Kai Howe
The Story of Colonization in India
The Colonizer
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Before the Colonization India and Great Britain had a strong connection in trade long before the colonization, Great Britain’s East India Company were in charge of the trade in between the two countries. The East India Company was founded in the 1600’s; this corporation was created for trading in the East Indies but ended up trading mainly with India and surrounding countries. The British were at their peak at this time period, they had money, connections, and military and all they needed were more resources. India at this time were at a weak point, the Mughal Empire was losing power and the Muslims and Hindu’s split into two different groups. Since the British had the closest connections with India they felt obligated to help.
The East India Company logo
The Motives Resourceful India
East India Company Flag after 1801 India being known for spices, cotton, and valuable stones had to many of these resources to handle. India was also a major crop producer and the largest producer of cotton at the time. Other countries such as France were also trying to build a closer relationship with India and probably would have colonized India as well if Great Britain did not. The East India Company noticed the changes and problems in India’s government, following theses problems Great Britain simply took their chance and colonized India to benefit both themselves and the Indians.
Another Country to Colonize Great Britain at the time was at their peak, they had power over several countries all ready but it was not enough. The British simply wanted rule over more land and India was an easy target, but India was targeted for its spices and many other resources. Great Britain was in search for resources that could be manufactured into something and then sold. France were also another country that was aware of the problems India were facing, either way they would have been taken over.
Disorder in India As the Mughal Emperor was losing his power, there were numerous clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims in the nation. Since the nation was enormous, the situation was very hard to control and the country plummeted into turmoil. The government could not handle the fights and clashes that everything started to fall apart. As the Hindus and the Muslims were in a war, the French also decided to take this opportunity to increase its influence in India. They tried to use India’s disaster as an opportunity to increase their power and seized as much wealth as possible. Although shortly after this the East India Company overthrew both the Indians and French
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The Process Battle of Plassey India were going through tough times, the Muslim and Hindu split caused a lot of conflict and confusion and the French that had established themselves in the Indies were too deeply involved in trying to help. While this was happening the East-‐India Company had already planned the attack and were reinforced with arms of all sort including around 2,000 Indian sepoys. The battle took place on June 23rd 1759 at Palashi, Bengal Supah on the riverbanks of the Bhagirathi River. The British easily won the fight, only suffering 22 deaths; as for the Indian side the belligerents were the Nawab of Bengal and the French East Indian Company, even when joined together they were no match to the British sides modern-‐day weapons. Most of the Indian/French gave up and threw away their weapons; they were taken prisoners but were released once the battle was fully finished. Benjamin Disraeli – “India is the This was the start of British rule over India and a new beginning for the jewel of the British crown” Indies. Not only will the British help India, but will assist in regaining power in the Indian government once again. East India Company is officially The Jewel of the Crown 1600 created
1757
The British defeat the Indians and French in the Battle of Plassey to officially gain British rule over India
1857
The first Indian rebellion/(Sepoy rebellion) began as a mutiny of sepoy’s and soon escalated into a war
1858
East India Company and Mughal Empire rule ends
1858
The British once again rule but with e a new beginning of the British Raj
1877
Queen Victoria becomes the Empress of India
1947
British rule is ended and India becomes independent Timeline of major e vents during the British Empire
Benjamin Disraeli, the British Prime Minister at the time, said that India was the jewel of the British crown; India was so significant in Great Britain’s success. Great Britain was able to use India’s resources and ship it back to Britain to be manufactured then sent back to India to be sold at a reasonable price. Through this manufacturing India’s image changed into a more powerful, higher class looking country, where Indian people dressed much more stylishly looking more like the British. In the later period of British rule (around 1750), Europe was undergoing the start of the Industrial Revolution. Great Britain was able to make/manufacture all different types of things created at this time because of the many supplies from India.
The Indian Rebellion The Indian or Sepoy Rebellion began at 1857 and ended early 1859. It began with a mutiny of sepoy’s of a small army of the East India Company, it later on spiraled and there were more mutinies of the company. Many people in the East India Company’s army were killed or
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taken hostage, the sepoy’s then took over part of North India creating a region which the British did not have power over. The sepoy’s were able to hold off the British for almost two years but were overthrown by force. The rebellion led to the end of the East India Company rule over India. It also led to the British to reorganize the army, the financial system and the administration in India. India was thereafter governed by Britain once again but in the form of the British Raj.
