Pitt's India Act, 1784

Definition

A British law passed under Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger that placed the East India Company's political functions under direct government control while leaving commercial functions with the Company, creating a system of double government.

Key points

• Established a Board of Control of six members to supervise and direct the Company's civil, military, and revenue affairs (political functions).
• Left the Court of Directors to manage commercial affairs, creating the "double government" or "dual control" system.
• Reduced the Governor-General's Council from four members to three for ease of decision-making.
• Was passed to remedy the defects of the Regulating Act, 1773, which had given the Governor-General insufficient authority.
• For the first time the Company's territories in India were officially called the "British possessions in India".

Why it matters for CAPF

The Board of Control, the double-government concept, and its link to Pitt the Younger are standard constitutional-development facts often tested alongside the Regulating Act.

Common confusion

Pitt's Act created a Board of Control (a government body), distinct from the Court of Directors (the Company's own body); the two together formed double government.

Parent note

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