“Military success was the most important factor in the expansion of the British East India Company’s power.” Discuss.

Candidates are required to offer a considered and balanced review of military success as the most important factor in the expansion of the British East India Company’s power up to 1857. Candidates may discuss battles between the British East India Company and the French in southern India, the Battle of Plassey against the Nawab of Bengal and the Battle of Buxar against the Mughals. They may also discuss the Anglo-Maratha, the Anglo-Mysore and the Anglo-Sikh wars. Candidates may consider the importance of other factors such as the use of diplomacy by the Company as a method of expansion through the Native Cover principle, the Subsidiary Alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse. Social and cultural policies of the Company, the absence of unified local opposition and the role of missionaries as a means to expand power may also be discussed.