Lord Wellesley (English: Lord Wellesley, born- 20 June, 1760; died- 26 September, 1842) was the Governor-General of India from 1798 to 1805 AD. In 1798 AD, after the interventionist era of Sir John Shore, Lord Wellesley became the Governor General of India, who became famous due to his ‘Subsidiary Treaty’ system. He made the expansion of the British Empire in India his goal. However, the ‘Subsidiary Treaty’ was used in India by Dupleix before Wellesley. Lord Wellesley did not like the French at all. The Fourth Mysore War was fought during his time, in which Tipu Sultan was defeated and died.
Lord Wellesley is also famous for the ‘Subsidiary Treaty’ system in India. The Subsidiary Treaty was based on the following conditions-
Indian kings had to establish their foreign relations under the control of the East India Company, and whatever had to be done with other states was possible only through the company.
It was necessary for the large states entering into a subsidiary treaty to keep a military contingent controlled by an English military officer in their state, and in return give ‘areas of full sovereignty’ to the company. Small states used to give cash money in return.
Every state entering into a subsidiary treaty had to keep an English resident in its capital, and the king could not take any European into his service without the prior permission of the company.
The Company will protect the states accepting the Subsidiary Treaty from all types of enemies without interfering in their internal affairs.
The company had only benefits from the subsidiary treaty, such as making the states fight among themselves, trapping them in the net of the subsidiary treaty, reducing its military expenditure, weakening the French power. The subsidiary treaty was only a loss for the native states, such as unemployment of Indian soldiers in the army, foreign relations coming under the control of the company, the king becoming completely inactive and the states associated with the subsidiary treaty becoming bankrupt, etc.
During the time of Lord Wellesley, the fear of the French was widespread in India. Wellesley found the only way to defeat the French was to make all the states of India subordinate to him. Tipu Sultan, who was planning to drive the British out of India with the help of Napoleon, was defeated in the Fourth Mysore War in 1799 AD. ‘Sher-e-Mysore’ Tipu Sultan died in this war. In 1799 AD, the British sent an envoy named Mehdi Ali Khan to the court of the Shah of Iran. Similarly, in 1800 AD, another envoy John Malcolm reached Tehran with many valuable gifts. As a result of this, a treaty was signed with the Shah, in which the Shah promised not to allow the French to enter his country. Tipu Sultan had come in contact with Napoleon, and with his help, he wanted to drive the British out of India.
Lord Wellesley established ‘Fort William College’ in Calcutta (present Kolkata) to train the youth recruited in civil service. He established the East India Company as a powerful political power instead of a trading company. Lord Wellesley was famous by the nickname “Lion of Bengal”. Madras Presidency was created in 1801 AD during his time. To stop the expansion of Napoleon, Wellesley sent a military contingent from India to Egypt under the leadership of General Baird. The Second Anglo Maratha War (1803-1806 AD) took place during his tenure.
