Regulating Act 1773

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East India Company Act 1772 [a]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title An Act for establishing certain Regulations for the better Management of the Affairs of the East India Company, as well in India as in Europe.
Citation 13 Geo. 3. c. 63
Introduced by Frederick North, Lord North on 18 May 1773
Territorial extent 
Dates
Royal assent 21 June 1773
Commencement 10 June 1773 1:00pm
Repealed23 August 1916
Other legislation
Amended by
Repealed by Government of India (Amendment) Act 1916
Relates to
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The East India Company Act 1772 [a] (13 Geo. 3. c. 63) (also known as the Regulating Act 1773) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain intended to overhaul the management of the East India Company's rule in India (Bengal). [1] The act did not prove to be a long-term solution to concerns over the company's affairs. The East India Company Act 1784 (24 Geo. 3. Sess. 2. c. 25) was therefore subsequently enacted as a more radical reform. It marked the first step towards parliamentary control over the company and centralised administration in India.

Contents

Background

By 1773, the East India Company (EIC) was in dire financial straits. The company was important to the British Empire because it was a monopoly trading company in India and the east, and many influential people were shareholders. The EIC paid £40,000 (equivalent to £46.1 million in 2015) annually to the government to maintain its monopoly but had been unable to meet its commitments since 1768 because of the loss of tea sales to America. About 85% of all the tea in America was smuggled Dutch tea. The EIC owed money to both the Bank of England and the government. It had 15 million lbs (6.8 million kg) of tea rotting in British warehouses and more en route from India. The act, complemented by the Tea Act 1773 (13 Geo. 3. c. 44), had the principal objective of reducing the surplus of tea held by the financially troubled EIC and improving the company's financial standing.

Lord North overhauled the management of the India Company with the act. The EIC had taken over large areas of India for trading purposes and had an army to protect its interests. Company men were not trained to govern, so North's government began moves towards government control since India was of national importance. The act set up a system whereby the British government supervised the work of the EIC. Company shareholders opposed the act, and the EIC was still a powerful lobbying group in Parliament despite its financial problems. [2]

Provisions

Subsequent developments

The whole act was repealed by section 7(2) of, and the second schedule to, the Government of India (Amendment) Act 1916 (6 & 7 Geo. 5. c. 37).

See also

Note

  1. 1 2 The citation of this act by this short title was authorised by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the Short Titles Act 1896. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978. The modern convention for the citation of short titles omits the comma after the word "Act".

References

  1. ↑ "Regulating Act | Great Britain [1773]| Britannica".
  2. ↑ The making of British India 1756-1858 Ramsay Muir page 133-39
  3. 1 2 3 Wolpert, Stanley (2009). A New History of India (8th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford UP. p. 19n5. ISBN   978-0-19-533756-3.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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