NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 2: From Trade to Territory

In this chapter, students get to know how the East India Company that came to India as a mercantile company turned into gaining territories after territories. The wars the company fought with the native rulers and the schemes and policies they adopted to gain territory. Students are advised to follow the chapter carefully, for the information of this chapter is important for understanding the subsequent chapters. Following are the points in which points can brief the chapter in:

• Aurangzeb was the last powerful Mughal ruler. After Aurangzeb died, the later Mughal rulers proved to be powerless and inefficient. The foreign powers got an opportunity to establish their rule in India.
• After Aurangzeb, there was no powerful Mughal ruler, but Mughal emperors continued to be symbolically important.
• Initially, the East India Company bought goods at a low price and then sold them at a higher price in Europe.
• The East India Company and its officials accumulated wealth through India's trade and caught the attention of other European powers.
• Company officials misused the farmlands issued for dubious purposes, and this created clashes with the territorial rulers.
• After Aurangzeb died, the Bengal Nawabs asserted their power and autonomy and denied the company any concessions on trade. This led to clashes between the company officials and the nawabs, which ultimately culminated in Plassey and the Battle of Buxar.
• Many company officials came from humble backgrounds, and their uppermost desire was to earn enough in India, return to Britain and lead a comfortable life.
• The company used the riches of Bengal to fight its other wars with the Nizam, and Wars fought in Mysore, the Anglo-Maratha wars, and other expenses.
• When Lord Dalhousie came into power, they adopted the Doctrine of Lapse. This stated that the rulers who do not have any legal heir could not pass on their property to their adopted son, and in such a case, it would be taken over by the British.