1. The British East India Company

2. Industrialization 1750-1850: The Industrial Revolution in Britain
Rather than farming, people work in manufacturing, producing goods to sell
The British required natural resources for their factories and markets to sell their goods
Industrialization

3. Industrialization and India
The British saw India as a source of natural resources
India also had 300 million people, so the British considered it a new market full of customers for British products
Industrialization and India

4. The British East India Company
The British East India Company (BEIC) had existed since the 16th century with a royal charter
Royal charter: A license for a company to operate given by the monarch
The BEIC set up trading posts: Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta
Eventually, the British ask themselves: “Why just trade when we can take over the whole country?”
The British East India Company

5. War for India The British begin building up their military forces
A local Indian leader captures some British soldiers and imprisons them in the “Black Hole of Calcutta”
The British army then wins the Battle of Plassey under the command of Robert Clive (1757)
Warren Hastings becomes Governor-General of British India
War for India

6. BEIC Power The BEIC had its own currency and its own army
The officers were British and the soldiers were Indians, called sepoys
The BEIC controlled an entire country of over 300 million people
BEIC Power

7. In 1857, the sepoys revolted and took over most of Northern India
The British army arrives, and regains control by exploiting divisions between Hindus and Muslims
After the rebellion, the British government takes control of India
Areas of control were called the Raj
The Sepoy Rebellion

8. The British Raj “Raj” means “rule”
India was divided into 10 provinces and 250 districts
The Raj constructed railroads, built a huge tea industry, and exported many goods
The British Raj

9. The Indians were used as laborers and treated as second class citizens
They were taxed heavily and did not have equal rights
India’s population grew quickly, leading to horrific famines
Traditional Indian industries were destroyed
Yet, the British were able to control India with 1 soldier per 10,000 Indians- why?
Treatment of Indians

10. British Views of Indians
“A single shelf of a good European library is worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.”- Thomas Macaulay
British attitudes toward Indians and Indian culture were often contemptuous and racist
British Views of Indians

11. Indian Nationalism Grows
Many Indians rejected the idea of British rule
Ram Mohun Roy: Father of Indian nationalism, encouraged Indians to learn from the British but also supported independence
Indian National Congress: Peaceful protest to achieve independence
Muslim League: Represented Indian Muslims and supported an independent Muslim state
Indian Nationalism Grows

12. Gandhi In time, the face of Indian nationalism will be Mohandas Gandhi
Gandhi was an Indian lawyer who had lived in South Africa and England
Encouraged non-violent resistance and cooperation between Muslims and Hindus
Gandhi