Treaty of Amritsar

Treaty of Amritsar, (April 25, 1809), pact concluded between Charles T. Metcalfe, representing the British East India Company, and Ranjit Singh, head of the Sikh kingdom of Punjab. The treaty settled Indo-Sikh relations for a generation. The immediate occasion was the French threat to northwestern India, following Napoleon’s Treaty of Tilsit with Russia (1807) and Ranjit’s attempt to bring the Cis-Sutlej states under his control. The British wanted a defensive treaty against the French and control of Punjab to the Sutlej River. Although this was not a defensive treaty, it did fix the frontier of lands controlled by Ranjit broadly along the line of the Sutlej River.

Metcalfe’s mission gave Ranjit much respect for the company’s disciplined troops as well as the determination never to cross swords with the British troops. Ranjit’s further conquests were to the west and north.