Transcript Imperialism In India - Staff Portal Camas School District

Imperialism In India
The Beginning…

Britain had many trade interests in India.
 In order to protect their trade interests and
resources, Britain set up a powerful company, The
British East India Company, based in India.
 This company began to take over the majority of
trade and economic processes in India, despite the
fact that Indian people were reliant on the same
resources.
 Britain hired Indian soldiers, called Sepoys, to
protect their interests, but paid them less than
British soldiers and did not allow them to move up
in rank.
The Sepoy Mutiny

Over the course of the 18th century,
British power in India grew.
 In 1957, a growing Indian distrust let to a revolt.
 The revolt was caused by rumors that the British were
issuing Indian troops bullets greased with pig and cow fat.
(Why would this bother them?)
 A group of Sepoys refused to load their weapons with the
new bullets, and the British went to arrest them.
 When the British began the arrest, the Sepoys went on a
rampage and killed 50 British citizens.
 From this, the revolt quickly spread, but was crushed within
a year.
Results…

As a result of the rebellion, Britain
transferred power over India from the
BEIC directly to the British government
 Queen Victoria became “The Empress of India” and
India’s citizens were now her subjects.
 India was called Britain’s “Jewel in the Crown” due
to its vast resources
Colonial Rule

Benefits:
 British rule brought order and stability to India,
which had been in turmoil due to religious feuds
 Fairly honest and efficient government
 New school system
 Served only British people and elite, upper-class Indians
 90% of the population remained illiterate
 Railroads, telegraph, and postal service were
introduced.
 By 1900, 25000 miles of railroads crossed India
Colonial Rule

Costs:
 British Industries destroyed local economies
 British textiles put thousands of women out of work and
crippled the Indian textile industry
 In rural area, the British used Zamindars to collect taxes
 Zamindars abused their power. They raised taxes, forced less
fortunate peasants to become tenants or lose their land.
 Peasant unrest grew
 Encouraged farmers to switch from growing food to growing
cotton.
 Food supplies couldn’t feed all the people and between 1800-1900,
30 million Indians died of starvation.
 Best jobs and houses reserved for British
 Indians were never considered equals, despite education and
wealth
 Disrespect for Indian culture and heritage
British Quotes

“It is the consciousness of the inherent superiority of the
European which has won Indian for us. However well educated and
clever a native may be, and however he may prove himself, I believe
that no rank we can bestow upon him would cause him to be
considered an equal of the British officer.”

“What then shall the language of education be? Some maintain that
it should be English, others recommend the Arabic and Sanskrit. It
is, I believe, no exaggeration to say that all the historical information
which has been collected from the books written in the Sanskrit
language is less valuable than what may be found in short textbooks
in preparatory schools in England.”
- Stanley Wolpert

“It is one of the social duties of Indian life that you must keep three
servants to do the work of one.”
-British woman in India
Indian Nationalist Movement

The first Indian nationalists were upper-class
and well educated
 Many preferred reform to revolution but decided
reform would take too long
 Formed the Indian National Congress (INC)
 Had difficulties because of religious differences, but goal was
to seek independence for all Indians
 The return to India of a young muslim, Mohandas
Gandhi, changed the nationalist movement
 Gandhi set up a movement based on non-violent resistance.
 Aim was to force India to improve life of the poor and grant
independence to India
 Did eventually lead to Indian independence
Effects of Colonialism

Independence was given on August 25,
1947.
 Even today, English is a dominant language in India
and many regional languages have died out
 British culture is very present in certain parts of
India and many colleges in India teach according to
guidelines for British education
 To some extent, India is still undergoing an
Industrial Revolution in order to rebuild the
crippled economy that was left when Britain left.
 Britain is home to many Indian people