Lord Wellesley  (1798-1805)

1. Lord Wellesley attempted to make the Company the Supreme Power in India by means of wars, mediatisation and the Subsidiary Alliance.
2. He fought the fourth Mysore War with Tipu in 1799, annexed most of the territory of Mysore and restored a part of it to the previous Hindu ruler who became a dependent ally of the English.
3. He fought the second Maratha war between 1803 to 1805, signed the subsidiary alliance (treaty of Bassein) with Peshwa Baji Rao, forced the Bhonsle and the Sindhia to sign Subsidiary treaties after defeating them, annexed large part of the territories of each of them and defeated the Holkar at the battles of Dig and Farrukhabad.
4. Lord Wellesley took over the territories of Tanjore, Surat and Karnataka on the plea of maladministration and the territory of Farrukhabad because its ruler was a minor.
5. All rulers who signed treaties (Subsidiary Alliance) with Lord Wellesley were forced to surrender a part of their territories to the Company in return for keeping an English army within their territories for their support.
6. Thus, Wellesley succeeded in extending the British Empire and making the Company the supreme power in India.