Subsidiary Alliance was a treaty between the British East India Company and the Indian princely states, by virtue of which the Indian kingdoms lost their sovereignty to the English. The system of Subsidiary Alliance was pioneered by the French East India Company governor Joseph François Dupleix, who in the late 1740s established treaties with the Nizam of Hyderabad, and other Indian princes in the Carnatic region. Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed a treaty with the British East India Company had to dissolve his own armed forces and accept British forces in his territory. The ruler was also required to pay subsidy for the British Garrison deployed in their territory, seek permission from British EIC to partner with any other European for any service, and also for the negotiations with other Indian rulers. The purpose of this system was to establish British control over the Indian states without having to annex them. Lord Wellesley, the Governor-General of India from 1798 to 1805, planned the subsidiary alliance in India. The kingdom of Awadh was the first to enter an alliance like this through the Treaty of Allahabad (1765), after its defeat in Battle of Buxar (1764) .
Features of the Subsidiary Alliance Treaty are:
- An Indian ruler entering into Subsidiary Alliance with the British had to dissolve his own armed forces and accept British forces in his territory.
- Under the subsidiary alliance, Indian rulers had to pay subsidy for the British Garrison deployed in their territory; seek permission from British EIC to partner with any other European for any service, and also for the negotiations with other Indian rulers.
- The ruler of the Allied Indian State was obliged to allow the permanent stationing within his territory of a British force and to pay a subsidy for its maintenance.
- The Subsidiary Alliance was a treaty between the British East India Company and the princely Indian states, which forced the Indian kingdoms to surrender their authority to the English.
The Subsidiary Alliance was seen as a declaration of subjugation by the Indian powers, who lost the entire control of their state, including the right to form alliances with other states.
