Eighteenth-century Political Formation Class 7 Notes CBSE History Chapter 10 (Free PDF Download)

In the eighteenth century, the political situation influenced the geographical division of India. 

The shrinkage of the Mughal Empire gave way to the emergence of independent kingdoms. The invasion of Britishers played an essential role in this. 

Following are the highlights about rulers from 1707, which was from around the time of Aurangzeb's death to the third battle of Panipat, which happened in 1761.

The Crisis of the Empire and the Later Mughals

● At the end of the 7th century, Emperor Aurangzeb went through a difficult period when he waged a protracted war in the Deccan and exhausted his wealth and military power. The power of the government is collapsing. The nobles took control over their regions, and the revenue of the capital declined. 

● The pressure to increase taxes caused resistance from farmers and zamindari. 

● Some leaders try to gain power. 

● These circumstances enabled local nobles, chiefs, and rebels to acquire great power. 

● The invasion of Afghan rulers also increased the economic status of the Mughals. 

● Competition between various nobles, namely the Iranis and the Taranis, further accentuates the empire's decline.

The emergence of New States

● Due to the reasons mentioned above, the Mughal empire was divided into many regional fragments.

● The eighteenth-century states can be classified into three states. They were:

1. States that were old Mughal provinces and did not break ties with the Mughal empire.

2. States that had experienced freedom under the Mughals.

3. States that seized their independence after a long-armed struggle.

The Old Mughal Provinces

● Important provinces of Mughals were Awadh, Bengal, and Hyderabad

1. Hyderabad 

● NizamulMulk Asaf Jah, the founder of Hyderabad, was an influential member of the court of the Mughal Emperor Farouk Sial. 

● He was assigned to manage Awad and then was set to take over Deccan. 

● Later, he took power into his own hands and became the true ruler of that area. 

● The Mughal Emperor has just approved Nizam's decision. 

● Hyderabad fought the Marathi in the west and the independent Telugu warlords. 

● Nizam's goal of controlling the affluent textile production areas on the east coast of the Coromandel was hindered by the British.

2. Awadh 

● Awadh Burhanul Mulk Sa'adat Khan was the leader of Awadh in 1722. 

● Due to Bangladeshi trade and rich alluvial soil, Awadh is a prosperous area. 

● Burhanul Mulk attempted to reduce the Mughal influence on Awad by changing his imperial officers. 

● Seized fertile farmland from several Afghans in Rajput zamindars and Rohilkhand. 

● Taxes are awarded to bidders who pay a fixed amount to the state. 

● These developments allow new social groups, such as moneylenders and bankers, to influence management. 

3. Bengal 

● Bengal was out of Mughal control, and Murshid Quli Khan appointed him deputy governor. 

● Like other rulers, he is also in charge of the country's tax administration. 

● Transferred all Mughal Jagirdars to Odisha and reassessed Bangladeshi income to reduce the Mughal influence in Bangladesh. 

● Strictly collect large amounts of cash from all zamindars. 

● Many zamindars are forced to borrow money from bankers and moneylenders. 

● Those who cannot pay have to sell their land to larger zamindars.

Similarities between states

● Although the ancient Mughal nobles established several larger countries, they doubted some of them, especially the Jagilda system.

● Their method of tax collection was different. Instead of relying on the officers of the state, all three states agreed with revenue farmers for collecting revenue.

● In all these local states, a fundamental point was their relationship with wealthy bankers and merchants who lent money to revenue farmers, received property as collateral, and obtained taxes from these properties through their agents.

The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs

● Numerous Rajput kings had worked under the Mughals with perfection.

In turn, they are allowed freedom in their Watan jagirs. 

● In the 18th century, these rulers were now trying to increase their power over nearby areas.

The Sikhs 

● In the seventeenth century, the local political area of Sikhs pioneers helped in the development of Punjab. 

● Guru Gobind Singh presented the Khalsa in 1699. What's more, after his demise in 1708, the Khalsa, under the initiative of Banda Bahadur Singh, rebelled against the Mughals. 

● They pronounced their sovereign standard by striking coins for the sake of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh and set their organization between the Sutlej and the Jamuna. 

● Banda Bahadur was caught in 1715 and killed in 1716.

The Marathas

● Shivaji (16271680) created a mighty kingdom, challenged the Mughals. 

●After Shivaji's death, a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas took charge of Maratha. 

●Pune became the capital of the Maratha Kingdom. 

