Question

Benga was. the. and most. province during 18th ce

Answer 1

Presidencies and provinces of British India

"British India" redirects here. For the history of the British Empire in the Indian Subcontinent, see British Raj. For the British East India Company's rule in India, see Company rule in India. For other uses, see British India (disambiguation).

"Provinces of India" redirects here. For the modern states, see States and territories of India.

The Provinces of India, earlier Presidencies of British India and still earlier, Presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in the subcontinent. Collectively, they were called British India. In one form or another, they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods:

Between 1612 and 1757 the East India Company set up "factories" (trading posts)in several locations, mostly in coastal India, with the consent of the Mughal emperors or local rulers. Its rivals were the merchant trading companies of Holland and France. By the mid-18th century three "Presidency towns": Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, had grown in size.During the period of Company rule in India, 1757–1858, the Company gradually acquired sovereignty over large parts of India, now called "Presidencies". However, it also increasingly came under British government oversight, in effect sharing sovereignty with the Crown. At the same time it gradually lost its mercantile privileges.Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the Company's remaining powers were transferred to the Crown. In the new British Raj (1858–1947), sovereignty extended to a few new regions, such as Upper Burma. Increasingly, however, unwieldy presidencies were broken up into "Provinces".[1]Colonial India

Imperial entities of India

Dutch India1605–1825Danish India1620–1869French India1668–1954

Portuguese India
(1505–1961)

Casa da Índia1434–1833Portuguese East India Company1628–1633

British India
(1612–1947)

East India Company1612–1757Company rule in India1757–1858British Raj1858–1947British rule in Burma1824–1948Princely states1721–1949Partition of India

1947





A mezzotint engraving of Fort William,Calcutta, the capital of the Bengal Presidency in British India 1735.

British India (1793-1947)

Administration under the Company (1793-1858)

Administration under the Crown (1858–1947)