828-35 Lord William Bentinck as Governor-General of India
  • 1829 The prohibition of Sati
  • 1829-1837 The suppression of Thuggee
  • 1831 The Raja of Mysore is deposed, and Mysore annexed by the Britsh
  • 1833 The Charter Act and the abolition of the East India Company’s trade
  • 1835 The Education Resolution
  • 1838 The Tripartite Treaty between Shah Shuja, Ranjit Singh and the British
  • 1839-1842 The First Afghan War
  • 1843 The Gwalior War, the British annex the Sindh, Hyderabad and Khairpur
  • 1845-1846 The First Anglo-Sikh War
  • 1848 Lord Dalhousie becomes the Governor-General of India
  • 1848-1849 The Second Anglo-Sikh War
  • 1849 The Annexation of the Punjab
  • 1852 The Second Anglo-Burmese War
  • 1856 The complete annexation of the Oudh
  • 1857 The Indian Mutiny, otherwise known as the Sepoy Uprising or Rebellion, or the First War of Independence
  • 1858 The final abolition of the East India Company

The British Raj

  • 1858 The last Mughal emperor of India, Bahadur Shah II, was deposed as a result of his support for the Indian Mutiny and exiled to Burma. The British government now imposed direct rule on India, appointing a Governor-General or Viceroy to act as the crown's representative.
  • 1861 The India Councils Act divides the government of India between a Secretary of State and a Council based in London, and the Viceroy and a Legislative Council based in Calcutta. Indians are only permitted to attend the Legislative Council in an advisory role
  • 1869 The birth of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
  • 1876 Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India
  • 1878 The Arms Act forbids Indians to carry arms
  • 1878-1880 The Second Afghan War
  • 1879 The murder of the British Resident in Kabul
  • 1882 The Resolution on Local Self-Government
  • 1883 The Ilbert Act
  • 1885 The formation of the Indian National Congress
  • 1886 The annexation of Burma
  • 1892 The Indian Councils Act that allows Indians to be full members of the Legislative Council
  • 1893 The establishment of the Durand Line now fixes the frontier between Afghanistan and British India
  • 1905 The First Partition of Bengal
  • 1906 The foundation of the Muslim League
  • 1909 The Morley-Minto Reforms increase Indian representation on both the central and provincial councils
  • 1911 The Coronation Durbar; King George V visits India, transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi, the Partition of Bengal modified to create the Presidency of Bengal
  • 1915 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, now known as the 'Mahatma' returns to India and begins his campaign of passive resistance to British rule, The Defence of India Act
  • 1916 The Lucknow Pact, Congress and the Muslims League unite to demand Home Rule
  • 1917 The Montagu declaration establishes that the British government intends to develop self-governing institutions in India
  • 1919 The Amritsar Massacre and the Third Afghan War
  • The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms offer a limited form of Indian autonomy
  • 1920 The launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement
  • 1922 The Civil Disobedience Movement suspended after the Chauri-Chaura violence
  • 1927 The Simon Commission appointed
  • 1928 The Simon Commission visits India
  • 1931 New Delhi becomes the capital of India
  • 1935 Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the head of the Muslim League demands a new Muslim nation of Pakistan
  • 1939 Congress refuses to support Britain during World War II
  • 1940 The Muslim League adopts the Pakistan Resolution
  • 1941 Congress offers its support in return for Independence. Gandhi disapproves and leaves Congress
  • 1942 The Cripps Mission to India fails, Congress launches the Quit India Movement, as a result many Congress leaders, including Gandhi, are imprisoned
  • 1946 Formation of the Interim Government, later joined by the Muslim League
  • 1947 Lord Mountbatten appointed Viceroy and on the 14th, the Congress accepts the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan.
  • 3rd June 1947 Lord Mountbatten announces the British government's decision to grant India independence on the basis of partition
  • 3rd June 1947 Congress announces its acceptance of partition
  • 15th August 1947 India gains its independence from British rule, but partitioned into the separate states of India and Pakistan

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