Colonial India

By: Shannon Starr

Information about the Flag

• • Colors: – Saffron – courage, sacrifice, patriotism, and renunciation – – White – symbolizes the hope for unity and peace Green – faith, fertility, and land Blue Wheel: – Ashoka Chakra (Wheel of the Law) – – 24 spokes Represents the continuing progress of the nation

Pre-Colonial India

• • • • • India was run by the Mogul Empire – Empire established by the Mogul conquerors of India Babar was a Turkish-Mongol prince from Afghanistan He is the founder of the Mogul Empire Invaded India (1526) His grandson, Jelaeddin Akbar eventually took over

Continued….

• • • • • • Jelaeddin was one of the greatest Mogul emperors Reigned for 49 years After his death, the empire began to decline under the rule of Aurangzeb The Mogul control in south India started to become under more pressure, especially with the attacks by the Hindu Aurangzeb imposed special taxes on Hindus – This ended up destroying their temples and forced them Hindus to convert to Islam After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mogul empire started to decline even more under the power of Bahadur Shah

Decline of the Empire

• • • Bahadur Shah was unable to prevent the decline of the empire He tried to impose control of the Rajput’s – – Members of northern India’s Hindu warrior castle Served as India’s first line of defense against invaders from the north The Mogul Empire began to break up, allowing the British to step in

Rise of the British

• • • • • • The British came by sea rather than through the northwest They came first to trade instead of coming in just for military conquest The ports they established were Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta These ports became new centers of political, economical, and social activity The British began to dictate India by controlling sea-borne trade This became known as the British East India Company

East India Company

• • • Founded during a time of European trade and imperialism in Asia – Dutch East Indies Company was one of the first to start European trade EIC was an English company that was formed for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India Was formed to share in the East Indian Spice Trade – Monopoly of Spain and Portugal until the defeat of the Spanish Armada by England

What happened next?

• • • The East India Company slowly began to take control over India The Mogul Empire was growing weak but the EIC was growing in economic and political strength It began to build its own military force which mainly consisted of Sepoys (Indian soldiers) and was led by British commanders

Sepoy Rebellion

• • • • As the British control started to grow, many Sepoy Indians became angered The Indian troops started to rebel around 1857 They believed that the cartridge grease used to load rifles was made from cow or pig fat – Unclean to Muslims and sacred to Hindus They would refuse to obey orders and began to rebel

Continued…

• • • • • Sepoys started killing their officers and then moved on to killing every European they could find Then they moved onto the only British-held outpost They surrounded it hoping the British would surrender The British were able to form military columns and capture and execute all who were involved in the rebellion India then became a British Colony and the East India Company was no longer

EIC Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV0fYMI vtyU

Gaining Control

• • • • • The British were able to gain much control because they were able to wage war against smaller areas in India It also helped that the Mogul Empire was deteriorating Queen Victoria came to rule Many think this could have been avoided if there had been a unified state in India that was strong Now that the British have taken over, things were going to start changing

Restrictions on the Economy

• • • • India has to produce raw materials for the British and buy British manufactured goods India could not go into competition with British good Raise cash crops – Tea, pepper, coffee, etc.

Forced to pay dues for military protection

Advancements on the Economy

• • • The worlds third largest railroad network was established Improved heath care The British set up schools and colleges to educate – The course study stressed the English language and culture

Sources:

• • • • • • • • http://greetingindia.tripod.com/flag.html

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/before.html

http://asianhistory.about.com/od/glossaryps/g/GlosRajput.htm

http://www.slideshare.net/gsill/british-in-india-presentation http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/india.html

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/empire/g2/cs4/back ground.htm#bullet3 http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/india/sepoyreb.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV0fYMIvtyU