48-722: Coorg Province was a province of British India from 1834 to 1947 and the Dominion of India from 1947 to 1950. Mercara was the capital of the province. It was administered by a Commissioner and later, Chief Commissioner appointed by the Government of India. The Chief Commissioner, was usually based in Bangalore . From 1834 to 1881, the Chief Commissioner, was also the Commissioner of Mysore. From 1881 to 1940,
96-675: A chief commissioner: At the time of independence in 1947, British India had 17 provinces: Upon the Partition of India into the Dominion of India and Dominion of Pakistan , eleven provinces (Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Bombay, Central Provinces and Berar, Coorg, Delhi, Madras, Panth-Piploda, Orissa, and the United Provinces) joined India, three (Baluchistan, North-West Frontier and Sindh) joined Pakistan, and three ( Punjab , Bengal and Assam ) were partitioned between India and Pakistan. In 1950, after
144-432: A legislative power existed in such places. The same two kinds of management applied for districts. Thus Ganjam and Vizagapatam were non-regulation districts. Non-regulation provinces included: At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a governor or a lieutenant-governor. The following table lists their areas and populations (but does not include those of
192-411: A model civil service made of native Indians. Cubbon was succeeded by L. B. Bowring who ruled till 1870. Bowring was succeeded by R. J. Meade, C. B. Saunders and J. D. Gordon. From 1834 to 1869, the administrator was styled "Commissioner of Mysore and Coorg" and from 1869 to 1881, Chief Commissioner of Mysore and Coorg. When the kingdom of Mysore was restored in 1881, the Commissioner of Coorg ceased to be
240-642: A quarter of the population of the British Raj and two fifths of its land area, with the provinces comprising the remainders. In 1608, the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar issued a royal farman to the East India Company to establish a small trading settlement at Surat (now in the state of Gujarat ), and this became the company's first headquarters town. It was followed in 1611 by a permanent factory at Machilipatnam on
288-484: A small part of Burma, and by 1886, almost two thirds of Burma had been made part of British India. This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma was reorganized as a separate British colony. British India did not apply to other countries in the region, such as Sri Lanka (then Ceylon ), which was a British Crown colony , or the Maldive Islands , which were a British protectorate . At its greatest extent, in
336-718: A total of 25 vernacular schools, most of them affiliated to the Central School at Mercara. There were Anglo-Vernacular schools in all taluk headquarters. Presidencies and provinces of British India The provinces of India , earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns , were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent . Collectively, they have been called British India . In one form or another, they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods: "British India" did not include
384-671: The Battle of Buxar , the Company obtained the Diwani of Bengal, which included the right to administer and collect land-revenue (land tax) in Bengal , the region of present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar beginning from 1772 as per the treaty signed in 1765. By 1773, the Company obtained the Nizāmat of Bengal (the "exercise of criminal jurisdiction") and thereby full sovereignty of
432-599: The Bengal Presidency established in 1765—and the abolition of local rule (Nizamat) in Bengal in 1793, the company gradually began to formally expand its territories across India . By the mid-19th century, and after the three Anglo-Maratha Wars and the four Anglo-Mysore Wars , the East India Company had become the paramount political and military power in south Asia, its territory held in trust for
480-748: The British Crown . Company rule in Bengal (after 1793) was terminated by the Government of India Act 1858 , following the events of the Bengal Rebellion of 1857 . Henceforth known as British India, it was thereafter directly ruled as a colonial possession of the United Kingdom , and India was officially known after 1876 as the Indian Empire . India was divided into British India, regions that were directly administered by
528-597: The Coromandel Coast , and in 1612 the company joined other already established European trading companies in Bengal in trade. However, the power of the Mughal Empire declined from 1707, first at the hands of the Marathas and later due to invasion from Persia (1739) and Afghanistan (1761); after the East India Company's victories at the Battle of Plassey (1757), and Battle of Buxar (1764)—both within
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#1732783505057576-461: The British, with acts established and passed in the British parliament, and the princely states , ruled by local rulers of different ethnic backgrounds. These rulers were allowed a measure of internal autonomy in exchange for recognition of British suzerainty . British India constituted a significant portion of India both in area and population; in 1910, for example, it covered approximately 54% of
