New
New
Year 8
Mughal authority and the East India Company
I can evaluate when Mughal authority in India collapsed.
New
New
Year 8
Mughal authority and the East India Company
I can evaluate when Mughal authority in India collapsed.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Mughal authority grew weaker during the late-17th and 18th centuries.
- The Mughals were challenged by rebellions, leadership struggles, the rise of successor states and foreign invasions.
- The British East India Company's power grew significantly during the 18th century.
- Most historians agree that Mughal authority collapsed at some point during the 18th century.
- Historians evaluating Mughal collapse often focus on the emperor's level of political control and military power.
Keywords
Successor state - a successor state is a smaller country which is formed after a larger country begins to breakdown
Assassinated - when an important person is killed for political reasons, it is said that they have been assassinated
Authority - authority refers to the ability to keep others under your control
Common misconception
Mughal authority collapsed in the 17th century.
Mughal rule faced challenges, but the emperors still had enough military power and political control to maintain their authority during the 17th century.
During learning cycle three, pupils could be tasked with completing a time-power axis graph charting the level of Mughal authority at different points (i.e. 1669, 1688, 1719, 1724, 1739, 1764, 1765). Doing this can support pupils conceptualise the idea of declining and collapsing Mughal authority.
Teacher tip
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of serious crime
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
Loading...
Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
What was the name of the British East India Company's French rival?
Q2.
What type of force did Robert Clive command on behalf of the EIC at the Battle of Plassey (1757)?
army of 2800 European soldiers
army of 2800 sepoys
army of 2100 European soldiers and 700 sepoys
Q3.
What was the outcome of the Battle of Buxar (1764)?
Victory for the Mughals, Mir Qasim and Nawab of Awadh
No clear winner on either side
Q4.
Write the missing word. The changes in India between 1757 and 1765 have been described as part of the Revolution.
Q5.
What area did the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) grant the EIC control over?
Awadh
Hyderabad
Mughal Empire
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chornological order.
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Write the missing keyword. In 1719, powerful nobles Emperor Farrukhsiyar.
Q2.
After 1724, who did officials in Hyderabad swear loyalty to?
The East India Company
The Mughal Emperor
Q3.
What was the outcome of the Jat rebellions (1669 and 1685-88)?
Mughal emperor forced to change his policies
Mughal emperor was overthrown
Q4.
Which of the following was agreed to as part of the Treaty of Allahabad (1765)?
The Nawab of Bengal was placed under the protection of the Mughal emperor.
The EIC was placed under the protection of the Nawab of Bengal.
The EIC was placed under the protection of the Mughal emperor.
Q5.
Which example best demonstrates Mughal military weakness?
In 1685, the EIC refused to pay taxes to the Mughals.
Officials in Hyderabad swore their loyalty to the Nizams, not the emperor.
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chornological order.