Background
The famine occurred in the territory which was called Bengal, then ruled by the British East India Company. This territory included modern West Bengal, Bangladesh, and parts of Assam, Orissa, Bihar, and Jharkhand. It was earlier a province of the Mughal empire from the 16th century and was ruled by a Nawab, or governor. In early 18th century, as the Mughal empire started collapsing, The Nawab became effectively independent of the Mughal rule. Following the Maratha Expeditions in Bengal, they became a tributary of the Marathas in Pune.
In the 17th century the then-English East India Company had been given a grant of the town of Calcutta by the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja. At this time the Company was effectively another tributary power of the Mughal. During the following century, the company obtained sole trading rights for the province and went on to become the dominant power in Bengal. In 1757, at the Battle of Plassey, the British defeated the then-Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah and plundered the Bengali treasury. In 1764 their military control was reaffirmed at Buxar. The subsequent treaty gained them the Diwani, that is, taxation rights; the Company thereby became the de facto ruler of Bengal.
Read more about this topic: Bengal Famine Of 1770
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