●Marathi developed a prosperous military system that weakened Mughal power. 

●Marathas captured Malwa and Gujarat from Mughals in the 1720s. After the 

Delhi raid, the Marathi seized provinces and were forced to pay tribute. 

In turn, Marathas gained support from the Battle of Panipat Chanderi. Silk producers have now found a market in Pune, the capital of Maratha. 

The Marathi government is effective.

The Jats

● Like the other states, the Jats combined their power during the late seventeenth and eighteenth- centuries.

● Under Churaman, they acquired control over territories situated to the west of Delhi and the cities of Agra.

● The Jats were prosperous agriculturists.

● Panipat and Ballabgarh became important trading

centers.

Important Questions and Answers

1. Write about the three states consolidated from Mughal provinces.

Ans: The states of Mughals mainly consisted of Awadh, Bengal, and Hyderabad. Mughal royalties were founded by Saadat Khan (Awadh), Murshid Quli Khan (Bengal), and Asaf Jah (Hyderabad). They were governors of large provinces. All three of the governors had power in the Mughal empire through dignified positions. The Mughals trusted them. These made it difficult for the Mughals to control their Mansabdars. Lead representatives handled the workplaces of income and military organizations. The lead representatives fortified their force on the regions; in this manner, the rehashed postponement of payment shipped off the capital blurred. 

2. Who invaded the Mughal Empire?

Ans: The ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, invaded the city of Delhi in 1739 and took away all wealth. This was followed by continuous raids by other enemies like the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali. Five times between 1748 and 1761, Afghan rulers ruthlessly invaded the northern parts of India.

3. What did Burhan-ul-Mulk change in Awadh?

Ans: Awadh region has rich alluvial soil due to the Ganga plain and acts as the main trade route between North India and Bengal.

● Burhan-ul-Mulk also had the powers of the combined offices of Subadari, Diwani, and Faujdar.  

● Burhan-ul-Mulk worked to reduce the Mughal influence in the Awadh by changing position holders of the kingdom.

● He took several Rajput zamindars and the agriculturally fertile fields of the Afghans of Rohilkhand.

● The tax collection was given to bidders who would pay a fixed amount to the state.

● These developments allowed new social groups, like money lenders and bankers, to influence the management

4. What did Burhan-ul-Mulk implement regarding revenue in Awadh?

Ans: 

● Burhan-ul-Mulk attempted to decrease the Mughal impact in the Awadh by changing position holders of the realm designated by the Mughals. He additionally diminished the number of Jagirs and gave empty situations to his unwavering workers. 

● Jagirdars' records were checked to forestall cheating. Also, a lot greater reassessment in income occurred. 

● The realm relied upon nearby financiers and Mahajan for credits. 

● The option to gather charge was given to the most elevated bidders. 

● The income ranchers consented to pay the express a proper amount of cash. 

● In turn, the income ranchers acquired opportunities in the appraisal and assortment of duties.

5. Who and how did they extend their territory in the Rajput dynasty?

Ans: The Rajput families needed the Subadari of the rich spaces of Gujarat and Malwa. Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur possessed the governorship of Gujarat. Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber owned the governorship of Malwa. They additionally dared to broaden their limits by catching parts of Neighboring realms. Nagaur was captured and added to Jodhpur, while Amber conquered the majority of Bundi. In 1722, Sawai Raja Jai Singh set up his new capital at Jaipur. He was additionally given the Subadari of Agra.

6. Other than army development, what were the successes of Marathas?

Ans: 

● Marathas had grounded armed force crusades. The Marathas additionally fostered a productive administrational power. 

● Once Maratha's standard was firm, income requests were steadily presented, considering neighborhood conditions. Agribusiness was energized, and exchange resuscitated. 

● New shipping lanes arose inside the spaces constrained by the Marathas.

7. Explain the trade routes of Marathas.

Ans: Chanderi silk creation presently tracked down another outlet in Poona, which was the capital of Maratha. The Burhanpur, which was before in exchange among Agra and Surat, currently stretched out to remember Pune and Nagpur for the south and Lucknow and Allahabad in the east.

8. Define Chauth and Sardeshmukhi.

Ans: Chauth zamindars were paid 25% of the land income. 

Sardeshmukhi, 9-10% of  land income is paid to Deccan's foremost income collectors. 

In the 1730s, King Maratha had the right to impose Chauth and Sardeshmukhi on the entire region.

