Charter Acts (1793, 1813, 1833, 1853)

At a Glance

• What they are Four British laws, passed between 1793 and 1853, that renewed the East India Company’s charter and, each time, changed how India was governed
• Charter Act, 1793 Extended the overriding power of the Governor-General and the Company’s trade monopoly for twenty years
• Charter Act, 1813 Ended the Company’s trade monopoly in India, except in tea and trade with China
• Charter Act, 1833 Made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India and ended the Company’s business role
• Charter Act, 1853 Separated law-making from the executive work of the Governor-General’s council
• Last of the series 1853; the Company’s rule ended in 1858
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Polity: Historical Background

Where Do the Charter Acts Fit?

The Charter Acts belong to the Company Rule (1773-1858). They came after the Regulating Act, 1773 and Pitt’s India Act, 1784, and before the Government of India Act, 1858, which ended the Company’s rule. Taken together, the four Acts show how the Company slowly turned from a trading body into an administrator of the Crown.

What Is a Charter, and Why Was It Renewed?

A charter is a formal grant of rights. The East India Company held an exclusive right to trade in the East under such a charter, and it was granted for a fixed number of years. When the term ended, Parliament had to renew it. Each renewal gave Parliament a chance to change the Company’s powers, to trim its trade rights and to tighten its own control. That is why the same Acts that renewed the charter also reshaped the government of India.

Timeline

• 1773 Regulating Act: the first step to regulate the Company
• 1784 Pitt’s India Act: Board of Control and double government
• 1793 Charter Act: the Company’s trade monopoly renewed
• 1813 Charter Act: the trade monopoly in India ends
• 1833 Charter Act: the Governor-General of India and the Government of India
• 1853 Charter Act: a separate legislative wing and open competition for the civil service
• 1858 Government of India Act: Crown rule begins

What Did the Charter Act of 1793 Do?

• The power to overrule his council, first given to Lord Cornwallis, was now given to every later Governor-General and to the Governors of the presidencies.
• The Governor-General received greater authority over the governments of the junior presidencies, Bombay and Madras.
• It extended the Company’s trade monopoly in India for another twenty years.
• The Commander-in-Chief would sit on the Governor-General’s council only if he was specially appointed to it.
• The pay of the Board of Control’s members and staff was now to come from Indian revenues.

What Did the Charter Act of 1813 Do?

• It abolished the Company’s trade monopoly in India, which threw Indian trade open to all British merchants. The Company kept its monopoly over trade in tea and trade with China.
• It declared that the British Crown held sovereignty over the Company’s territories in India.
• It allowed Christian missionaries to come to India.
• It made provision for spreading Western education among the people of British India, with Rs 1 lakh set aside every year.
• Local governments in India could now levy taxes on individuals and penalise those who refused to pay.

What Did the Charter Act of 1833 Do?

The Charter Act of 1833 was the final step towards centralisation in British India.

• Governor-General of India: It made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India and gave him all civil and military powers. For the first time, the Government of India had authority over all the British territory in India. Lord William Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India.
• One law-maker: It took away the legislative powers of the Governors of Bombay and Madras. The Governor-General of India alone could make laws for the whole of British India. Laws made under the earlier Acts were called Regulations, and laws made under this Act were called Acts.
• End of the Company’s business role: The Company stopped being a commercial body and became a purely administrative one. Its territories in India were held “in trust for His Majesty, His heirs and successors”.
• Law Member: A fourth member, the Law Member, was added to the Governor-General’s council to help with law-making. Lord Macaulay was the first. The Act also provided for a commission to put India’s laws in order.
• Civil service and equality: It tried to bring in open competition for selecting civil servants, and it said that no Indian should be barred from any place, office or employment under the Company. This attempt failed after the Court of Directors opposed it.
• Slavery: It directed the Governor-General in Council to take steps to mitigate slavery.

What Did the Charter Act of 1853 Do?

The Charter Act of 1853 was the last of the Charter Acts passed between 1793 and 1853, and a significant constitutional landmark.

• Legislative wing: For the first time it separated the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s council. Six new members, called legislative councillors, were added, and this created a separate legislative council, later known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. It worked like a small Parliament and used the same procedures as the British Parliament. Law-making was treated for the first time as a special function that needs special machinery.
• Open competition: Civil servants were now to be chosen through open competition, and the covenanted civil service became open to Indians. The Macaulay Committee, on the Indian Civil Service, was appointed in 1854.
• No fixed term: It allowed the Company to keep the Indian territories in trust for the Crown, but it gave no period, unlike the earlier Charters. This clearly meant that Parliament could end the Company’s rule whenever it liked.
• Local representation: The Act brought in local representation for the first time. Four of the six new legislative members were named by the provincial governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra.
• Full Law Member: The Law Member became a full member of the Governor-General’s council.
• Directors: The Court of Directors was cut to 18 members, of whom six were nominated by the Crown.

How Do the Four Acts Compare?

Why Are the Charter Acts Important?

• Centralisation: The Acts carried the centralisation that began in 1773 to its climax in 1833, when one Government of India with one law-making authority came into being.
• Beginning of a legislature: The 1853 Act first treated law-making as a separate function, and gave it a council with local members. The council it created came to be known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council.
• Merit in recruitment: The 1833 attempt and the 1853 system of open competition were early steps towards a civil service chosen by examination.
• Crown above Company: The Act of 1813 asserted the Crown’s sovereignty, and the Act of 1853 gave the Company no fixed period, which clearly meant that Parliament could end its rule whenever it liked. The Act of 1858 then ended it.

The centralising trend was reversed by the Indian Councils Act, 1861, which restored legislative powers to Bombay and Madras.

What Were Their Limitations?

• Open competition failed in 1833: The attempt failed after the Court of Directors opposed it.
• Not a representative body: The 1853 council had local members, but they were appointed by the local governments and not chosen by the people.
• Company still ruled: Until 1858 the Company remained the formal ruler, under the double government of 1784.

Key People and Terms

• Lord William Bentinck The first Governor-General of India, from the Act of 1833
• Lord Macaulay The first Law Member of the Governor-General’s council; the Macaulay Committee of 1854 is named after him
• Charter A formal grant of rights, here the Company’s right to trade in the East
• Trade monopoly The Company’s exclusive right to trade; ended in India in 1813, apart from tea and China
• Regulations and Acts Laws made before 1833 were Regulations; laws made by the Governor-General of India after 1833 were Acts
• Covenanted civil service The senior civil service of the Company, opened to Indians by the Act of 1853
• Legislative councillors The six members added to the Governor-General’s council in 1853

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

The Charter Acts are best read as one story, in which the Company is slowly turned from a trader into an administrator of the Crown. Use these points to add depth to an answer.

• From monopoly to administration: Each renewal cut the Company’s trade rights and widened its government work. The monopoly ended in 1813, apart from tea and China, and its business role ended in 1833. Free-trade thinkers in Britain had attacked the Company’s exclusive rights.
• Centralisation and its reversal: The Acts carried the centralising trend of 1773 to its climax in 1833, with one law-maker for all of British India. The Indian Councils Act, 1861 reversed it by restoring legislative powers to Bombay and Madras.
• Roots of a legislature: The Act of 1853 treated law-making as a special function and gave it a council that worked like a small Parliament, with local members for the first time. It came to be known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council.
• Merit and equality: The Act of 1833 said that no Indian should be barred from office under the Company, and tried open competition. The Act of 1853 brought in open competition and opened the covenanted civil service to Indians. The Macaulay Committee followed in 1854.
• Society: The Act of 1813 allowed missionaries and provided for the spread of Western education. It set aside Rs 1 lakh a year for this.