BRITISH IMPERIALISM IN INDIA

KEY WORDS:

 Sepoy: A native soldier of India that allied with European powers.

 Great Rebellion 1857: First battle for India’s independence.

 Hindu Indian National Congress: Educated Indian men coming together demanding equality and reforms.

GOING BACK….

       Due to competition between countries and economic motivation, land, goods, and markets were needed to provide wealth. 1773: Britain takes over East India trading company. However, control in Indian politics dated back to the 1750s.

Control in India went in to part of Afghanistan.

Britain found itself unchallenged and very powerful.

Primary goal was to acquire foreign land and to provide markets for British manufacturers.

After wars with Dutch and France: Britain receives most of the eastern coast of North America, St. Lawerence (in Canada), some of the Carribean, parts of Africa, and interests in India.

As the Mughal Empire declined, Britain was able to control the whole subcontinent of India.

        India became the apple of Britain’s eye and was ruled completely by Britain.

India was forced to supply the British with raw materials such as indigo, tea, coffee, etc.

By 1858, India was ruled by the British Parliament in London.

The British eliminated and restricted some Indian traditions. An example was making the suicide of a widow illegal.

The British (White Elite) treated Indians badly and there was strict segregation and discrimination.

The Indian people resented British involvement though some viewed it as an improvement to their society. Indian’s were still denied important job positions because British or the White Elite, refused to work beside brown-skinned Indians.

Indian’s started to realize that without learning how to speak English, they did not stand a chance in receiving a decent-paying job. As a result, they started to demand an increase in the British supplying the Indian people with education.

GREAT REBELLION 1857

GREAT REBELLION 1857

 The Indian people had Christianity, new laws, new technology, and reforms forced upon them. They viewed this as very offensive and an insult to their culture. Finally in 1857, civilians and Sepoys revolted.

  3 infantry regiments a part of the Indian Sepoys attacked commanding British officers and marched on to Delhi in 1857.

They later took control and made Bahadur Shah II leader of the rebellion.

       Escalated into a national revolt We see an increase in Indian nationalism across India.

Britain regains control of the rebellion in 1858 Casualties were striking. These included innocent men, women, and children. British learn that Indian traditions should be respected (however this wasn’t a set idea of course) The revolt failed because of the opposition between Muslims and Hindus. They did not trust each other, but kept trying to unite against British rule.

This is the first major battle we see for India’s independence.

“IMPROVEMENTS”

     As demands for the education of Indian men grew, Britain gave in, supplying children and men with English education.

Indian men started realizing that in order to receive better jobs and to properly associate with Englishmen, they needed to understand English.

The British were able to establish an effective University system.

As more and more people grew to accept and learn the English language, it was easier for people of different regions to communicate with each other.

At this time, India was still divided because of the vast area of land, different languages, and different traditions. When English education was provided we see India become a more unified country. Provided with a language that all could understand, it was easier for the people to identify themselves with each other.

CONTINUED…

     When the British colonized India they also built 40,000 miles of railroad and 70,000 miles of paved roadway. By doing this, there was more mobility and an easier, quicker way to travel across India. This railway become the third largest in the world.

Telegraph lines, telephone lines, canals, and bridges were all introduced to India due to British rule.

They were also able to provide new technology that helped the agriculture (irrigation works) and about 30 million+ acres were dedicated to cultivation.

The British were also able to increase the use of sanitary practices in India and public health.

However, India’s increasing resentment and growth in population made these improvements not as effective as they were intended.

    Muslims and Hindus had growing resentment and tension between each other, however they still wanted to revolt against British rule.

The Indian people still felt as though they were treated unfairly and as a result formed the Hindu International Congress.

The Congress was made up of well educated Indian men who wanted equality and to restore their already damaged culture.

The Congress started to demand reforms to the government as well as equality. By 1907, the Congress wanted complete independence.

VICTORIAN AGE

 Exciting period where many artistic styles, literary schools, social and political religious movements flourished  Very complex age that was the start of the building of modern Britain  Social classes of England were newly forming  Upheavals of old hierarchical order  Middle classes were growing steadily

VICTORIAN AGE CON.

