SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE

SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE

The Subsidiary Alliance system was used by Lord Wellesley, who was Governor-General from 1798-1805, to build an empire in India. Under the system, the allying Indian state's ruler was compelled to accept the permanent stationing of a British force within his territory and to pay a subsidy for its maintenance. Also, the Indian ruler had to agree to the posting of a British Resident in his court. Under the Subsidiary Treaty, the Indian ruler could not employ any European in his service without the prior approval of the British. Nor could he negotiate with any other Indian ruler without consulting the governor-general. In return for all this, the British agreed to defend the ruler from his enemies and adopt a policy of non-interference in the internal matters of the allied state.
Subsidiary Alliances brought immense gains for the East India Company by extending the areas under British control and bringing relative peace in subsidies and/or territory. During the seven-year rule of Wellesley alone, over 100 small and big states of India signed the Subsidiary Treaty.