Subsidiary alliance

A subsidiary alliance, in South Asian history, was a tributary alliance between an Indian state and a European East India Company, most notably the British East India Company.

Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed an agreement with the company concerned was provided with protection against external attacks. In return, the ruler was required to:

  • Maintain the Company's army at or near the capital of the state;
  • Accept the British as the supreme power in matters of external affairs;
  • Provide money or territory to the Company for the maintenance of the troops;
  • Expel all other Europeans from the state and refrain from employing them in military or civil services;
  • Maintain a British official, known as a Resident, at the capital, who supervised diplomatic relations and correspondence with other states, thereby preventing the ruler from conducting foreign relations without British approval.

The ruler was also forbidden from maintaining an independent standing army. Although internal administration formally remained with the ruler, agents of the East India Company increasingly interfered in the internal affairs of allied states, including succession disputes and governance.

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