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Year 8

Mughal authority and the East India Company

I can evaluate when Mughal authority in India collapsed.

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Year 8

Mughal authority and the East India Company

I can evaluate when Mughal authority in India collapsed.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Mughal authority grew weaker during the late-17th and 18th centuries.
  2. The Mughals were challenged by rebellions, leadership struggles, the rise of successor states and foreign invasions.
  3. The British East India Company's power grew significantly during the 18th century.
  4. Most historians agree that Mughal authority collapsed at some point during the 18th century.
  5. 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.


To help you plan your year 8 history lesson on: Mughal authority and the East India Company, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

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.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
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Adult supervision required

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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

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What was the name of the British East India Company's French rival?
Correct Answer: Compagnie des Indes
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
Correct answer: army of 700 European soldiers and 2100 sepoys
Q3.
What was the outcome of the Battle of Buxar (1764)?
Correct answer: Victory for the EIC
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.
Correct Answer: Plassey
Q5.
What area did the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) grant the EIC control over?
Awadh
Correct answer: Bengal
Hyderabad
Mughal Empire
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chornological order.
1 - EIC constructs fort in Calcutta without permission
2 - Nawab of Bengal conquers the British fort
3 - Battle of Plassey
4 - Nawabs of Bengal become puppet rulers controlled by the EIC
5 - Battle of Buxar
6 - Mughal Emperor and EIc sign the Treaty of Allahabad

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing keyword. In 1719, powerful nobles Emperor Farrukhsiyar.
Correct Answer: assassinated
Q2.
After 1724, who did officials in Hyderabad swear loyalty to?
The East India Company
The Mughal Emperor
Correct answer: The nizam
Q3.
What was the outcome of the Jat rebellions (1669 and 1685-88)?
Mughal emperor forced to change his policies
Mughal emperor was overthrown
Correct answer: Jat rebels defeated
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.
Correct answer: The Mughal emperor was placed under the protection of the EIC.
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.
Correct answer: Nadir Shah ordered the sack of Delhi.
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chornological order.
1 - EIC founds its first factories in India.
2 - Mughals defeat the EIC during Child's War.
3 - EIC begins recruiting sepoys.
4 - EIC wins the Battle of Plassey.
5 - Nawabs of Bengal become puppet rulers controlled by the EIC.
6 - EIC wins the Battle of Buxar.
7 - Treaty of Allahabad gives the EIC control over Bengal.