British East India Company Indirect Rule In India

Business In 1600 the British East India Company was granted a monopoly on trading in India (this applied only to Britain) They also began exporting opium into China (despite the fact that the Chinese did not want them to) The company began exporting cotton, silk, indigo dye, saltpeter (used for gunpowder), and tea In 1615 the East India Company was given the right to trade in all of India by Mughal emperor Jahangir

Politics In 1757 the military forces of the East India Company helped defeat an uprising at the Battle of Plassey Soon the company would begin collecting taxes for the Mughal Emperor in areas where they had factories and soon would control much of the affairs of India The company began to go broke because of the costs of maintaining a military force The British government lent the company millions of dollars to keep the company in business Brittan passed several Acts to over see the affairs of the East India Company

Sepoy Mutiny Resentment over the privilege and treatment of the East India Company reached a boiling point in 1857 Sepoys (Indian soldiers trained to fight with the East India Company) became upset with their British leaders Rumors began to spread that new guns arriving would be greased with pig and cow fat (a problem for Hindus and Muslims) Sepoys in northern India began to rebel and drove the East India Company out of the capital of Delhi The company would soon regain Delhi, but it would take them almost a year to fully end the rebellion Concerned with losing access to Indian goods Britain dissolved the East Indian Company and took control of India

The Raj After taking control of India from the East India Company Britain began establishing it as a protectorate of the British Crown The region was divided into 13 provinces and run by a British Governor A British Viceroy directed the provinces and reported directly to the British Crown Schools and Universities that taught English and provided British style instruction were established which led to a slow growing Indian middle class that became involved in the administration of the government Railroad and agricultural growth took place during the period of British rule, though these changes mainly benefited the British The British created rules requiring the Indians to purchase certain goods exclusively from British businesses which increased their wealth also