The First War of Independence 1857 was a rebellion against the British. With reference to this, answer the following questions:

(i) The Subsidiary Alliance was introduced by Lord Wellesley. Under this system, the Indian rulers who agreed to it:

1. Accepted the British as the supreme power.
2. Surrendered their foreign relations to the East India Company and agreed that they would not enter into any alliance with any other power and would not wage wars.
3. Accepted a British Resident at their headquarters and agreed not to employ any European in their service without consulting the Company.

(ii) Three economic causes of the First War of Independence were:

1. Exploitation of Economic Resources — The British made agricultural India an economic colony to serve the interests of industrial England. India was forced to export raw materials such as raw cotton and raw silk at low prices, while British manufactured goods were imported into India duty-free or at nominal duties.
2. Drain of Wealth — After the conquest of Bengal, the British began to purchase raw material for their industries in England out of the revenues of Bengal itself. The transfer of wealth from India to England, for which India got no proportionate economic return, is called the Drain of Wealth.
3. Decay of Cottage Industries and Handicrafts — Heavy duties on Indian silk and cotton textiles in Britain and the import of cheap British manufactured goods into India led to the decline of Indian cottage industries and caused unemployment among artisans.

(iii)
(a) Two changes made in the administration were:

1. The rule of the East India Company came to an end and the Government of India was taken over directly by the Crown through the Government of India Act of 1858. The Company's Board of Control and Court of Directors were abolished.
2. A member of the British Cabinet was appointed Secretary of State for India, assisted by a Council called the Indian Council. The Governor-General was also given the title of Viceroy, and Lord Canning was appointed the first Viceroy under this Act.

(b) Two points of Queen Victoria's Proclamation were:

1. The Government of India would follow a policy of non-intervention in the social and religious matters of Indians.
2. All subjects — Indians and Europeans — would be treated as equals, education and ability being the basis of all appointments.