British Imperialism in India

1. British Imperialism in India

4. India

5. Great Britain in India 1600’s Great Britain set up trading posts through out India

6. Various Paths to Colonial Status British authorities meeting with Mughal leaders • India and Indonesia = colonial conquest grew out of earlier interactions with European trading companies • India = became controlled by Britain • Indonesia = became controlled by the Dutch • Neither country had a clear-cut plan for conquest • Conquest evolved slowly as local authorities and European traders made and unmade a variety of alliances • Acquisition of India and Indonesia = fairly easy because both were fragmented territories with no political unity

7. British East India Company ● controlled British trade in India • eventually the company gained political control over Bangladesh, Southern India, and Northern India (along Ganges River)

8. British East India Company • 1800’s: company operated in India with no regulation by British government • company had its own army • Company army led by British army officers

9. Sepoys • Indians who joined British armies in India • Resented by other Indians

10. Sepoy Mutiny • 1857 gossip spread amongst Sepoys (Indian soldiers for the British) • the seals of their ammunition had to be bitten off • they believed the British dipped the seals of their ammunition in beef and pork (Hindus can not eat beef/ Muslims can not eat pork) “ Whenever the grease around the bullet appears to be melted away, or otherwise removed from the cartridge, the sides of the bullet should be wetted in the mouth before putting it in the barrel; the saliva will serve the pupose of grease for the time being.-Endfield Rifle Field manual”

11. “Jewel in the Crown” • Industrial Revolution turned India into a major supplier of raw materials to Great Britain • 300 million Indians were a large market for British products Document 1 The colony benefited from imperialism because it received food and manufactured goods. Roads, canals, railways, and schools are additional “blessings of civilization” that the colony receives. The colonizer received tropical produce from the “garden spot.”

12. “Jewel in the Crown” • British forbade India from trading on its own with other countries • India was forced to produce raw materials for only Britain and to buy finished products from only Britain • Indian competition with British finished products was forbidden Document 2 This Indian speaker referred to the British colonial rule as a “knife of sugar.” India enjoyed peace and order but they suffered from material poverty. In the second extract, the author pointed out that the British held all the high government positions and lived off of India.

13. Raw Materials Taken from India • Tea • Indigo (dye for clothing)

14. Raw Materials Taken from India • Coffee • Cotton

15. Raw Materials Taken from India • Jute (fiber for making rope) • Opium (plant that heroin is made from)

16. Raw Materials Taken from India • Britain relied more on raw materials from India as wars around the world cut off British supplies from other places • example: American Civil War (1861-1865) made Indian cotton more important to Great Britain because cotton supply from America was cut off

17. Positives for India • Great Britain laid the world’s third largest railroad network in India • Railroads brought unity to disconnected regions in India • Modern road network ■ Telephone and telegraph lines • Dams, bridges, canals • Sanitation and public health improved • Schools/ colleges founded • Truces between local warring rulers in India • Document 4 • This author believed that British money and brains brought many benefits—communication and • transportation systems and an irrigation system that increased farmland and agricultural production. India • also had an improved sanitary system and a social welfare system. As a result of British rule, Indians • enjoyed a higher standard of living Document 3 This Indian, Romesh Dutt, pointed out several benefits enjoyed by India—Western education and modern science. The British also built a governmental bureaucracy that was efficient and provided law and order as well as judicial system.

18. Purpose? Audience? • Document 5 • This British author identified the “standards of humanity” that the British brought to India. These • included the end of female infanticide, slavery, and slave trade

19. British held all political and economic power British restricted Indian-owned industries Cash crops made it impossible for small farmers to produce enough food for themselves Racist attitudes of most British officials and missionaries threatened Indian traditional life Negatives for India

20. Indian Nationalists( Purpose? Audience?) • Document 6 • Nehru points out the negative effects for India of being a “colonial economy” for the British. • Indian economic development was disrupted when the British broke up old Indian industries. India • supplied raw materials and agricultural products for England, and India was a market for British industrial • products. As a result of imperialism, unemployment and poverty rose in India.( Will become the firsat independent political eader of India in 1947) • Document 7 • Gandhi complained that Indians were not allowed to develop the skills needed for self – • Government( He wll serve as the spiritual leader for Indian Independence)

21. Indians Rebel By 1850 most Indians resented that Great Britain owned their country Indians were angry at attempts to forcefully convert them to Christianity Indians were angry Britain controlled all useful land in their country ■ Indians were angry at the constant racism expressed towards them by the British

22. Sepoy Mutiny British commander was outraged when 85 Sepoys refused to accept the ammunition The Sepoys were jailed for disobeying orders May 10, 1857 Sepoys rebelled; marched on Delhi (Indian capital) rebellion spread into northern and central India

23. Sepoy Mutiny Fierce fighting between British and Sepoys (aided by other Indians) East India Company took more than a year to regain control of the country British government sent troops to help them

