Who among the following devised the system of ‘Subsidiary Alliance’?

Correct — B. The Subsidiary Alliance was devised by Lord Wellesley, Governor-General from 1798 to 1805, as a way of controlling Indian states without annexing them.

A ruler who signed kept a British force stationed in his territory and paid for it, gave up independent foreign relations, and accepted a British Resident at his court. The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to sign, in 1798.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Lord William Bentinck — Lord William Bentinck came three decades later and is remembered for social legislation, above all the abolition of sati in 1829.
• (c)
  Lord Dalhousie — Lord Dalhousie devised the Doctrine of Lapse, a different instrument that annexed a state outright when its ruler died without a natural heir.
• (d)
  Lord Canning — Lord Canning was Governor-General during the revolt of 1857 and became the first Viceroy. The alliance system predates him by half a century.

The Subsidiary Alliance worked by making a state pay for its own subjugation. British troops were stationed inside it, the state met their cost, and when it could not, territory was ceded in place of cash.

The ruler also surrendered his external relations and took a Resident at court, so he kept his throne while losing the substance of sovereignty.

Hyderabad signed in 1798, Mysore came under the arrangement after the war of 1799, Awadh in 1801, and the Marathas by the Treaty of Bassein in 1802.

Key facts

• Lord Wellesley was Governor-General from 1798 to 1805 and introduced the Subsidiary Alliance.
• A subsidiary state maintained a British force at its own cost, accepted a Resident and gave up control of its foreign relations.
• The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first ruler to accept the Subsidiary Alliance, in 1798.
• Awadh accepted it in 1801 and the Marathas did so by the Treaty of Bassein in 1802.

Common traps

• Swapping Wellesley and Dalhousie, since both expanded British territory by policy rather than by war alone.
• Dating the alliance to Canning because 1857 is the more memorable year.

No directly related past PYQ was found.