Question

Explain the system of “subsidiary alliance” and Doctrine of lapse.

Answer 1

Doctrine of Lapse-

It was a policy of the British East India Company under which if the ruler of a princely state or territory under the paramountcy of the Company died without a natural heir, the state/territory would automatically be annexed to the British empire.

Answer 2

The Subsidiary Alliance System was “Non-Intervention Policy” used by Lord Wellesley who was the Governor-General (1798-1805) to establish the British Empire in India. According to this system, every ruler in India had to accept to pay a subsidy to the British for the maintenance of the British army.

Doctrine of Lapse- It was a policy of the British East India Company under which if the ruler of a princely state or territory under the paramountcy of the Company died without a natural heir, the state/territory would automatically be annexed to the British empire.