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Wars, the Subsidiary Alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse sheet
3-mark answer frame

Explain the Subsidiary Alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse. How did they help the British?

How to lay out the answer. Follow the frame, then write it in your own words.

  1. 1 · Open with the idea. Both policies brought Indian states under British control, often without a war.
  2. 2 · Subsidiary Alliance. Under Wellesley, a ruler kept British troops at his cost, disbanded his army and gave up foreign affairs, in return for protection.
  3. 3 · Doctrine of Lapse. Under Dalhousie, if a ruler died without a natural heir, his adopted son could not inherit and the state passed to the British.
  4. 4 · Give examples. Satara (1848), Nagpur (1853) and Jhansi (1854) lapsed this way.
  5. 5 · Close in one line. So by the 1850s no Indian power was left to challenge the British.

Scoring tip: Name the Governor-General with each policy and give at least one annexed state with its year.