• The Subsidiary Alliance System was used by Lord Wellesley to bring the Indian states within the boundary of the British political power.

• Under this system, Indian rulers accepted the stationing of British troops within their states. They surrendered control of their foreign affairs to the British.

• In return, the East India Company would protect them from the attacks of their rivals.

Impact of the Subsidiary Alliance System

• The Subsidiary Alliance System was one of the significant tactical policies of the British in India.

• It shattered the Indian states completely and established the foundation of the political authority of the British in India.
• The Subsidiary Alliance System deprived the Indian princes from taking any measure or forming any confederacy against the British authority in India.

• The posting of the Company’s army in the capital of the Indian territories enabled the English to control the strategic positions in India.

• The Subsidiary Alliance System also helped the Company to effectively counteract any possible French moves in India.

• The Company won the power of becoming an arbiter in the inter-state disputes.

• All avenues of direct contact of the Indian states and the foreign powers were shattered.

• However, the immediate effect of the Subsidiary Alliance System was that the Company became the sovereign authority and the native princes acted merely as a cipher to the British.

• According to the terms and conditions of the Subsidiary Alliance, the Indian princes accepting the Treaty had to surrender their sovereignty.

• The Indian princes, in this way, lost their independence virtually.