How large were the East India Company armed forces?
score:16
The British East India Company raised three forces between 1740-1757. These became known as the Presidency Armies, named after the three Presidencies in India under Company rule. They were the:
The size of these armies underwent tremendous growth as the Company expanded in India and acquired ever more security obligations, before declining when the Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857.
- 1763: 18,000
- 1796: 102,000
- 1857: 271,000
- 1867: 171,000
- 1875: 190,000[1]
(Source: Schmidt, Karl J. An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History. ME Sharpe, 1995.)
The three Presidency armies did not expand uniformly. They were raised according to the local strategic needs of the Company, which changed over time, especially as the Company conquered more of India. Originally, the Madras Army was the largest of the three; however, it stopped growing in strength after 1799, while the Bombay Army's expansion ceased after 1817. Consequently, the Bengal Army became larger than the other two combined.
The Presidency armies were the muscle of the East India Company, which managed to achieved dominance over the subcontinent. Given that achievement, clearly they were comparable to the best forces of their contemporary Indian states.
Originally they weren't very effective fighting forces. The Bengal Army was equipped with European arms, but poorly drilled and lacking discipline. Things changed after the Battle of Plassely, when Clive of India initiated military reforms. He trained them after the regular British fashion, with European officers in command. This proved sufficiently effective that the Madras and Bombay armies soon copied Bengal.
However, the Company treated its forces much in the same way large businesses tended to approach menial labour employees. Insensitivity, low pay, and other HR issues resulted in chronic discontent within the armies. A long history of mutinies by both native and European soldiers and officers stretched back to the 17th century.
[1]: Wikipedia, citing Harold Raugh's The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History, lists their combined strength as 196,000 in 1876, but this is a small discrepancy.
More post
- 📝 To what extent is the independence of India a result of Indian Independence Movement?
- 📝 Why was the Western Front so static in World War I?
- 📝 How can I authenticate this presumably ancient Narino/Carchi pedestal bowl?
- 📝 Was "the modern c**ktail" intended to mask the foul taste of Prohibition-era liquor?
- 📝 Why was health insurance not included in the Social Security Act of 1935?
- 📝 How pro-Soviet was India join during the cold war?
- 📝 What lands have been called by names chosen to disassociate those lands from its inhabitants
- 📝 Who revoked their signatures from the union agreement at the Council of Florence?
- 📝 Why was the World Trade Center selected as a target by Al Qaeda?
- 📝 What are some examples that show medieval stone construction on top of older foundations?
- 📝 Was there ever a male-equivalent to a harem in the Ottoman Empire?
- 📝 For how long were freed slaves in Ancient Rome supposed to wear a Pileus hat?
- 📝 Who were those Vietnamese translators?
- 📝 Can someone help identify this statue?
- 📝 What percent of Sparta's population were citizens in various centuries?
- 📝 How was Washington and Jefferson's relationship in Dec 1799?
- 📝 Why is a pocket-battleship large in size ?
- 📝 The beginning of Judaism
- 📝 Why did Mussolini say that people are not really free if they don't have access to the ocean?
- 📝 What was this bet that Montgomery lost?
- 📝 What is this pin?
- 📝 Were diaries more commonly kept in the past?
- 📝 Why did Taft write a one cent check on his first day as Chief Justice?
- 📝 Is there an objective measure of decadence?
- 📝 Is today's Old City of Jerusalem the Jerusalem of the Crusades' period?
- 📝 Whatever happened to Turing's friend Arnold Murray?
- 📝 How good were Confederate resupply capabilities during the Gettysburg campaign?
- 📝 Did the dramatic improvement in survival rates of scurvy in the Royal Navy significantly affect British port cities?
- 📝 What was the legal framework in Ancient India?
- 📝 What is a "staved" town, like in "Staverton"?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How large were the East India Company armed forces?
- 📝 How did the Dutch East India Company (VOC) have so much revenue when they only control small part of Indonesia?
- 📝 Was the Dutch State independent when the Dutch East India Company was founded?
- 📝 Why did the East India Company accept the Government of India Act 1858?
- 📝 What weapons were manufactured in India by the British forces which were used during world wars?
- 📝 How close were the living standards of India compared to England during the medieval period?
- 📝 What universities existed in Dutch East Indies, and how available were they to the native population?
- 📝 How were large sums of money carried/transmitted prior to the 1940s or so?
- 📝 How effective were the forces of the French Provisional Government compared to the other allies?
- 📝 Did the East India Company shareholders get any compensation when the Crown took over in 1858?
- 📝 Did the British East India Company operate in the West Indies?
- 📝 How were smallpox vaccines enforced in the US?
- 📝 How severe were the casualties in ancient/medieval battles?
- 📝 Were there large scale protests after earlier presidential elections in the US?
- 📝 How and when was the modern company ownership structure invented?
- 📝 How kind were the Muslim occupations of North Africa?
- 📝 What were the main causes of successful take over of India by Britain?
- 📝 How were the cities of Milan and Bruges spared by the Black Death?
- 📝 How beneficial were war bonds to the US during WWII
- 📝 How prevalent were recreational drugs in the ancient world?
- 📝 How were Kurds involved (or not) in the invasion of Normandy?
- 📝 How much were telegraphists in the 1950s paid?
- 📝 How unfavorable were the terms of Germany's "surrender" in WW1?
- 📝 How heavily were the British taxing their American colonies?
- 📝 How many lives were estimated to have been saved by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs?
- 📝 How and why was the boundary between West and East Berlin decided to be where it was?
- 📝 How expensive were castles? And how were the costs distributed?
- 📝 What East German laws and regulations were extended to the West after unification?
- 📝 How far were women able to advance in the Gestapo?
- 📝 How come all the major WW1 rifles were bolt action?