624-880: The British. The two main roads in Coorg constructed in the 19th century were the Eastern Trunk Road and the Northern Trunk Road both meeting at Mercara. The road from Mysore enters Coorg at Fraserpet and runs for nineteen and a half miles to Mercara. Construction was commenced in January 1835 by the Sappers and Mines company and completed in 1837. The road traverses the Cauvery by a 516 feet long masonry bridge with 7 arches completed between 1846 and 1848. The Sampaji Ghat road which connects Mercara with Mangalore
672-534: The Central government. Other major food crops grown in Coorg were orange, cardamom and pepper. As of 1950, there were 41,182 acres under coffee cultivation, 88,105 acres under paddy, 17,924 acres under orange, 4,370 acres under cardamom, 3,180 acres under rubber and 258 acres under pepper. There have been roads in existence in Coorg for many centuries but these roads were not suitable enough for bullock carts and carriages. The first tractable roads in Coorg were built by
720-680: The Chief Commission was separated from the Mysore Residency and a separate Chief Commissioner was appointed with his seat in Mercara. The province of Coorg was divided into six taluks - Kiggatnad, Mercara, Nanjarajapatna, Padinalkad, Yedenalkad and Yelusaviraseeme. The taluks were further sub-divided into nad s or hobli s. In 1878, Coorg had a total of 508 villages and six towns - Mercara, Virajpet , Fraserpet, Somwarpet , Kodlipet and Ponnampet . The revenue system of Coorg
768-725: The Chief Commissioner was usually the British Resident to the princely state of Mysore . The province of Coorg was established in May 1834, when the Kingdom of Coorg was abolished and its territories annexed to British India in the aftermath of the Coorg War . Coorg Province was largely inhabited by the Kodava people who spoke the Kodava language . During the 19th century, a number of coffee plantations were established in Coorg with
816-530: The Coorg Landholders' Association was formed to campaign for more rights for landholders. On 28 January 1924, a 20-member legislative assembly was established comprising 15 elected and 5 nominated members. This assembly survived with minor changes even after the independence. In 1949, the number of members was reduced by two when the European constituency was abolished. A judicial system on part with
864-736: The Labbai, Mappilai, Pathan and Pindari communities. Muslims in Coorg were predominantly Sunni. Of the 2,410 Christians, 181 were European and 229 were Anglo-Indian. The official language in Coorg province was Kannada but the mother tongue of the native Kodava people was the Kodava takk. Kodava takk was often considered to be nothing more than a dialect of Kannada and the linguist Robert Caldwell concluded that Kodava "stood midway between Old Canarese ( Hale Kannada ) and Tulu". Other important languages spoken in Coorg included Tulu, Malayalam , English and various tribal languages. The total estimated revenue of
912-754: The Madras Presidency (or the Presidency of Fort St. George), the Bombay Presidency, and the Bengal Presidency (or the Presidency of Fort William)—each administered by a governor. After Robert Clive 's victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the puppet government of a new Nawab of Bengal , was maintained by the East India Company. However, after the invasion of Bengal by the Nawab of Oudh in 1764 and his subsequent defeat in
960-467: The adjacent Ashtagrama Division of Mysore of which Coorg was a part of, from November 1862 to July 1863. The Judicial Commissioner of Coorg was the highest appellate authority in the province. This office was created in 1856. According to the 1871 census, Coorg had a population of 168,312 with Hindus making up 154,474 or 91.6 percent of the total population and Muslims (11,304; 6.7 percent), Christians (2,410; 1.4 percent) and Jains (112 individuals) making up
1008-439: The administrator of Mysore and post was replaced with that of a Resident who continued to direct affairs from Bangalore. On 1 July 1940, Coorg was made practically independent of Mysore and a separate Chief Commissioner, J. W. Pritchard was appointed to administer the province. Pritchard was succeeded by Ketoli Chengappa , the first Indian to hold the post. Coorg became independent of British rule on 15 August 1947 when Chengappa
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#17327835050571056-518: The area and included over 77% of the population. In addition, there were Portuguese and French exclaves in India. Independence from British rule was achieved in 1947 with the formation of two nations, the Dominions of India and Pakistan , the latter including East Bengal , present-day Bangladesh . The term British India also applied to Burma for a shorter time period: beginning in 1824,
1104-422: The company established its first factory at Hoogly in 1640. Almost a half-century later, after Mughal Emperor Aurengzeb forced the company out of Hooghly for its tax evasion, Job Charnock was tenant of three small villages, later renamed Calcutta , in 1686, making it the company's new headquarters. By the mid-18th century, the three principal trading settlements including factories and forts, were then called
1152-492: The defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War more of his territory was annexed to the Madras Presidency. In 1801, Carnatic , which had been under the suzerainty of the company, began to be directly administered by it as a part of the Madras Presidency. By 1851, the East India Company's vast and growing holdings across the sub-continent were still grouped into just four main territories: By
