1. Subsidiary Alliance
- The Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley was yet another most effective instrument for the expansion of British territory and political influence in India.
- This form of treaty was imposed on the new ruler of Mysore after the defeat of Tipu, different Maratha chiefs after the second Maratha War, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Nawab of Awadh and other dependent allies of the Company.
- A ruler who accepted this treaty was restrained from having relations with any other native ruler, could not employ any European without the approval of the English, had to keep an English resident at his court and an English army within his territory and, in return, had to surrender a part of his territory to the English permanently.
- This treaty, thus, helped the English not only in extending their territory but also in eliminating French influence from the courts of the native states. The rulers, entering into his treaty, finally became completely dependent on the English.
2. Wars
- He fought the fourth Mysore War with Tipu in 1799, annexed most of the territory of Mysore and restored a part of it to the previous Hindu ruler who became a dependent ally of the English.
- He fought the second Maratha war between 1803 to 1805, signed the subsidiary alliance (treaty of Bassein) with Peshwa Baji Rao, forced the Bhonsle and the Sindhia to sign Subsidiary treaties after defeating them, annexed large part of the territories of each of them and defeated the Holkar at the battles of Dig and Farrukhabad.
Lord Wellesley pursued an aggressive policy with native rulers and largely succeeded in achieving his aim of making the Company the supreme power in India.