Explain the the charter act 1813
Answers
Answer:
The Charter Act of 1813 passed by the British Parliament renewed the East India Company’s charter for another 20 years. This is also called the East India Company Act, 1813. This act is important in that it defined for the first time the constitutional position of British Indian territories.
Explanation:
Background of Charter Act 1813:-
Due to Napoleon Bonaparte’s Continental System in Europe (which prohibited the import of British goods into French allies in Europe), British traders and merchants suffered.
So they demanded they be given a share in the British trade in Asia and dissolve the monopoly of the East India Company.
The company objected to this.
Finally, British merchants were allowed to trade in India under a strict licensing system under the Charter Act of 1813.
But in trade with China and the tea trade, the company still retained its monopoly.
Provisions of the Charter Act of 1813
This Act asserted the Crown’s sovereignty over British possessions in India.
The company’s rule was extended to another 20 years. Their trade monopoly was ended except for the trade-in tea, opium, and with China.
It empowered the local governments to tax people subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
The company’s dividend was fixed at 10.5%.
The Act gave more powers for the courts in India over European British subjects.
Another important feature of this act was to grant permission to the missionaries to come to India and engage in religious proselytization. The missionaries were successful in getting the appointment of a Bishop for British India with his headquarters at Calcutta in the provisions of the Act.
The act provided for a financial grant towards the revival of Indian literature and the promotion of science.
The company was also to take up a greater role in the education of the Indians under them. It was to set aside Rs.1 Lakh for this purpose.
Answer:
The East India Company Act 1813, also known as the Charter Act 1813, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which renewed the charter issued to the British East India Company, and continued the Company's rule in India. However, the Company's commercial monopoly was ended, except for the tea and opium trade and the trade with China, this reflecting the growth of British power in India.
The Act expressly asserted the Crown's sovereignty over British India, allotted 100,000 rupees, and permitted Christian missionaries to propagate English and preach their religion. The power of the provincial governments and courts in India over European British subjects was also strengthened by the Act, and financial provision was also made to encourage a revival in Indian literature and for the promotion of science.[2]
The Act expressly asserted the Crown's sovereignty over British India, allotted 100,000 rupees, and permitted Christian missionaries to propagate English and preach their religion. The power of the provincial governments and courts in India over European British subjects was also strengthened by the Act, and financial provision was also made to encourage a revival in Indian literature and for the promotion of science.[2]The literary critic and historian Gauri Viswanathan identifies two major changes to the relation between Britain and India that came about as the result of the act: first, the assumption by the British of a new responsibility for Indian people's education; and, second, the relaxation of controls on missionary activity.[3] Whereas previously educational provision was at the discretion of the Governor-General of Bengal, the Act overturned this laissez-faire status quo by establishing an obligation to promote Indian people's "interests and happiness" and "religious and moral improvement" – a responsibility the British state did not bear to British people at the time of the Act's passage.[4] Viswanathan attributes the impetus for the new educational responsibilities to the mood in the English Parliament.