Chapter 12 The New Imperialism

Chapter 12The New Imperialism

Section 4 – The British Take Over India

Setting the Scene

Ranjit Singh ruled the large Sikh empire in northwestern India during the early 1800s. He had cordial dealings with the British but saw only too well where their ambitions were headed. One day,

he was looking at a map of India on which British-held lands were shaded red. "All will one

day become red!" he predicted.

Not long after Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the British conquered the Sikh empire. They added

its 100,000 square miles to their steadily growing lands. As Singh had forecast, India was falling

under British control.

I. East India Company and Sepoy Rebellion

After the decline of the Mughal Empire in the mid-1800s, the British East India Company gained control of India

I. East India Company and Sepoy Rebellion

The British were able to take over India by exploiting the diverse people and cultures of India

India is the seventh largest country in the world - approximately 3,287,000 sq km (1,281,930 sq mi); 18 languages and 800 dialects; Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain religions

I. East India Company and Sepoy Rebellion

The main goal was to make money, but it also introduced western education, religion, and law

I. East India Company and Sepoy Rebellion

The British worked to end slavery and the caste system, and outlawed sati (suttee)

I. East India Company and Sepoy Rebellion

Discontent began when sepoys were required to serve anywhere, and when a law was passed allowing Hindu widows to remarry

Sepoys of the Bombay, Bengal and Madras armies

I. East India Company and Sepoy Rebellion

In 1857, new rifles using cartridges greased with animal fat were issued to the sepoys, who refused to use them

A section through the .577" Enfield-Pritchett cartridge. The infantryman would tear off the top of the paper cartridge with his teeth and pour the gunpowder inside down the gun barrel.

I. East India Company and Sepoy Rebellion

When the Sepoys were disciplined, it set off the Sepoy Rebellion

An 1859 lithograph depicts the storming of Delhi in 1857 by rebelling Indian sepoys, beginning the Sepoy Rebellion

II. British Colonial Rule

In 1858, Parliament ended the rule of the East India Company and set up a colonial rule

II. British Colonial Rule

Britain saw India as a market and a source of raw materials, and built up India’s infrastructure

Indian cotton Indian jute

II. British Colonial Rule

After the Suez Canal opened in 1869, British trade with India increased greatly

1869 Opening of the Suez Canal

II. British Colonial Rule

New farming methods and medicines lead to rapid population growth, and in the late 1800s famines swept India

II. British Colonial RuleBritish rule also brought peace and order, promoted justice, and improved travel and communication

A French artist's rendering of Calcutta in the early 19th century.

III. Different Views on Culture

Some Indians urged following a western model of progress, others felt the answer to change lay within their own culture

III. Different Views on Culture

Ram Mohun Roy combined both views and because of his influence, he is often hailed as the founder of Indian nationalism

This statue of Raja Rammohun Roy stands outside Bristol Cathedral.

III. Different Views on Culture

The British disagreed among themselves about India - a few admired Indian culture but most British viewed India with contempt

In an essay on whether Indians should be taught in English or their native languages, English historian Thomas Macaulay wrote that: “A single shelf of a good European library is worththe whole native literature of India and Arabia."

IV. Indian Nationalism

During the years of British rule, a class of western-educated Indians emerged who dreamed of ending imperial rule

In 1835, Thomas Macaulay articulated the goals of British colonial imperialism most succinctly: "We must do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, words and intellect." 

IV. Indian Nationalism

In 1885, nationalist organized the Indian National Congress, known as the Congress party, which called for greater democracy

IV. Indian Nationalism

At first, Muslims and Hindus worked together, but in 1906 Muslims formed the Muslim League to pursue their own goals

Looking Ahead

By the early 1900s, protests and resistance to British rule increased. Some Indian

nationalists urged that Indian languages and cultures be restored. More and more

Indians demanded not simply self-rule but complete independence. Their goal finally would be achieved in 1947, but only after a

long struggle against the British and a nightmare of bloody conflict between

Hindus and Muslims.