Post on 17-Jan-2018
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BRITISH IMPERIALISMBRITISH IMPERIALISMIN INDIAIN INDIA
All throughout the eighteenth century,before the explosion of European
imperialism and conquest, the nationof India was struggling through
difficult times.
The once powerful Mughal Dynastythat had ruled India successfully for
centuries was breaking apart. Dozensof small states controlled by their
own ruler, or maharajah, brokeaway to govern themselves.
No one power remained to controlthe European traders. The strictly
enforced caste system dividedthe people, and the Hindus andMuslims were constantly at war.
Looming on the dark horizon, theBritish saw that their opportunityto expand into India had arrived…
Pre-European Imperialism• Weak leaders caused Indian
unity to decline• Caste system enforced• Hindus and Muslims often at
war
The Portuguese, French, Dutch, and British established trade posts in India through the 1600s
Trade posts in the 1600s• Most set up joint stock
companies• Companies traded silk, sugar,
tea, etc.
My company is the greatest,so why are all of theseother losers still here?
I have everything andI’m right here.
Why should I let India trade with anyone else?
This country is huge.How am I going to
move all my stuff around?
And I’m going toneed an army to
keep all of my stuff safe.
BEIC became leading foreign power - 1757
• Other companies slowly ousted from India• Foreign affairs and trade regulated• Railroad network created• Indian soldiers (sepoys) were hired to be
in the BEIC army
British Vader, sir,it’s against our
religion and culturefor widows
to remarry. Yet youkeep allowing it!
Blah, Blah, Blah...
You keep takingthe Sepoys overseas
and disrespectingour caste system.What if foreignbloodlines get
mixed in?
Blah, Blah, Blah...
The people havebegun to talk…They worry thatyou are here to
push Christianityon us.
Blah, Blah, Blah...
Have you heardthe rumor?
They are sayingthat you coated
our recentlyissued bullet
cartridges with beefand pork fat?
Blah, Blah, Blah...
But, sir, we haveto bite off the paper
seal to use thesebullet cartridges.Hindus hold the
cow as sacred andMuslims may not
eat pork.
Blah, Blah, Blah...
Ihateyou!
Blah, Blah, Blah...
BEIC’s lack of religious sensitivity created conflict
• Widows allowed to remarry• Sepoys required to travel overseas, which
affected castes
Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 led to end of BEIC control
• Sepoys believed rumor that bullets they used were greased with cow and/or pig fat and rebelled
• Uprising spread across India• British troops helped suppress the
rebellion
I lucked out.The Hindus and
Muslims were unwilling to unite against me, and now I finally had my excuse to step in and completely take
over India.
It is the consciousness of the inherent superiority of the
European which has won for us India. However well
educated and clever a native may be, and however brave
he may prove himself, I believe that no rank we can bestow on him would cause
him to be considered an equal of the British officer.
Economy was made dependent on Britain
• Local industry was discouraged• Artisans could not compete with mass
production• Raw materials had to be exported to
Britain for production• Emphasis on growing export crops led to
famine
Results of British rule
• Indians expected to live, speak, and dress like the British
• Education, healthcare, communication systems improved
• Transportation systems built• Fighting between Hindus and Muslims was
suppressed
AND SO…AND SO…
The British took complete control over India!
But will their power and influence last?
Will India find it’s own nationalism and rise?
Will a leader emerge?
(Don’t) fightthe power!
Hey, why should wehave to feel like secondclass citizens in our own
country? I love my home!I love being Indian!
That’s Right!
Indian National Congress formed in 1885
• Created to give Indians a voice• Became powerful with Mohandas Gandhi’s
leadership– supported nonviolence and civil disobedience– boycotted British goods and urged Indians to
spin cloth
Muslim League formed in 1906
• Created to give Muslim minority a voice• Became powerful with Muhammad
Jinnah’s leadership
Sir, the locals are makinga lot of noise about us
being here.
Blah, Blah, Blah...
Please, my Indian friends.Help us fight this war, and we will
grant you self rule.
It’s adeal.
SUCKERS!
British response to Indian Nationalism
• Early Nationalist movements mostly ignored by British
• Indians were promised self-rule if they supported the British in WWI
• At war’s end, British refused to honor promise - Indians outraged
Sir, some of the Indianextremists are becoming
violent.
Hmmmmm...
What if we made it illegalto be angry at us?
Then we could throw all ofthese trouble makers in jail...
Rowlatt Act passed in 1919
• Large gatherings of Indians outlawed• Protesters jailed without trial for up to 2
years• Amritsar Massacre (Gen. Dyer)
– 10,000 Hindus and Muslims gathered for a festival
– British troops fired at crowd, killing 400, injuring 1200
Mohandas K. Gandhi• Attended law school in
England• Worked as a lawyer to
battle injustice in South Africa
• Based his ideas on the teachings of all world religions
• Renamed “Mahatma” (great soul) by his followers.
• Stressed disobedience without the use of violence
• Spun 200 yards of yarn a day, no matter how busy he was
• Led strikes and boycotts against the British
• Often imprisoned
Nonviolent resistance issuperior to the force of arms.One who is free from hatred
requires no sword.
British Response to Indian Nationalism
• Peaceful Salt Marches met with police violence
• Self-rule finally granted in the Government Act of India - 1935– local self-government and limited elections
allowed– Hindus and Muslims disagreed on plan for
India’s future
It’s obvious that I can’t leave until you allfigure out how to live in the same country
with one another.
Independence
• After WWII, British planned to end rule• Hindus and Muslims rioted over
independence plan• Partition into India and Pakistan - 1947
– British allowed one month for the separation– India designated for Hindus, Pakistan for Muslims– 10,000,000 migrated across the continent– approx. 1,000,000 killed in riots when groups met
Now Bangladesh (1971)
Independence
• Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist
• Jinnah became the first Governor-General of Pakistan
• Jawaharlal Nehru became first Prime Minister of India
Though peace has not yet been found, imperialism was
defeated. That alone is cause for celebration.