Transcript Topic 5: India - Mrs. Cohen / FrontPage

Topic 5:
Imperialism in India
European Interests in India
• 1600’s-British East India Company (BEIC) set
up trading posts
• Mughal Dynasty kept Europeans traders in
control until it started to collapse in 1707
• Dynasty collapsed when dozens of small states
separated from Mughal control
• 1757-Robert Clive (leader of British East India
Company troops) was victorious over Indian
troops
• From 1757-1858, BEIC was the leading political
power in India
Queen Victoria of England taking India into the British Empire
(1858)
British East India Company
• At first, BEIC was regulated and controlled
by British officials in London
• Over time, the BEIC ruled with less and less
interference from the British government
• The BEIC had its own army led by British
officers and Sepoys (Indian Soldiers)
Economic Imperialism
• At first the British considered India its most valuable
colony-major supplier of raw materials needed to power
the Industrial Revolution- “Jewel in the Crown”
• India’s large population (300 million) was also a market to
sell the finished products to
• The British set restrictions on the Indian economy to
ensure that British products were bought and sold (this
put many Indian industries out of business)
• British improved India’s infrastructure (railroads and
such) to aid in the transportation of raw materials and
finished products
• Major crops included: tea, indigo, coffee, cotton, jute,
and opium
(Jewel in the Crown 3:47)
Sepoy Mutiny
(Sepoy Mutiny 4:06)
• Sepoys-Indian soldiers
• In 1857 gossip spread among the Sepoys that their riffle cartridges
were greased with beef and pork fat
• Muslims do not eat pork and Hindus do not consume beef (as the
cow is considered sacred)
• Outraged; 85 of the 90 Sepoys refused to accept the cartridges
• Those who disobeyed were jailed (British mishandled the situation)
• The next day, May 10, 1857, the Sepoys rebelled and marched on the
city of Delhi and captured it. The rebellion spread to northern and
central India.
• It took more than a year for the East India Company to regain
control of the country.
• Indians could not defeat the British because due to weak leadership
and conflicts between the Hindus and Muslims
Sepoy Mutiny
Capturing of Delhi by Indians
Raj
• Considered a turning point in British rule of India
• In 1858 The British government took direct control
of India rule under the British crown during the
reign of Queen Victoria (known as the Raj)
• A British cabinet minister directed policy in London
and a British governor-general (later called a
viceroy) carried out the government’s policies
• The British promised that Indian states that were
free would remain so, however unofficially Britian
took more control away from the governing princes
Nationalism in India
• In the early 1800s some Indians began to demand more
modernization, thus a movement away from traditional
Indian practices began
• Nationalist feelings began to emerge as many Indians
hated being treated like second-class citizens in their
own land
• Two nationalist groups were formed: the Indian
National Congress (1885) and the Muslim League
(1906)
• At first both groups focused on improving conditions
for Indians, however by the early 1900s they were
calling for self-government
Impact of Colonialism
Positive
• Massive railroad system helped
establish modern economy and
untied the country
•Infrastructure modernized: roads,
bridges, damns, canals, & telegraph
and telephone lines
•Sanitation & public health
improved
•Schools & colleges were founded &
literacy increased
•British put an end to local warfare
among competing groups
Negative
•British restricted Indianowned industries
•Loss of self-sufficient villages
due to cash crop dependency
•Decreased food production
led to famines
•Increased presence of
missionaries and decline of
Indian traditional life