The British Empire in India

I- Indian imperialism began with

•The British East India Company- set up trading posts in India to control trade between India and Britain.

N- No total British control of India, yet…

•India’s ruling Mughal Empire kept European traders under control.

D- Decline of the Mughal Empire

•Beginning in 1707 allowed for the British East India Company to begin controlling India’s political and economic life.

I- India = Britain’s “Jewel in the Crown”

• Industrial Revolution has turned Great Britain into an industrial giant and India provides raw materials for production

• “Jewel in the Crown” – the most valuable of Britain’s colonies

• British setup restrictions that prevented Indian economy from operating on its own- forced to sell raw materials to Britain only and purchase only British goods growing resentment among many Indians

The East India Company even had its own army, led by British officers

and staffed by sepoys, or Indian soldiers.

•By the 1830s, the East India Company(regulated by British Government) ruled India.

•Many Indians resented British rule.

A- Angry Indians = total British control

•In 1857, a large number of British-trainedIndian soldiers(sepoys) rebelled against their British officers

•Sepoys believed that their bullet cartridgeswere sealed with pork and beef fat.

•Muslims who don’t eat pork and Hindus who believe the cow to be sacred- had to break cartridges w. their teeth. They believed they were being forced to violate their religion

Sepoy Rebellion

•The Sepoy Rebellion was put down and India became a British possession

•British rule in India from 1757-1947 •became known as Raj

British Imperialism in India

Positive RED Negative BLUE

The British provided a single system oflaw and government, unifying India.

Theyalso introduced English as a unifying

language.

The British built roads, bridges, andrailroads in India. They set up

telegraph wires. However, India’scottage industries, in which goodswere made in homes, were hurt by

competition with British goods.

The British built hospitals, introducednew medicines, and provided faminerelief. At the same time, health careimprovements led to a population explosion without an increase in

economic opportunities.

Indians were also looked downupon by the British and their culture was treated as inferior to European

culture. Indian workers provided theBritish with inexpensive labor.

Indians worked for long hours underterrible working conditions. The British

gained wealth while Indians wereexploited.

Foldable:FORMS OF IMPERIALISM

• Colony

• Protectorate

• Sphere of Influence

Colony

• Group of people who leave their native country to form a settlement in a new land

• ***Still connected to their “mother country”***

• Direct Rule: officials sent from “MC” to rule, impose culture, language, politics and economics

Protectorate

• Country whose policies are guided by a foreign country- not directly ruled.

• Local rulers left in place, but accepted advice regarding trade, industry, politics & missionaries.

• Indirect Rule: use of local rulers to administer laws & codes of “MC”, encourage cooperation to prepare for future industry.

• EX: England & US

Sphere of Influence• Area in which an

outside power claims exclusive investment & trading/economic privilege

• When one country has trading rights in another place

Sepoy Rebellion

“You Are There” DiaryYour task:

Write a diary entry as if you were a sepoy living in India during the Sepoy Rebellion

Keep in mind this is not a report on the event but the thoughts and feelings of someone living through it.

Your diary should include any key terms or people involved with the event in some way.

Instructions:•Write a one-paragraph entry about the beginning of the event. Include the

date. Briefly described how the event began.

•Write a one-paragraph entry about the middle of the event. Include the date. Mention whether things are better than the beginning or not.

•Write a one-paragraph entry about the end of the event. Include the date. Describe your character’s feelings about the event now that he/she has lived

through the whole thing.