India Under British Rule

India Under British Rule

Chapter Eight Section 4By Brian Boyle, Sam Yarosh, and Meg Boeni

A Timeline of British Involvement

in India1498 – Portuguese traders become the first Europeans to gain a foothold in India.

1600 – England sets up the East India Trading Company

Early 1700s – Mughal Empire begins to decline

1740s – Rivalry between British and French traders in India

1750s – Britain begins to intervene in Indian politics

1765 – Bengal formally concedes

to British military leader Robert Clive by the surviving Mughal ruler

1773 – Regulating Act grants Parliament joint authority with the EIC in India

1813 – Charter Act institutes laws based on British moral standards and outlaws many traditional practices

1857 – Sepoy mutiny

1858 – India officially becomes a British colony

***Fun Fact*** The word Khaki was originally an Indian word spread to England through trade.

Robert Clive• Administrator of East Indian

Company• Led British forces and helped

defeat the French• Appointed Indian rulers in

conquered territories who supported the East India Company

• www.opioids.com/opium/robert-clive.html

East India Company

British encouraged disunity between Indian groupsBritish got groups one by one to sign treaties with East India CompanyGained rights to collect taxes; began gaining enormous wealthSet up law code and court systemRuled directly and indirectly

British RuleBy the 1850s Indians began to have problems with BritishBritish outlawed many Hindu practices such as Sati- ritual suicide by widowed womenHigh taxes angered farmers

Sepoy Mutiny- 1857

Sepoys were Indian troops who served in the British army

CausesSepoy infantry were issued Lee-Enfield rifles that had to be single loaded

Each cartridge was greased with pig fat and beef tallow, which caused problems for Hindus and Muslims alike

British outlawed the practice of sati which outraged the civilian population

CausesSepoy infantry were issued Lee-Enfield rifles that had to be single loaded

Each cartridge was greased with pig fat and beef tallow, which caused problems for Hindus and Muslims alike

Some historians believe that the situation with the rifle cartridges was simply the last straw of a series of events leading to rebellion

Lasting Effects of British Rule

Social and Political Changes

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Economic ChangesNative economy all but destroyed and Indians forced to grow cash crops for British markets Indian craftsmen unable to compete with an influx of cheap British goodsTaxes levied against local people of many castes

Social ChangesEnglish language became predominant in many areas

Schools of higher education founded on the British model

Health care and sanitation enormously improved ; rapid population growth

Christianity introduced

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Changes in Technology

First railroad completed in 1850Telegraph introduced in 1851Three local postal systems merged in1854Roads and waterways opened across the country to make transportation of goods and British troops more efficient

Indian Nationalism• Westernization and English

ethnocentrism angered many and strengthened ties to native culture

Modernization vs. return to native customs

• Indian National Congress – succeeded in opening more government positions to native Indians