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 India ID: 758120
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Slide1
Imperialism In IndiaSlide2
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.Slide3
The Sepoy
Mutiny
Over the course of the 18
th
century, British power in India grew.
In 1857, 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.Slide4
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 resourcesSlide5
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 IndiaSlide6
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 heritageSlide7
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 IndiaSlide8
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 independenceSlide9
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