Charter Acts

Background and evolution

The Company had begun as a trading body under a royal charter of 1600. By the late eighteenth century it controlled large territories in India, and Parliament felt obliged to regulate it. The Regulating Act of 1773 and Pitt's India Act of 1784 set up a dual system of control, with the Board of Control in London supervising the Company's political affairs. After that, each renewal of the Company's charter became an occasion for Parliament to review and reform Indian administration.

The debates around each renewal reflected changes in Britain: the rise of free-trade ideas that opposed monopolies, the influence of evangelicals who wanted missionary activity, utilitarian thinkers who believed in codified law, and public concern about patronage and corruption. Indian voices also emerged, as Raja Ram Mohan Roy gave evidence in London during the 1833 debates.

Key features and provisions

• 1793 Act: continued the Company's monopoly and powers; extended the Governor-General's authority over the Bombay and Madras presidencies; members of the Board of Control were to be paid from Indian revenues.
• 1813 Act: ended the Indian trade monopoly except in tea and the China trade, opened India to British merchants, allowed Christian missionaries to come, and set aside funds for "revival and improvement of literature" and the promotion of knowledge of sciences.
• 1833 Act: made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India, gave him exclusive legislative power for British India, added a Law Member (first Thomas Babington Macaulay), ended the Company's commercial role, and stated that no Indian would be barred from office on grounds of religion, birth, descent or colour.
• 1853 Act: created a separate legislative wing of the council, the Indian Legislative Council, with six additional members; introduced open competition for the Indian Civil Service; did not fix a time limit for the charter.