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 • 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 4:06)

Sepoy Mutiny

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Indian_revolt_of_1857_states_map.svg

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

•British restricted Indian-owned 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

• 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

Impact of ColonialismPositive Negative