 The working class conditions were still poor  Although, three reform bills were passed giving almost all males the right to vote at age twenty-one  Scientific progress  Darwin- Evolution  The Great Exhibition of 1851  Technical and industrial advances of the age  Medical and physical sciences continued to advance

BRITAIN'S ACHIEVEMENTS

 In 1870-1914 Britain was a big deal  The decreasing of races and the state expanding was their greatest achievement  Also the growth of commerce, manufacture, and wealth Britain's Achievements  The stability in the empire grew stronger because of the intellectuals in charge.

 By 1870 Britain had grew into may settled colonies

CANADIAN CONFEDERATION

 Established in 1867  Mutual advantage with Britain  In 1891 Sir John MacDonald won Canadian election  Australia and New Zealand had the same relationship

GOVERNMENT CONTROL

 In 1871 the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, pronounced that the government would not force the controlled colonies to be under their harsh rule  Politicians and publicists became very uneasy  In June 1872 The crystal palace speech occurred  Called for a policy for imperial consolidation  Representative council wanted  The constitutional party favored

RESULTS

 In result Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Africa started becoming imperialists  In the 1880’s Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Portugal all had new territory

AUSTRALIAN COLONY

BEFORE OUTSIDERS

 Inhabited 40,000 years before Europeans came  Consisted of over 250 language groups  Hunter-gatherers  Strong spiritual values based on worshipping land and belief in Dreamtime  Infectious disease began population decline continuing 150 years after European settlers arrived

DUTCH

 1606 -> Dutch navigator Willem  Janszoon discovered southern territory Sailed and charted W. and N. coastlines  Made no attempt to actually settle  This opened doors to English, starting with William Dampier in 1699

GREAT BRITAIN

 1770 -> Lt. James Cook charted E. coast  First organized scientific expedition supported by Royal Society  Named it New South Wales and claimed for England  A penal colony, started with a thousand prisoners, soldiers and officials  Population grew steadily, establishing 5 more self governing colonies

GREAT BRITAIN CONT’D

 By 1800, population was 5,000  402 people had land grants, totaling 44 thousand acres  Merino sheep were introduced, causing growth in private initiatives and trade, making colonies less penal  United Kingdom formally claimed all of Australia 1828  Campaign by NSW settlers ended prison transportation, the last ship arriving in 1848  Jan. 1, 1901 -> 6 colonies federated=Commonwealth of Australia

BRITISH COLONIAL OCCUPATION OF EGYPT

      In 1882, British Empire soldiers defeated the Egyptian army at Tel El Kebir Began as an attempt to economically and politically reform Africa Chief Representative Lord Cromer determined it was a “long term project” > turned into colonial occupation.

Uprooted African culture and lifestyle, took natives children as reparations for not paying taxes. British colonization in Africa was not distinctly an attempt at expansion, but rather a game of “keep away.” where Britain’s goal was just to keep Africa out of other European hands.

By 1914, Britain had colonized and taken control of every African area besides Libya and Ethiopia.

MUHAMMAD ALI AND THE SUEZ CANAL

     Muhammad Ali gained control of Egypt after a three-way civil war between the Ottoman Empire, Egyptian Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries.

Turned Egypt into a virtually independent state by 1849. Egypts inability to satisfy foreign investors led to foreign investors controlling it’s finances.

Britain's goals moved slightly towards expansion, desiring control of South Africa and Sudan next.

Britain tried to safeguard the Suez Canal from France, and this ultimately led to the savage conquest of the Sudan people and culture.

BOER-BRITISH CONFLICT

    Cecil Rhodes became prime minister of Cape Colony and supported the idea that Britain should dominate the continent.

Diamond and gold discovered, but protected by the Boers, groups of Dutch settlers.

Led to Kruger Tellegram from Germany which congratulated Boers on defeating British in a battle. This led to British feelings of anger against the Germans.

British army finally defeated Boers in 1910 to form the Union of South Africa.

  

THE IRISH WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE

It took three attempts at an Irish Home Rule Bill before one was accepted by Parliament. At this point, the Irish were pretty angry, and this was only further fueled after the bill failed to be implemented.

In 1919, the Irish Republican Army began a guerilla war against British administration (The Anglo-Irish War.) The Anglo-Irish war ended in 1921, and resulted with the Anglo-Irish treaty, which created the Irish Free State, but was still constitutionally linked to the British Crown.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

   •  •       www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/Empire.html

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Wikipedia. Australia. wikimedia Foundation. 29 Feb 2012.

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