A “British Presidency” refers to the major administrative divisions (Madras, established in 1640; Bombay in 1687 when the headquarters were sifted from Surat; and Bengal, which came up in 1690) established by the British East India Company in India, which served as centers of power with their own governors, military, and economic control.
The British Raj started with the concept of presidencies as centers of governance. Until 1834, when a General Legislative Council was established, each presidency, through its governor and council, was empowered to write a set of so-called’ regulations’ for its governance. As a result, each area or province added to a presidency via conquest or treaty was subject to the existing rules of that administration. However, in the event of provinces conquered but not annexed to any of the three presidencies, their official staff might be furnished as the governor-general saw fit, and were not subject to the existing norms of the Bengal, Madras, or Bombay presidencies.
On the 1st of November 1858 the powers of East India Company seized through a Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s proclamation which was read in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) by the Lord Canning, the Viceroy of India marking the transfer of powers under the Crown and establishing a just and acceptable system of administration of India as a British colony. It was on this day that Allahabad became a capital of India just for a day and thereafter, Calcutta was declared as the capital of India.
In 1863, John Lawrence, the Viceroy of India, decided to relocate the British Raj’s summer capital of India from Calcutta to Shimla, almost sixteen hundred kilometers away, in spite of all the hardships.
Finally, His Majesty King George V made Delhi the capital announcing the change at the Delhi Durbar on the 12th day of December in 1911 on his visit to India after coronation. Delhi continues to exist as India’s capital till date since its independence on 15 August 1947.
Throughout this time, the British left a lasting mark on India’s indigenous landscape and systems, introducing developments in architecture, bridges, railways, the judiciary, civil services, and more. On this 16-day tour will guide you through Madras (now Chennai), Bombay (now Mumbai). Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Calcutta (now Kolkata), Shimla and Delhi, understand the progressive history of the British in India, admire the British architecture and stay at the heritage/colonial hotels at each place.
