British Imperialism In India

KEY IDEA As the Mughal Empire declined, Britain seized almost the whole subcontinent of India.

East India Company Dominates

In the early 1700s, the Mughal Empire of India fell into decline.

By the middle of the century, the British East India Company was becoming the most important power in India.

The East India Company

The East India company was set up in India to exploit the natural resources of the land.

The East India Company acted as a government in India. It raised an army and governed a large area of eastern India know today as Bangladesh, most of southern India and nearly all of the territory along the Ganges River in the north.

                                                          

                                              

Jewel of the CrownIt held huge amounts of land—almost the entire subcontinent.

British law forced India to supply raw materials such as tea, indigo (a dye), coffee, and cotton.

The British set up restrictions that prevented the Indian economy from operating on its own. The law also forced Indian manufacturing out of business.

The Introduction of Railroads

India became even more important when the East India Company built rail lines that linked growing regions in the interior with ports on the coast.

Over the rails, Great Britain was able to rapidly ship India’s agricultural resources to other regions.

Opium, Jute and CottonGreat Britain introduced China to the addictive drug opium that came from India.

India supplied the jute to the world after the Crimean War had stopped all shipment of jute out of Russia.

India began to sell cotton all over the world as a result of the American Civil War. Cotton from the southern United States was in very short supply during the Civil War.

Impact of ColonialismIts rail system was the third largest in the world and helped make the economy more modern.

The British made other improvements, too. They built telephone and telegraph lines, dams, bridges, and canals.

They also improved sanitation and public health and built schools.

Disadvantages of Colonial RuleBritish rule caused problems as well. Many

economic benefits flowed out of India to Britain.

Indian industry died out because of British trade laws.

Many farmers and villages lost their ability to feed themselves because they were made to grow cash crops.

Many peoples died when famines struck.

British Religious Policy

The British officially adopted a hands-off policy regarding religion and social customs.

However, the presence of missionaries and the unspoken racist attitude of most of the British officials threatened Indian traditional life.

Racism in India

By 1850, the British controlled most of the Indian subcontinent.

Many Indians believed that in addition to controlling their land, the British were trying the convert them to Christianity.

By the mid-1800s, many Indians felt growing resentment.

The Sepoy Rebellion

The sepoys were Indian soldiers that worked for the East India Company.

In 1857, rumors began to circulate that the cartridges of the new British riffles the sepoys were issued were sealed with beef and pork fat. Because Hindus did not eat beef and Muslims did not eat pork, they refused to accept the cartridges.

The Commander of the garrison began to imprison all soldiers who refused to take the cartridges. The East India Company needed a year- and British troops-to put it down.

After the sepoys were jailed, the sepoys rebelled. This rebellion spread throughout India.

The sepoys captured the city of Delhi.

The British and sepoy armies slaughtered each other.

It took more than a year for the East India Company to regain control of the country.

The British company sent troops to help the East India company put down the rebellion.

British Treatment of the Sepoy Soldiers

Sepoy's would be placed in front of the muzzle and the cannon's would be shot through their body. They called this "The Devil's Wind".

Why Were the Indians Defeated?The Indians lost because of their own divisions. Muslims wanted to restore Mughal (Muslim) rule.

Muslims and Hindus did not trust each other. Hindus actually preferred British rule over Muslim rule.

The Sikhs also remained loyal to the British.

After the revolt, the British government took direct control of British India.

Turning PointThe Sepoy Rebellion marked a turning point in Indian History. It is at this time, 1858, that Great Britain took direct control of India.

The British divided up the subcontinent into 11 provinces and 250 administrative districts.

The term Raj refers to the period of British occupation of India which lasted from 1858 to 1947.

Rebellions Fueled Racism

The sepoy rebellion fueled the racist attitudes of the British.

The rebellion increased distrust between the Indians and the Indians.

Ram Mohun Roy

Indians tried other ways of resisting British control.

Leaders such as Ram Mohun Roy urged changes in traditional Indian practices to make Indian society more modern.

He hoped to free India of foreign control with these changes.

Ram Mohun Roy’s Reforms

Called for an end of widow suicides.End of child marriagesEnd of the caste systemSeparation of religion and politics

Nationalist Feelings lead to ChangeIndians resented the fact that they were treated unfairly.

They formed two groups-the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League.

Both began to push the British to make changes.

In the early 1900s, they called for self-government.

The Partitions of BengalThe British partitioned Bengal. They felt that it was necessary in order to administer the population of 85 million.

The British divided the area into religious sectors.

The nationalists rebelled through terroristic acts. The British backed off of their plans and divided the area based on different criteria.

Social Classes

Social classes determined the way of life for the British army in India.

The upper-class men served as officers while the lower-class served as lesser rank and did not advance past the rank of sergeant.

Only men with a rank above sergeant were allowed to bring their wives.

The wives recreated England within their homes. She directed as many as 20 – 30 servants.

British Economic Impact on Indian Classes

British economic policies affected Indian classes unequally, although they were supposed to improve the lives of poor farmers.

The only classes to benefit from British rule were the landowners, who leased the land to tenant farmers and entrepreneurs in Calcutta, who served as bankers and agents to the British.