The doctrine of subsidiary alliance was introduced by Lord Wellesley, British Governor-General in India from 1798 to 1805.According to the term of this alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed force . They were to be protected by the company, but had to pay for the 'subsidiary forces' that the company was supposed to maintain for the purpose of this protection. If the Indian rulers failed to make the payment, then part of their territory was taken away as penalty.For example,the ruler ofAwadh was forced to give over half of his territory to the company in 1801,as he failed to pay for the "subsidiary forces".