Forays of the English East India Company into the Kumaon-Garhwal Belt of the Central Himalayas (1800’s-1840’s)

Abstract

After the Gurkha ruler was defeated in the Anglo-Gurkha war (1814-15), the treaty of Sugauli (1815) was signed and as war indemnity, the areas of Garhwal and Kumaon in the Central Himalayan region along with the territory of Sikkim that belonged to the Gurkha king were transferred to the Company. The paper attempts to explore various reasons of interest that the Company had in gaining access to the Central Himalayan region during the period of 1800’s-1840’s. The paper draws out the importance of the Himalayan region as a haven for the Europeans traveling far from ‘home’. The development of hill stations of Mussourie, Lansdowne, and Nanital as retreat centers attest to the interest of the Company in the region. Furthermore, both land revenue and revenue from the rich forest wealth were important reasons for the Company to gain access to this region. In addition, the new army recruits that were available in the region became an important source for expanding the strength of Company’s army. Last but not least was the trade with Tibet that attracted the attention of the Company. The author of the paper aspires to examine the diverse contributing factors that led the Company to choose the Central Himalayan region as an area for its political expansion.