24. Indians Did Not Fully Unite During Sepoy Mutiny serious splits between Hindus and Muslims unclear inconsistent leadership Many Indian princes did not take part in the rebellion (made alliances with British) Sikhs (Indian religious group) remained loyal to the British

25. Sikhs

26. Sikhs • Minority Indian religious group • Sikhs feared Muslims would regain control of the country during Sepoy Mutiny ■ Muslim Mughals ruled India before Britain

27. Sikhs • Sikhs replaced Sepoys in Britain’s Indian army after the Sepoy Mutiny • Mughals did not allow religious freedom • Great Britain allowed some religious freedom in India

28. Turning Point • 1858 British government took direct control over India (because of the Mutiny) • Raj (time period when India was under Great Britain’s control: 1757-1947)

29. Raj • India was divided into 11 Provinces and 250 districts sometimes a handful of officials would be the only British amongst millions of Indians in a district • Mutiny increased distrust between British and Indians: it fueled more British racism towards Indians

30. Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833) • well-educated Indian who began a campaign to modernize India • he was opposed to India’s caste system (social class system that ties a person to the social class they are into for life: based on Hindu beliefs) • opposed to child marriages and widow suicides • believed these practices needed to be changed if India wanted to be free from rule by outsiders

31. Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833) other Indian writers picked up on Roy’s ideas and called for changes Indian resented being second-class citizens in their own country Indians were paid 20 times less than British Indians could not hold top jobs in government

32. Indian National Congress 1885 Made up of Hindus; called for self-government upset that Britain segregated Bengal (Indian city) into Muslim section and Hindu section in 1905 INC led acts of violence against British in Bengal 1911 Britain changed the order of segregation

33. Muslim League 1906 Made up of Muslims also called for self-government also upset about segregation of Bengal in1905 also participated in acts of violence against British in India

34. Indian Nationalism Grows • Indian National Congress (Hindus)/Muslim League (Muslims) Found Common Ground • Both worked together towards Indian Independence

35. World War I • Great Britain got 1 Million Indians to enlist in the British army to fight in World War I • Britain promised Indians self-government in exchange for them enlisting in the British army 1918 Indian troops returned home: expected Britain to fulfill its promise

36. Rowlatt Act (1919) • instead Indian troops were treated as second class citizens again by Great Britain • many Indians committed acts of violence against British in India in response Great Britain passes Rowlatt Act (1919) in response

37. Rowlatt Act (1919) • allowed British gov’t to jail protestors for 2 years with no trial • violent protests by Indians in Punjab (province with most Indian World War I veterans)

38. Amritsar Massacre (Spring 1919) • 10,000 Hindus and Muslims went to Amritsar (capital of Punjab Province): festival to pray and hear political speeches • alliance of Hindus and Muslims scared the British

39. Amritsar Massacre (Spring 1919) Britain had earlier banned public protests: Britain issued the ban without informing most Indians! British General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire on the unarmed crowd without warning Shooting lasted 10 minutes: 400 Indians Killed; 1200 wounded news of the massacre spread rapidly across India: Indians demanded independence

40. Amritsar Massacre set the stage for Mohandas Gandhi to become leader of the Indian Independence Movement his teachings blended ideas from all major world religions (especially Hinduism, Christianity, Islam) Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)

41. Gandhi preached/practiced Civil Disobedience deliberate and public refusal to obey any unjust law rebellion without violence 1920 Indian National Congress officially adopts Gandhi’s policy as a means to push for independence Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)

42. Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) • Gandhi’s Plan for Civil Disobedience: • Refuse to buy British goods • Refuse to attend British schools • Refuse to pay British taxes • Refuse to vote in elections • Indians weave their own cloth (to put British cloth out of business)

43. Civil Disobedience • 1922 Indian rioters attacked a police station and set officers on fire! • Many British businesses went out of business in India • British arrested Indians who protested and boycotted

44. Salt Acts 1930 • These laws required that Indians buy salt only from the British government (without refrigeration, salt was crucial to keeping food from spoiling) • Required Indians to pay a sales tax to British on salt as well

45. Salt March 1930 • In protest Gandhi and his followers walked 240 miles to the coast to make their own salt • demonstrators marched to a British salt processing plant to protest • made salt by evaporating sea water

46. Salt March 1930 British police attacked protestors with steel clubs Protestors refused to defend themselves: marching peacefully British arrested 60,000 peaceful protestors (including Gandhi) International newspapers covered the event: won worldwide support for Gandhi’s movement

47. Great Britain Grants India Self-Rule • 1935 Government of India Act ■ British Parliament allows India some self- rule ■ Allowed for local self- government (mayors) and limited elections (regional representatives) • This was the first step in full independence for India • Gandhi and his campaign was successful

48. Internal Conflict India does not get full independence until after World War II (after 1945) Hindus far outnumbered Muslims in India Hindus and Muslims had conflicting views for India’s future Leads to more internal conflict