The Charter Act 1793 - A Complete Overview

23 November, 2021
12 min read
Relevance:
Download PDF

Provisions of Charter Act of 1793

The Charter Act 1793 came during John Shore.
The Charter of EIC was renewed for 20 years.
The power to override the Council was expanded to future Governor Generals (GG) and Governors.
GG's control over Bombay and Madras was strengthened. Now, he could exercise all executive power vested in the Central Government.
It provided in India the concept of a civil law enacted by a secular agency and applied universally.
It established a regular code of all regulations for the internal government which applied to all Indians in all matters and it bound the courts to administer justice according to the regular code.
All laws were to be printed and translations in local languages done so that people could know of the law governing them.
EIC empowered to grant licenses to individuals and EIC employees to trade in India - It led to the Opium trade to China.

Significance of Charter Act of 1793

It thus laid the foundation of government by written laws and regulations in British India in place of the personal rule of the past rulers. The interpretation of regulations and written laws was to be done by the Courts.

Limitations of Charter Act of 1793

Indians were not given positions where they could share the influence or authority.
Indians were excluded "to satisfy the demand of English men for lucrative jobs."

Newsletter Subscription

Important Links