1200-438: The dependent native states): During the partition of Bengal (1905–1912), a new lieutenant-governor's province of Eastern Bengal and Assam existed. In 1912, the partition was partially reversed, with the eastern and western halves of Bengal re-united and the province of Assam re-established; a new lieutenant-governor's province of Bihar and Orissa was also created. In addition, there were a few provinces that were administered by
1248-639: The early 20th century, the territory of British India extended as far as the frontiers of Persia in the west; Afghanistan in the northwest; Nepal in the north, Tibet in the northeast; and China, French Indochina and Siam in the east. It also included the Aden Province in the Arabian Peninsula . The East India Company , which was incorporated on 31 December 1600, established trade relations with Indian rulers in Masulipatam on
1296-698: The east coast in 1611 and Surat on the west coast in 1612. The company rented a small trading outpost in Madras in 1639. Bombay, which was ceded to the British Crown by Portugal as part of the wedding dowry of Catherine of Braganza in 1661, was in turn granted to the East India Company to be held in trust for the Crown. Meanwhile, in eastern India , after obtaining permission from the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to trade with Bengal,
1344-695: The expanded Bengal Presidency . During the period, 1773 to 1785, very little changed; the only exceptions were the addition of the dominions of the Raja of Banares to the western boundary of the Bengal Presidency, and the addition of Salsette Island to the Bombay Presidency . Portions of the Kingdom of Mysore were annexed to the Madras Presidency after the Third Anglo-Mysore War ended in 1792. Next, in 1799, after
1392-491: The local market but recovered in 1890 when there was a shortage of supply from Brazil. With fluctuating fortunes, coffee continues to be Coorg's most important source of revenue. Rice is Coorg's principal food crop. In 1948-49, Coorg exported about 11,800 tons of rice to Mysore state and the Malabar district of Madras Presidency. About 240 tons of wheat were, in return, imported every year from Mysore as per an allotment made by
1440-417: The many princely states which continued to be ruled by Indian princes, though by the 19th century under British suzerainty —their defence, foreign relations, and communications relinquished to British authority and their internal rule closely monitored. At the time of Indian Independence, in 1947 , there were officially 565 princely states, a few being very large although most were very small. They comprised
1488-499: The new Indian constitution was adopted, the provinces in India were replaced by redrawn states and union territories. Pakistan, however, retained its five provinces, one of which, East Bengal , was renamed East Pakistan in 1956 and became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971. Fraserpet Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
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1536-504: The province in 1949-50 was Rs. 62.98 lakhs and the estimated expenditure stood at Rs. 87.69 lakhs. The main products of Coorg include coffee , tea and rubber . Coorg was one of India's largest producers of tea with a total of 415 acres under tea cultivation. During the rule of the Coorg Rajahs, rice was the most important crop cultivated. It was replaced by coffee when the state passed into British rule. The first coffee plantation
1584-543: The rest of British India was constituted as per the Coorg Courts' Act XXV of 1868. As per this act, from 1 December 1868 onwards, a Subedar's court, a Daryaft Kacheri, an Assistant Superintendents' Court, a Superintendents' Court, a Sessions' Court and a Judicial Commissioners' Court were created. There was one Subedars' Court for every taluk each of which was presided over by the Subedar of the taluk. The Daryaft Kacheri
1632-534: The rest. There were also 10 Parsis and 2 Chinese. Among the adherents of Hinduism, the Kodavas numbered 26,389 individuals (17 percent), the rest being non-Kodavas. Tribal Hindus numbered 14,783 (9 percent) and nomadic tribes and gypsies numbered 1,344 (0.8 percent). The Amma Kodavas are believed to have comprised the priestly class of the Kodavas prior to the arrival of Brahmins. Muslims were largely concentrated in Mercara, Padinelkad and Yedinalkad taluks and belonged to
1680-649: The result that Coorg became one of the largest producers of coffee in the British Empire. The Kodava people of Coorg were renowned for their bravery and supplied a vast proportion of recruits to the British Indian army. A Legislative council was established in 1924 comprising 15 elected and five nominated members. Coorg Province became a Part-C state of the Indian Union when the Republic of India
1728-500: The time of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , and the end of Company rule, the developments could be summarised as follows: The British Raj began with the idea of the presidencies as the centres of government. Until 1834, when a General Legislative Council was formed, each presidency under its governor and council was empowered to enact a code of so-called 'regulations' for its government. Therefore, any territory or province that
