1. The British in India

2. 15 th and 16 th centuries  New trade route to India  Portuguese have a monopoly on trade between India and Europe, also work to spread Christianity  Brit & French overpower Portuguese and set up trading posts

3. British Expansion  Trading posts become centers of power – not established by govt., but by trading companies  British East India Company – monopoly over trade in India, China and East Indies –Had power to sign treaties, maintain armies and govern itself

4. Clash with the French  French East India Company set up in 1664 at Pondicherry  Sepoys – Indians serving in the army of European country  As Indian kingdoms compete for political power, French and British sought to strengthen their positions by allying themselves with different rulers and fighting others.

5. Defeat of the French  Robert Clive led small British and sepoy force to defeat French  Resulted in British control of richest province in India: Bengal –Clive is named governor of Bengal

6. CLIVE AT PLASSEY

7. Reasons for British Success in India  British brought all of India under their control: –Collapse of ruling Mogul empire left India divided and disorganized –“Divide and conquer” policy – played on weaknesses and greed of local rulers –Superior military and naval power; gave their sepoys modern weapons –Able administrators and governors reformed and improved local govt.

8. Reforms to Local Govt.  Indian Civil Service – nonmilitary employees of East India Co.  Law courts open to all subjects in territories  Abolished internal tariffs on imports and exports

9. Reforms to British dealings  Many governors and officials accused of corrupt practices to line their own pockets  Raises salaries of employees  Denied Indians high posts of govt. (blamed them for most of the corruption)  Lord Wellesley, strengthens East India Company’s power even more

10. WELLESLEY  From a wealthy family  Gains new territories in central and south India for East India Company by defeating native rulers

11. Drastic Changes – Early 1800s  Expanded control into Nepal and Burma  Made English official language  Abolished Suttee  Stopped female infanticide  Cracked down on thugs  Set up postal and telegraph systems  Railroads, canals for irrigation, roads  Education in every province, higher education in English  Private ownership of land introduced

12. Expansion of Parliamentary Control  East India Company was so powerful and wealthy, Parliament demands more control  Regulating Act, 1784, created a Board of Control  1813 ended the company’s monopoly of control over Indian trade  1853 – Civil service employees hired not according to whoever the company liked, but based on competitive exams

13. Great Uprising of 1857  Immediate causes: –New cartridges were greased with animal fat –Requirement that sepoys must serve outside of India (forbidden, could lose caste position) –Fear of forced Christianity, influence of missionaries –British were believed to be destroying Indian traditional culture  At Meerut army post, the sepoys killed every European man, woman and child…this spread to other posts as well

14. SEPOYS

16. Sepoy Rebellion  Hindus and Muslims fight side by side, many dispossessed princes support it  South India did not join, nor did Sikhs in the North  Mutiny defeated after 1 yr., British reprisals were brutal –ie: Entire population driven from Delhi and thousands slaughtered. Captives fired from cannons. “Cawnpore Dinner” – bayonet in the stomach

19. The British Raj  After revolt, British Parliament passed “An Act for the Better Government of India” – completely takes over the East India Co.’s empire  British govt. of India is Raj – the Hindi word for kingdom

20. “THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN”  British empire after World War I

21. Government of India  India divided into 2 unequal parts: –British India – 3/5 of subcontinent in most productive areas –Native India – 1/3 of land in princely states scattered all over  Some ruled by Hindu leaders, maharajahs  Some ruled by Islamic rulers, nawabs or nizams  British official advisor, resident  Princes could control schools, courts and soldiers  British controlled foreign affairs and internal relations

22. Colonization  1876, Parliament makes Queen Victoria the Empress of India and ruler over all parts of India  British India ruled by a Viceroy, with help of other British officials  Under Raj, Indians had almost no voice in their govt.

23. Benefits of British Rule  Pax Britanica – law and order creates political unity previously unknown in India  Best railroad system in Asia, 4,000- 40,000 miles. Third largest in world.  National Postal and telegraph system  Canal system irrigates millions of acres  Public health measures against cholera, smallpox, etc. lower death rate  Famine relief system aided millions when harvests were poor  New schools at all levels – English is used in higher levels of ed. – Trained lawyers and civil servants study ideas of democracy and nationalism  Equality before law regardless of status  Industrialization, shipping and banking facilities expanded

24. Limitations of British Rule  Many profits drained from India go to benefit Britain  The improvements mentioned above were paid for by Indian taxes, (one of reasons for American Revolution)  Taxes collected in cash were bad for poor, increase debt and poverty

25.  Famines are caused by British production of commercial crops instead of food. British landlords not answerable to anyone.

26.  British manufactured goods sold cheaper than Indian hand-made goods than Indian hand-made goods

27. INCONSISTENCY IN RULE  British policies are inconsistent. Liberal govts. And some missionaries favor educating and incorporating Indians to help run empire;  Conservatives (Tories) and Anglo-Indians (British civil service and landowners) want to keep them separate and crack down hard on rebellions – hardened racist attitudes.

28.  Separation of ruler from ruled – Indians treated as inferiors socially, morally and culturally –British segregated society further, “Europeans Only” signs for public facilities

29. INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT  Indian National Congress founded 1885.

30. TACTICS  Support limited to Indian elites.  Boycotts.