The Battle of Plassey in 1757 and Buxar in 1764 established East India Company power in Bengal. Land revenue experiments followed - the Permanent Settlement in Bengal, the Ryotwari system in Madras and Bombay, and the Mahalwari system in the north.
The Revolt of 1857, beginning at Meerut, was the first large challenge to Company rule. Its suppression transferred power to the Crown under the Government of India Act, 1858, and Queen Victoria's proclamation.
Reform movements ran in parallel. Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar promoted widow remarriage, and Jyotiba Phule worked for education and caste equality.