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| Early 1700s |
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| As the Successor States attempted to solidify their authority through cultural patronage and military supremacy, distinct painting and architectural styles emerged, especially in the Deccan, Bengal, among Rajput princes, and at Awadh. Merchants and courtiers also sponsored expanding performance genres, from street theater to processions and including dance, poetry, and music. Local political competition often was expressed through artistic competition. | 1 |
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| 1756 |
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| The nawab (Siraj-ud-Daulah) of the Bengal region captured Calcutta (June 20) and imprisoned unescaped residents in a small storeroom in the fort (later called the Black Hole), where over a hundred perished from suffocation, wounds, and the heat. | 2 |
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| 1757 |
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| British forces under Watson and Clive retook Calcutta and, being again at war with France, seized Chandernagor (March 23). Clive formed a conspiracy with Hindu bankers and the nawab's general, Mir Jafar, which enabled his forces to rout those remaining loyal to the nawab at Plassey (June 23). Mir Jafar, having executed Siraj-ud-Daulah, was installed as nawab under what was in effect an English protectorate of Bengal. | 3 |
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| 1758–60 |
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| As part of a general expansion of influence, Maratha cultural patronage reached far into north India. Significant urban centers, such as the pilgrimage city of Banaras, were almost completely rebuilt by Maratha patrons, who also supported vast numbers of mendicants, intellectuals, and widows. Maratha occupation of the Punjab (1758) and renewed northern activity (1760) excited allied opposition of the Rohilla Afghans and Ahmad Shah Abdali (the Durani Afghan chief, who had invaded the Punjab almost annually between 1748 and 1759). | 4 |
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| 1761, Jan. 14 |
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| The Marathas were crushingly defeated by this coalition in the Battle of Panipat. Subsequent mutiny caused Ahmad Shah's withdrawal, leaving India in dissension. | 5 |
| British supremacy over other European contenders in India's foreign relations was assured by their defeat of the Dutch (1759) and capture of Pondichéry from the French, who by the Treaty of Paris (1763) (See 1763, Feb. 10) retained only Pondichéry, Chandernagor, and other scattered stations, with limited numbers of troops. The Compagnie des Indes Orientales was dissolved in 1769. | 6 |
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| 1764, Oct. 22 |
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| Victory at Baksar over forces of the deposed nawab of Bengal, the nawab of Avadh, and the titular Mughal emperor gave the British uncontested control in Bengal and Bihar, awarded in the form of the diwani of Bengal (1756–67). Clive administered Bengal affairs for the company through collection of the land revenue in Bengal, Bihar, and part of Orissa, taking over the actual collection of revenue in 1771. Irresponsible administration in the face of famine as company servants lined their own pockets led to the reduction of official perquisites for those whose rapacity since 1757 Clive had encouraged by his own example. | 7 |
| The militarism of the Mughals and the predatory policy of the Marathas led to an emphasis on warfare and piracy as sources of prestige and wealth and a gradual devolution of state responsibility for industry, education, and cultural progress. Such activity took place, instead, on a local and regional level, notably by the Delhi Muslim reformer Shah Wali-Ullah (1703–60) and the Bengali poet Bharatchandra (1717–60). General economic chaos ensued, with Europeans profiting greatly from gifts, forced sales, and usury. One exception was Indore (1765–95) under the rule of the pious Ahalya Bai. | 8 |
| During dissension in the Maratha confederacy, Haidar Ali (1721–82) gained power, usurped the throne of Mysore (1761), and claimed the authority previously held by other Muslim rulers in the Deccan. | 9 |
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| 1769 |
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| He compelled the British at Madras, who became involved in war against him (1767), to sign a treaty of mutual assistance. | 10 |
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| 1769–70 |
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| Disastrous famine in Bengal wiped out an estimated third of the population. | 11 |
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| 1772–85 |
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| As governor of Bengal, Warren Hastings (1732–1818) initiated reforms, including simplification of the revenue system and improved coinage, government control of salt and opium manufacture, reduction of dacoity (robbery), and study of Muslim and Hindu law (Calcutta Madrasa, 1781). He was styled governor-general, with certain supervisory powers over the other two company presidencies (Bombay and Madras) under the Regulating Act. | 12 |
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| 1773 |
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| The REGULATING ACT, by which Parliament also established a supreme court for British subjects in the company's territories, limited the rights of the company's directors, and prohibited officers' private trade and receipt of presents. Hastings's high-handed measures kept the company solvent and relatively secure in a turbulent period but incurred the censure of jealous colleagues, notably Philip Francis, and led to his impeachment (after his retirement in 1785) with a trial (1788–95) resulting in acquittal. | 13 |
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| 1775–82 |
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| First Anglo-Maratha War, the result of the Bombay government's alliance with the would-be Maratha peshwa, Raghoba. Hastings sent an expedition across the peninsula from Calcutta to Surat (1778, arrived 1779) and broke the coalition between the Marathas, Haidar Ali, and the nizam. The Treaty of Salbai (1782) obtained for Bombay 20 years' peace with the Marathas and the cession of Salsette and Elephanta. | 14 |
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| 1778 |
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| France and Britain being again at war, Hastings took Pondichéry and Mahé. | 15 |
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