1776-537: The war was appointed military administrator and served as the first Commissioner of Coorg Province. Fraser left in October 1834 when he was appointed Resident to the Kingdom of Mysore and Capt Le Hardy was appointed to succeed him. Le Hardy was succeeded by Sir Mark Cubbon who also took charge as Commissioner of Mysore in 1834 when the king Krishnaraja Wadiyar III was deposed. In 1837, a major insurrection broke out in
1824-521: The western part of the province instigated by the Tulu -speaking Gowda farmers which was finally quelled after a lengthy drawn-out operation. The Kodava chieftains who had largely remained impervious to nationalist sentiment and assisted the British with men, money and logistics, were rewarded with land grants, titles and the Coorg medal. Cubbon ruled till 1859 reforming all branches of provincial administration and strictly imposing law and order. He also set up
1872-482: Was added by conquest or treaty to a presidency came under the existing regulations of the corresponding presidency. However, in the case of provinces that were acquired but were not annexed to any of the three presidencies, their official staff could be provided as the governor-general pleased, and was not governed by the existing regulations of the Bengal, Madras, or Bombay presidencies. Such provinces became known as 'non-regulation provinces' and up to 1833 no provision for
1920-486: Was based on the "Rules for the conduct of district functionaries in Coorg", a document issued by Colonel Fraser on 30 August 1834. Till 1924, Coorg did not have a legislature of its own. By a notification dated 22 February 1875, Coorg was included in the Scheduled Districts Act IV of 1874 which empowered the provincial government to exempt Coorg Province from certain pan-Indian legislations. In 1920,
1968-404: Was commenced after the monsoons in 1837 and was completed after enduring much practical difficulties and fever. The road from Cannanore to Mercara was completed in 1849 and extended to Kodlipet in 1862. The road was opened for traffic in 1868. The Northern Trunk Road connects Mercara with Manjarabad through Somwarpet and Kodlipet and was completed in 1869. A Public Works Department for Coorg Province
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2016-439: Was established near Mercara in 1854. From 1854 to 1870, coffee cultivation in Coorg expanded rapidly as exports increased from 579 tons in 1857 to 3,000 tons in 1867 and 4,880 tons in 1876. Coffee production slowed down due to a blight in 1870 in 1871 but recovered quickly reaching the peak of production between 1878 and 1883. Coffee prices fell by 40 percent between 1879 and 1889 due to the competition of imported Brazilian coffee on
2064-475: Was inaugurated in 1862. The department was headed by an Executive Engineer. There were no railways in Coorg though various suggestions have been mooted from time to time. In 1902, Coorg planters petitioned the Viceroy Lord Curzon for the construction of a railway connecting Coorg with Tellicherry on west coast. A survey was carried out to build a line from Mysore to Tellicherry but the proposal
2112-631: Was inaugurated on 26 January 1950. In 1956, the state was merged with the neighbouring Mysore State was per the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 . Coorg Province was established in June 1834 following the capitulation of the last Maharajah of the Kingdom of Coorg , Chikka Virarajendra on 24 April 1834 culminating the Coorg War . General James Stuart Fraser , the Commander-in-chief of the East India Company forces in
2160-483: Was presided over by a Moktasir who was a native judge assisted by four Panchayatdars. The Assistant Superintendents' Court was presided over by an Englishman and an Indian each holding the powers of a magistrate and sub-magistrate respectively. The Superintendents' Court was presided over by the Superintendent of Coorg who exercised original jurisdiction. The Sessions' Court was presided over the Superintendent of
2208-603: Was ruled by a Commissioner and from 1869, a Chief Commissioner based in Bangalore. From 1881, the Chief Commissioner was usually the Resident to the princely state of Mysore. He directed his affairs through a Superintendent stationed at Fraserpet during the monsoon season and at Mercara throughout the rest of the year. The Superintendent was usually a European officer of the Mysore Civil Service. On 1 July 1940,
2256-517: Was subsequently shelved. In 1834, the first schools teaching English and Kanarese were opened at Mercara and Virajpet. This was followed by a Canarese medium school at Kiggatnad. A total of Rs. 90 was allotted towards establishment of an education department. However, the Kiggatnad school closed down in 1842 due to lack of funds. In 1855, Dr. Moegling, the first Protestant missionary in Coorg established an English school at Mercara. By 1870, there were
2304-552: Was the Chief Commissioner. It remained a province until 26 January 1950, when the Constitution of India replaced provinces with states. When the East India Company took over the state at the end of the Coorg War, the taluks of Amara-Sulya and Puttur were separated from Coorg and attached to Kanara . In October 1834, direct rule of the Company was established with the formation of the province of Coorg. From then on, Coorg
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