Great Bengal famine of 1770

A catastrophic famine in Bengal from 1769 to 1773, caused by drought and worsened by East India Company policies, that killed millions.

Bengal famine of 1943: A famine in Bengal during 1943 that killed millions amid wartime disruption and colonial policy failures. A later Bengal famine shows how famine emerged under different pressures within colonial rule.
Battle of Plassey: A 1757 battle in which the East India Company defeated the forces of Bengal’s Nawab and French allies. The Company’s victory began its decisive political ascendancy in Bengal.
Warren Hastings: A British colonial administrator who served as the first governor-general of Bengal from 1773 to 1785. He took office as the famine ended and later oversaw changes to Company administration.
Shah Alam II: A Mughal emperor who reigned from 1760 to 1806 and granted the Company revenue rights in Bengal in 1765. His grant formally connected Mughal sovereignty to Company revenue collection before the famine.
East India Company: An English trading corporation that governed large parts of the Indian subcontinent. Its revenue collection and trade policies shaped the famine’s effects.
Battle of Buxar: A 1764 battle in which the East India Company defeated a coalition of Indian rulers. Its outcome strengthened Company power before the famine.
Regulating Act 1773: A British law that placed the East India Company’s government in India under greater parliamentary oversight. The famine formed part of the context for scrutiny of Company rule.
Robert Clive: A British East India Company officer and administrator who helped establish Company power in India. His administration preceded the famine and helped establish the Company’s governing arrangements.
Bengal Subah: A Mughal province encompassing much of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha before Company rule. The famine struck a region whose political economy had recently passed from Mughal to Company authority.
Diwani of Bengal: The East India Company’s 1765 grant of revenue-collection rights in Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. The new revenue authority shaped how the Company governed the famine-stricken region.

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