British Imperialism in India

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BRITAIN ESTABLISHES DOMINANCE IN INDIA

• In 1600s, Britain sets up trading posts in India

• By the mid 1800s – Britain controlled THREE-FIFTHS of India

• HOW WERE THEY ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS???

• Dozens of languages and traditions in India

• Superior weaponry

British East India Company• 1800’s: B.E.I. company operated in India with

no regulation by British government

• Company had its own army led by British army officers

Sepoys• Indians who joined British armies in India

– Resented by other Indians - WHY?

Jewel in the Crown• Great Britain considered India its most precious

jewel (colony) in its Imperial crown – What did India have to offer??

Jewel in the Crown• Industrial Revolution turned India into a major

supplier of raw materials to Great Britain

• 300 million Indians were

a large market for

British products

Raw Materials Taken from India • Tea • Indigo (dye for

clothing)

Raw Materials Taken from India• Coffee • Cotton

Raw Materials Taken from India• Jute (fiber for making

rope) • Opium (plant that heroin

is made from)

British policies • British forbade India

from trading on its own with other countries

• India was forced to produce raw materials for only Britain and to buy finished products from only Britain

• Indian competition with British finished products was forbidden

Sepoy Mutiny - problems• Tensions increase between Sepoys and British –

WHY?? British required Sepoys to serve anywhere – either in

India or overseas New law allowed Hindus to remarry – against religion 1857 – Gossip spreads among Sepoys that the cartridges

of their new rifles are greased w/ animal fat• Sepoys had to bite off the seal to use them – PROBLEM!

Hindus do not eat beef Muslims do not eat pork

Sepoy Mutiny - RESULTS• As a result of the mutiny, in 1858, the British

government takes direct control of India• The part of India under direct British rule was called

the Raj – ruled in India until 1947• The conflict fueled the racist attitudes of the British

“It is in the consciousness of the inherent superiority of the European which has won for us India. However well educated and clever a native may be…I believe that no rank we can bestow on him would cause him to be considered an equal of a British officer.” – Lord Kitchener, British Field Marshal

POSITIVE IMPACTS OF BRITISH RULE

• Great Britain laid the world’s third largest railroad network in India

• Railroads brought unity to disconnected regions in India

• Modern road

network

■ Telephone and telegraph lines

• Dams, bridges, canals

• Sanitation and public health improved

• Schools/

colleges founded• Truces between

local warring rulers

in India

Negatives for India • British held all political and

economic power

• British restricted Indian-owned industries

• Cash crops made it impossible for small farmers to produce enough food for themselves

– Widespread Famine Results!

• Racist attitudes of most British officials and missionaries threatened Indian traditional life

Rise of Indian Nationalism

• Indians begin to demand a greater role in government

• Ram Mohun Roy speaks out against social injustices

• Nationalists form the Indian National Congress (1885) and the Muslim League (1906)

Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833)