Battle of Plassey, 1757 — 1757 · Plassey

Language Movement, 1952 — 1952 · Language

Liberation War, 1971 — 1971 · Liberation

Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi movement, 1905 — 1905 · Partition

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Discover Bengal · Unfolded

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Charles Cornwallis

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Governor-General of Bengal

Governor-General associated with the 1793 Permanent Settlement in Bengal.

Est. 1947 · Bengal✺A Bilingual Archive

Biography

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Context

In the context of The settlement formed part of late eighteenth-century Company state-building and was intended to stabilize revenue collection through a landed intermediary class. Its implementation varied across Bengal and affected cultivators as well as zamindars., Charles Cornwallis is recognized as Governor-General of Bengal. Governor-General associated with the 1793 Permanent Settlement in Bengal.

Contribution

As Governor-General of Bengal, Charles Cornwallis oversaw the 1793 Permanent Settlement, which fixed the Company's land revenue demand and recognized zamindars as proprietary landholders.

Impact

Cornwallis's land policy reshaped agrarian power, landlord–cultivator relations, and colonial revenue administration in Bengal. Its long-term effects remain central to the history of rural property and indebtedness.

1793permanent-settlementcolonial-governance

Topic Hub: Explore related topics - Colonial Bengal: From Plassey to Permanent Settlement

Timeline Placement

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Charles Cornwallis appears in 1 linked timeline events, spanning 1793.

First Appearance

1793

Latest Appearance

1793

Active Span

1793

Linked Events

Legacy Summary

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References

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Key sources for understanding this figure

A Rule of Property for Bengal: An Essay on the Idea of Permanent Settlement

Major academic study of the intellectual, administrative, and property-rights logic behind the Permanent Settlement in Bengal.

Cited in: 1 events

Cornwallis Code

Concise overview of the 1793 regulations that codified the Bengal system, including the permanent revenue settlement and the administrative order around it.

Cited in: 1 events

Permanent Settlement, The

Bengal-focused reference on the 1793 settlement, zamindari property rights, and its impact on raiyats and agrarian relations.

Cited in: 1 events

Revenue Sale Law, 1793

Useful for understanding the coercive enforcement side of Permanent Settlement, including auction sales, default, and the weakening of customary raiyat rights.

Cited in: 1 events

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Related Figures

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Related Events

1793

Permanent Settlement in Bengal

Related Places

Bengal Region

Appears In Events

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Timeline View

1793

Permanent Settlement in Bengal

In 1793, the East India Company introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal. Revenue demand was fixed permanently, and zamindars and talukdars were recognized as hereditary proprietors under colonial law. The measure aimed to stabilize revenue and bind local landed elites to Company rule, but it also deepened agrarian inequality and weakened the customary position of cultivators.