British Raj The British Raj started their rule from 1858 and all the way to 1947. During this time the India region was called British-‐India, there were also areas directly governed by Great Britain. The Raj ruled over all of present day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the crown also governed Burma at various times. The Raj divided India into sections, these section were called princely states and were ruled by individual rulers. India gained independence on August 15th 1947 after many wars and protests from Gandhi and became their own British colony.
The Effects
Constructive Impact Although there were several negative results there were also many positive influences from the British that lasted in India. One of the main benefits for India was that European education was introduced; by the time the British left there were more educated citizens than before any British rule. Indian people had better opportunities for jobs after they declared independence because many of them learned how to speak English. Schools and Colleges were built as well to increase the education level as well. There were also physical impacts as well such as the introducing the system of railways. These railways were very convenient for people travelling long distances domestically. Other than building the railway network, other infrastructures such as dams, bridges, irrigation canals, roads, the telephone and telegraph lines all benefited directly to India. These newly built infrastructure helped the Indian government and people in many different ways. Not only does it cure India’s problem but goes one step further, it modernizes India. It also improved sanitation resulting in better public health. Another major achievement that Great Britain did for India was to use its troops to clear central India of bandits The British introduced the railways to the putting an end to local warfare in the streets. Indians for a more convenient transport system These lasting positive effects on India are evidence that Great Britain’s attempt to solve India’s problems weren’t in vain. Even today there are small bits of the presence of the British left in many ways. The British rule strongly influenced India into a more structured, organized country.
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Vocabulary: (Words that are noteworthy can be found in bold) East Indies The whole of Southeast Asia including India. Sepoy An Indian soldier serving under British or other European o rders Nawah of Bengal A group of religious people in the Bengal during the Mughal rule. French East India A commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete w ith the British Company and Dutch East India companies in colonial India. Industrial The rapid development of industry that occurred in Britain in the late Revolution 18th and 19th centuries. Princely States A political state is when a ruler is in indirect rule of a (princely) state.
Map 1.
Geography Questions: Answer the questions below by using Map1. shown above. 1. Find and Label where the Indian Rebellion’s first battle took place. 2. Find and Label where the Battle of Plassey took place. 3. Find out who ruled over the Raiputana princely state and for how long. 4
Bibliography BBC. "The Sepoy Rebellion." Radio 4 Empire. 24 Feb. 2006. BBC. 7 Nov. 2007 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/empire/episodes/episode_50.shtml>. Lal, Vinay. "Battle of Plassey." Manas: India and Its Neighbors. 7 Feb 2007. 28 Oct 2007 <http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/British/ Plassey.html>. Lal, Vinay. "British India." Manas: India and Its Neighbors. 7 Feb 2007. 28 Oct 2007 <http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/British/BrIndia.html>. Lal, Vinay. "Mahatma Gandhi." Manas: India and Its Neighbors. 7 Feb 2007. 28 Oct 2007 <http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/gandhi.html>. Lewis, Jacobs, and Daniel Lincoln. "Imperialism in India." Indian Imperialism. 1997. DTML Fishhead Design Co. 7 Nov. 2007 <http://asms.k12.ar.us/classes/humanities/worldstud/97-98/imper/india/India.htm>.
Indian Railway Homepage. 5 Nov. 2007. 7 Nov. 2007 <http://www.trainweb.org/indiarail/Oldindex.html>.
"British Raj." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj>. "Humanities 210 MIC/WIC- Cora AgatucciCultures & Literatures of Asia." Indiatml3. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/tml/IndiaTML/indiatml3.htm>. "Indian Rebellion of 1857." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857>. "Timeline of British India." Timeline of British India. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/timeline.html>. "A Timeline of India in the 1800s." About.com 19th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://history1800s.about.com/od/thebritishempire/tp/indiatimeline01.htm>.
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