Here we are providing the short notes on History which will be help to crack General Awareness part in may examinations like SSC, Railway and other competitive exams.

IMPORTANT BATTLES

The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69)

A tripartite alliance was formed against Hyder ali by the British, the Nizam & the Marathas. The war ended with the defeat of British. The panic-stricken Madras government concluded the humiliating Treaty of Madras in 1769.

Treaty of Madras
It was signed by Hyder & the allies consisting of the Company, the Raja of Tanjore, & the Malabar ruler.

The Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-1784)
• Haider Ali arranged a joint front with the Nizam & the Marathas against the common enemy -the English East India Company. The war lasted from 1780-1784. But he died in 1782 & was succeeded by his son Tipu Sultan.

• Tipu continued the war for another year but absolute success eluded both the sides. Tired of war the two sides concluded peace Treaty of Mangalore. By this Treaty it was decided that English would return Srirangapatnam to Tipu & Tipu would handover Fort of Badnur to English.
Treaty of Seringapatam
It was signed by Tipu on the one hand & the English & their allies (Nizam & the Peshwa) on the other. The Treaty stipulated that:
 The earlier treaties between the English & the rulers of Mysore stood confirmed.
 Tipu was to cede half his territories where where to be shared among the three allies.
 Tipu was also to order the release of all prisoners of war.
 Pending fulfilment of these terms two of his sons were to be detained as British hostages.
The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799)
• With his defeat in the third Anglo-Mysore war, Tipu was burning with revenge. He wanted to get back his territory & to achieve that objective he carried on negotiations with the French & Zaman Shah of Kabul.
• Tipu wanted his allies to expel the English. Lord Wellesley after making Subsidiary Alliance with the Nizam asked Tipu Sultan to accept the same but he refused. Mysore was attacked from two sides. The main army under General Harris supported by Nizam’s subsidiary force under Arthur Wellesley attacked Mysore from the east while another army advanced from Bombay.

Tipu was at first defeated by the Bombay army & was later on defeated by the General Harris at Mallavalli. Tipu died fighting bravely in 1799.

First Anglo Maratha War (1775-82)
The primary cause of the first Maratha war was the interference of the English government at Bombay in the internal affairs of the Marathas.
• Peshwa Madhav Rao died in 1772 & was succeeded by his younger brother Narain Rao.His uncle Raghunath rao wanted to become the Peshwa & got him murdered. The Maratha chiefs took up the cause of Madhav Rao Narain the son of Narain Rao.Ragobha approached British for help & signed the treaty of Surat hopping to gain the coveted Gaddi with the help of English subsidiary troops.
• By this treaty he also promised to cede Salsette & Bassein & refrain from entering into alliance with the enemies of the company.

• In the war that followed nobody gained any success & two parties realized the futility of the struggle by concluding the Treaty of Salbai (1782).
• By the Treaty of Salbai, status quo was maintained which gave the British 20 years of peace with the Marathas. The treaty also enabled the British to exert pressure on Mysore with the help of the Marathas in recovering their territories from Haider Ali.

Second Anglo- Maratha War (1803-1806)
• The second Maratha war was fought at the time of Lord Wellesley who wanted the Marathas to accept his Subsidiary Alliance system.
• The Marathas refused to accept it but were tricked by Wellesley due to their own internal differences.
• The Treaty of Bassein made conflict with the Marathas inevitable. The main provisions of the treaty were the recognition of Peshwa’s claim in Poona acceptance of Subsidiary Alliance by Baji Rao II & relinquishing of all rights of Surat by Baji Rao to the British.

For Marathas Treaty of Bassein was loss of national honor. Holkar & Scindia stopped fighting with each other. Scindia & Bhonsle combined but Holkar & Gaikwad remained aloof. Scindia & Bhonsle were asked by the English to withdraw their troops to the north of the Narmada River but they refused & it led to war. Both Scindia & Peshwa had accepted the sovereignty of the English. British turned their attention towards Holkar but Yashwant Rao Holkar proved more than a match for the British. Wellesley was recalled from India & the Company made peace with the Holkar in January 1806 by the Treaty of Rajghat giving back to the latter the greater part of the territories.

Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-1818)
• Maratha made a desperate last attempt to regain their independence & prestige in 1817.
• This led in organizing a united front of the Maratha Chiefs & was taken over by the Peshwa who was uneasy under the rigid control exercised by the British Resident. However once again the Marathas failed to evolve any plan of action.
• The Peshwa attacked the British Residency at Poona in 1817, Appa Saheb of Nagpur attacked the Residency at Nagpur & Madhav Rao Holkar made preparations for war.

• The Maratha confederacy was altogether destroyed so many territories were taken from its various members that they were rendered powerless to do anything against the British.
• Thus the work was accomplished by Lord Hastings in 1818.Now the British Government became the supreme & paramount authority in India

Siraj-ud–Daula
• Siraj-ud Daula came to power in 1756. Calcutta was renamed Alinagar after its capture by Siraj-ud-Daula.
• He tried to control the activities of East India Company.
• He wrote letters to the British governor of Calcutta to demolish additional fortifications & also to stop unlawful activities against him.
• The British refused to comply with his orders & he seized the English factory at Kasimbazar & then Calcutta.
• In 1757, his men were attacked by English army led by Robert Clive.This forced the nawab to come to an understanding & establish peace with the English.

