Hunsdicker reaction
The doctrine declared that if an Indian ruler died without a male heir his kingdom would “lapse”, that is, become part of Company territory. One kingdom after another was annexed simply by applying this doctrine: Satara (1848), Sambalpur (1850), Udaipur (1852), Nagpur (1853) and Jhansi (1854).
Hunsdiecker Reaction is a chemical reaction that involves the silver salts of carboxylic acid reacting with halogens to form an unstable intermediate which further undergoes decarboxylation thermally leading to the formation of a final product known as alkyl halides.