Charter Act 1813

East India Company Act 1813 ^[1]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for continuing in the East India Company, for a further Term, the Possession of the British Territories in India, together with certain exclusive Privileges; for establishing further Regulations for the Government of the said Territories, and the better Administration of Justice within the same; and for regulating the Trade to and from the Places within the Limits of the said Company's Charter.
Citation	53 Geo. 3. c. 155
Dates
Royal assent	22 July 1813
Other legislation
Amended by	Statute Law Revision Act 1878 Statute Law Revision Act 1888 Statute Law Revision Act 1890
Repealed by	Government of India Act 1915
Status: Repealed

The East India Company Act 1813 (53 Geo. 3. c. 155), also known as the Charter Act 1813, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that renewed the charter issued to the British East India Company, and continued the Company's rule in India. However, the Company's commercial monopoly was ended, except for the tea and opium trade and the trade with China, this reflecting the growth of British power in India.

Contents

The act expressly asserted the Crown's sovereignty over British India, allotted 100,000 rupees annually for the improvement of literary and scientific knowledge, and permitted Christian missionaries to propagate English and preach their religion in Company's territories. The power of the provincial governments and courts in India over European British subjects was also strengthened by the Act, and financial provision was also made to encourage a revival in Indian literature and for the promotion of science. ^[2]

Prior to the 1813 legislation, the British Parliament and the East India Company had refused to countenance missionary activity in India, and proscribed the Bible and forbade religious education, in support of a policy of religious neutrality and on the basis that, if exposed to Christianity, Indians may have felt threatened and thus would have posed a threat to British commercial ventures. ^[3] The lifting of the prohibition, when it occurred, was not however a victory for missionaries, and did not precipitate official support for their activity; instead, they were subject to stringent checks. ^[4]

The Company's charter had previously been renewed by the East India Company Act 1793, and was next renewed by the Government of India Act 1833.

See also

• East India Company Act

References

Cited sources

1. Short title as conferred by the Short Titles Act 1896, s. 1; the modern convention for the citation of short titles omits the comma after the word "Act".
2. Keith, Arthur Berriedale (1936). A Constitutional History of India 1600–1935. London: Methuen. pp.  128–129.
3. Viswanathan, Gauri (1989). Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 36.
4. Viswanathan 1989, pp. 36–7.

Bibliography

• East India Company Act 1813. Printed by George Eyre and Andrew Strahan, Printers to the King's most Excellent Majesty. London. 1813.
• The Statutes: Second Revised Edition. 1889. Volume 3. Pages 811 to 820.
• The Statutes: Revised Edition. 1877. Volume 5. Pages 278 to 287.
• Andrew Lyon. A Guide to the Law of India. 1872. Pages 20, 67, 92 and 103. 1873. Volume 2. Pages 108, 112 and 295 to 298.
• The Law Relating to India, and the East-India Company. Fourth Edition. Wm H Allen & Co. London. 1842. Pages 167 to 199.