Treaty of Alinagar (1757)
The treaty comprised:
• A list of demands made by the Company.
• An agreement affirming to return to status quo.
• A number of Farmans & dastaks issued by the nawab.
• As long as nawab shall observe his agreement, English will continue to support him.
• All the trade privileges held earlier by the Company stood confirmed. Additionally the English were authorized to fortify Calcutta against possible French attack & issue their own coins.

Battle of Plassey (23 June 1757)
The treaty was violated by conquest of Chandannagore by the British in 1757.Siraj ud –Dhaula protested by offering protection to the French. The British decided to remove him through conspiracy. The battle of Plassey took place on June 23 ,1757. This battle saw the treachery of Mir Jafar & Rai Durlabh, bravery of small force & desertation of Nawab’s army.Siraj-ud –Dhaula was captured & executed by son of Mir Jafar.

Mir Jafar (1757-60)
Mir Jafar granted the right to free trade in Bengal & Bihar & Orissa & zamindari of the 24 parganas to the British besides paying them a sum of Rs 17.7 million as compensation.His period saw the beginning of the drain of wealth from India to Britain.He tried to replace the English with the Dutch but the Dutch were defeated by the English at Bedara in 1759.

Mir Qasim (1760-63)
Mir Qasim granted the zamindari of Burdwan, Midnapore & Chittagong to the British officials . He transferred his capital from Murshidabad to Mongher.He stopped the misuse of the dastaks or free passes allowed to the company & abolished all duties on internal trade against British.

Battle of Buxar
Mir Qasim fought against the British along with three allies – Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh & Shah Alam II.This battle led to their defeat by the British forces under Major Hector Munro.

The Revolt of 1857
The Revolt of 1857 is an important landmark in the history of India. As per the British historians it was the “Sepoy Mutiny”, it was the “First war of independence”.

Immediate cause: The introduction of Enfield greased rifles whose cartridges were said to have a greased cover made of beef & pork sparked off the revolt. It agitated both Hindu & Muslim soldiers & resulted in immediate launch of movement.

The course of events
• On March 29, 1857, an Indian sepoy of 34 Native Infantry, Mangal Pandey, killed two British officers- Hugeson & Baugh-on parade at Barrackpore (near Calcutta).
• The mutiny really started at Merrut on 10th May 1857. The 3rd Native Infantry revolted. The occasion was the punishment of some sepoys for their refusal to use the greased cartridges. The soldiers alongwith other groups of civilians, went on a rampage shouting ‘Maro Firangi ko’. They broke open jails, murdered Europeans, burnt their houses & marched to Delhi after sunset.
• The appearance of the marching soldiers next morning (i.e. 11th May) in Delhi was a signal to the local soldiers, who in turn revolted, seized the city & proclaimed the 82-year old Bahadur Shah ‘Zafar’ , as Shahenshah-i-Hindustan (i.e. Emperor of India).
• The British allies during the revolt were Sindhia, the Nizam of Hyderabad & the Begum of Bhopal.

LEADERS OF REVOLT OF 1857 IN INDIA
Mangal Pandey–Mangal Pandey joined the sepoy force of the British East India Company in the year 1849 at the age of 22. Pandey was part of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry & is primarily known for his involvement in an attack on his senior British officers on 29th March 1857 at Barrackpore. This incident marked an opening stage of Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 or the First War of Indian Independence.
Nana Sahib–At Kanpur, the revolt was led by Nana Sahib, the adopted son of exiled Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II.

Rani Lakshmibai-Rani Lakshmibai (Manikarnika) was married to Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi in 1842, & became the queen of Jhansi. After their marriage, She gave birth to a son Damodar Rao in 1851.

Tatya Tope–Tatya Tope was Nana Sahib’s close associate & general. During the Siege of Cawnpore in 1857, Nana Sahib’s forces attacked the British entrenchment at Kanpur in June 1857.

Veer Kunwar Singh–Veer Kunwar Singh, the king of Jagdispur, currently a part of Bhojpur district, Bihar, was one of the leaders of the Indian revolt of 1857.

Shah Mal–Shah Mal lived in a large village in pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh. He mobilised the headmen & cultivators of chaurasee des, moving at night from village to village, urging people to rebel against the British.

Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah–Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah was one of the many maulvis who played an important part in the revolt of 1857. Educated in Hyderabad, he became a preacher when young. In 1856, he was seen moving from village to village preaching jehad (religious war) against the British & urging people to rebel. When he reached Lucknow in 1856, he was stopped by the police from preaching in the city. Subsequently, in 1857, he was jailed in Faizabad.

Delhi-Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah, but real command lay with Bakht Khan (was from the Barreily unit of the army).
Kanpur-Nana Sahib (from Kanpur, along with Tantia Tope & Azimullah)
Lucknow-Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh (declared her son as the Nawab of Awadh).
Bareilly–Khan Bahadur
Bihar (Arrah)–Kunwar Singh, Zamindar of Jagdishpur.
Jhansi – Rani LakshmI Bai
Allahabad – Liaquat ali