THE BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY

INDUSTRIALIZATION

1750-1850: The Industrial Revolution in Britain

Rather than farming, people work in manufacturing, producing goods to sell

The British required natural resources for their factories and markets to sell their goods

INDUSTRIALIZATION AND INDIA

The British saw India as a source of natural resources

India also had 300 million people, so the British considered it a new market full of customers for British products

THE BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY

The British East India Company (BEIC) had existed since the 16th century with a royal charter

Royal charter: A license for a company to operate given by the monarch

The BEIC set up trading posts: Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta

Eventually, the British ask themselves: “Why just trade when we can take over the whole country?”

WAR FOR INDIA

The British begin building up their military forces

A local Indian leader captures some British soldiers and imprisons them in the “Black Hole of Calcutta”

The British army then wins the Battle of Plassey under the command of Robert Clive (1757)

Warren Hastings becomes Governor-General of British India

BEIC POWER

The BEIC had its own currency and its own army

The officers were British and the soldiers were Indians, called sepoys

The BEIC controlled an entire country of over 300 million people

THE SEPOY REBELLION

In 1857, the sepoys revolted and took over most of Northern India

The British army arrives, and regains control by exploiting divisions between Hindus and Muslims

After the rebellion, the British government takes control of India

Areas of control were called the Raj

THE BRITISH RAJ

“Raj” means “rule”

India was divided into 10 provinces and 250 districts

The Raj constructed railroads, built a huge tea industry, and exported many goods

TREATMENT OF INDIANS

The Indians were used as laborers and treated as second class citizens

They were taxed heavily and did not have equal rights

India’s population grew quickly, leading to horrific famines

Traditional Indian industries were destroyed

Yet, the British were able to control India with 1 soldier per 10,000 Indians-why?

BRITISH VIEWS OF INDIANS

“A single shelf of a good European library is worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.”-Thomas Macaulay

British attitudes toward Indians and Indian culture were often contemptuous and racist

INDIAN NATIONALISM GROWS

Many Indians rejected the idea of British rule

Ram Mohun Roy: Father of Indian nationalism, encouraged Indians to learn from the British but also supported independence

Indian National Congress: Peaceful protest to achieve independence

Muslim League: Represented Indian Muslims and supported an independent Muslim state

GANDHI

In time, the face of Indian nationalism will be Mohandas Gandhi

Gandhi was an Indian lawyer who had lived in South Africa and England

Encouraged non-violent resistance and cooperation between Muslims and Hindus