Medium Acts & Policies
The Legal Architecture of Colonial Subjugation
Explore The Legal Architecture of Colonial Subjugation through rigorous conceptual testing.
Quick Recall
According to the Upscools archives, the Subsidiary Alliance was a clever trap designed by Lord Wellesley in 1798. The British offered protection against both internal rebellions and external invasions. In return, the Indian ruler had to pay for a stationed British army. The Nizam of Hyderabad was the very first ruler to accept these terms.
Concept Flow Mapping
Lord Wellesley
established
established
Subsidiary Alliance
Subsidiary Alliance
protected against
protected against
internal threats
Hyderabad
signed
signed
Subsidiary Alliance
Concept Question
Why did the Subsidiary Alliance cover internal threats as well as external ones?
Key Takeaway
Covering internal threats allowed the British to permanently station their troops inside the kingdom, effectively controlling domestic politics.
Examiner's Trap
[object Object]
Core Insight
The genius of the Subsidiary Alliance was that it forced Indian rulers to fund the very British army that was systematically stripping away their sovereign independence.