 9. List the classification of the Mughal Empire.

Ans: The states of eighteenth-century are broadly divided into three:

1. Old Mughal states did not break ties with the Mughal empire.

2. States that had experienced freedom under the Mughals.

3. States that seized their independence after a long-armed struggle.

10. How were the Sikhs organized in the eighteenth century?

Ans:  During the eighteenth century, the Sikhs organized themselves in Jathas, which were small bands. It all happened under the leadership of many reputed personalities. All the groups used to meet at Amritsar during Baisakhi and Diwali. To take decisions known as "resolutions of the Guru." These groups were called the Grand army. Rakhi was introduced, a system protecting cultivators during the payment of a tax of 20 percent of the produce.

Class 7 Social Science - History Chapter 10 Eighteenth Century Political Formation Notes

The Crisis of the Empire and the Later Mughals

During the seventeenth century, the Mughal empire faced both its rise and fall. They faced a crisis by the end of the seventeenth century because of the depletion of resources in the war by Emperor Aurangzeb. As the successors followed, the imperial administration of Mughals broke down. 

• The nobles started taking control of the offices of revenue and military administration. 

• The problems started increasing because of peasant and zamindari rebellions across northern and western parts of India. 

• During the phase of economic and political crisis for Mughals, Nadir Shah took away immense amounts of wealth from Delhi by plundering it in 1739. 

• This was followed by invasion from Ahmad Shah Abdali, who invaded the north Indian region 5 times during the period of 1748 and 1761. 

• This also led to the division of a group of nobles into Turanis and Iranis. 

• The worst humiliation came for the Mughals when two emperors were assassinated and two more blinded by their nobles. 

The Emergence of New States

As the authority of Mughal emperors declined, the consolidation of the authority of subedars started taking place. The states in the eighteenth century can be divided mainly into three overlapping groups. These include:

• Old Mughal provinces including Hyderabad, Bengal and Awadh. 

• States enjoying considerable independence.

• States which were under the control of Sikhs, Jats and Marathas.

The Old Mughal Provinces

The three prominent states that stand out among the old Mughal provinces include Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad. 

Hyderabad

The founder of Hyderabad was Nizam-Ul-Mulk Asf Jha. He was first given the governorship of Awadh which later shifted to the Deccan. 

• Asaf Jha had complete control over the political and financial administration of these regions. He took complete advantage of this fact and gained control over the region.

• He started appointing mansabdars and granted them jagirs. He was able to rule over this region independently without much interference. 

Awadh

In 1722, Burhan-ul-Mulk was appointed as the Subadar of this region. He was responsible for managing the financial, military and political affairs of the region.

• He tried decreasing the Mughal influence in Awadh through his ways and even seized several Rajput zamindars. 

• Alongside, several developments took place which made the moneylender’s influence the management of the state’s revenue system. 

Bengal

Murshid Quli Khan was appointed as the governor of the province. He quickly seized power over the region and to reduce the Mughal influence shifted the Mughal Jagirdars to Orissa. 

• Revenue collection started taking place in cash. 

• Under his reign, the banking house of Jagath Seth gained immense recognition. 

The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs

In their Watan Jagirs, the Rajputs kings were given considerable autonomy in their region. 

• But with time, in the eighteenth century, they started making attempts to gain complete control over the adjacent regions. 

• The governorship of Gujarat was held by Raja Ajit Singh and governorship of Malwa was held by Sawai Raja Jai Singh. 

• They tried to expand their territories by seizing the portions from neighbouring imperial territories. 

Seizing Independence

The Sikhs

Sikhs built their regional state, Punjab in the seventeenth century. 

• Guru Gobind Singh fought numerous battles against the Rajput and Mughal rulers. 

• The Khalsa rose for revolt against Mughals after his death in 1708, under Banda Bahadur. 

• The Sikh territories further extended from Indus to Jamuna but further division took place. 

• Their capital was established in Lahore in 1799 by reunification by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. 

The Marathas

Shivaji carved out a stable Maratha kingdom from 1627-1680. 

• The expansion of Maratha kingdom started happening in between 1720 and 1761. 

• They further developed an administrative system as well. 

• The emergence of new trade routes also started happening within the areas under the control of Maratha. 

The Jats

• The consolidation of their power started happening around the late years of the seventeenth century and eighteenth centuries. 

• These people acquired several territories under their leader Churaman. 

• Panipat and Ballabgarh were their important centres for trading.