India

India

The British were competing with other European nations for influence in India………

cotton, tea, indigo, coffee, and opium…yes opium. We’ll talk about opium and its uses with the Chinese next

Jewel in the Crown

• Raw Resources• 300 Million Customers• Forced to sell only to England• Could not compete with East India Trade Co

1700-1750: Problems

• After 1700 the East India Company face many problems

What problems

did the EIC face?

Problems the EIC faced

• Originally India’s government under the Mughal Empire was strong

• Mughal Empire Weakening by 1757• Fighting between princes and regional (state) rulers

(Majarajas)• EIC sent own soldiers to India• Soldiers recruited from India- Called Sepoys• Easy way to make money and gain more power in

homeland• Abundance workforce in India

• The British EIC had Bombay, Calcutta and Madras and at first the British did not want more land.

• But then war broke out between rival Indian princes, and the French interfere – making the Indians trade with France (and not Britain).

• The EIC would be forced out of India, unless something changed……

1700-1750: Problems

Robert Clive Conquers India

• Robert Clive worked in an office for the EIC but he was getting bored

• The EIC’s force of armed guards was growing into an army; Clive joined them as an officer

• In 1751 Clive led 500 men against 10,000 French and Indian soldiers and won!

• Clive led the EIC’s army to victory many more times, forcing the French out and making the East India Company very powerful – it wasn’t the British government taking over India – it was a British business!

From about 1800AD British Christians tried to change Indian customs

• The Hindu practice Sati is believed to have originated some 700 years ago in India.

• Women burnt themselves after their men were defeated in battles to avoid being taken by the victors. But it came to be seen as a measure of wifely devotion in later years and sometimes relatives would tie-up the wife, forcing her to die.

• The custom was outlawed by India's British rulers in 1829 following demands by Indian reformers. But many Indians were against change – especially when forced by the British.

• Today it happens only once every few years – and causes outrage across India and the world.

The 1857-58 Indian MutinySepoy Mutiny

• The pay of Indian soldiers (sepoys) - who were working for the EIC army - was cut

• There were rumors that the sepoys would have to convert from Hinduism or Islam to Christianity

• Forced to bite off the tip of the ammunition that was covered in beef/pork fat

• Jailed for being disobedient if they refused• Near Delhi some Sepoys murdered their British officers

and a revolt started against the British across India• Many 100’s of British men, women and children were

butchered - Cawnpore saw terrible atrocities• Then the British got their revenge……..

• At Cawnpore the British made anyone suspected of being a rebel lick the ground where the British had been butchered

• Other rebels were tied to the mouths of cannons and blown to pieces

• 1000’s died from both sides, and the relationships between the British and the Indians would never be the same again…..

The ‘British Raj’, 1858-1947• In 1858 in response to the

rebellion, the British Government abolished the East India Company and declared that India would be ruled directly by the British Government

• The army brought more British officers to India to prevent anymore rebellions

• This British ‘raj’, meaning ‘rule’, would continue until a man called Gandhi led India to independence

Raj• Ruled by someone who had never been to India (called a

Viceroy)• Internal Fighting between Hindus/Muslims prevented them

from doing anything about it• Two separate groups were created in India to protest

mistreatment by the British:– the Indian National Congress (made up of Hindus)– the Muslim League

These groups called for better treatment at first, but would later demand independence from British rule. It would take a while to get either.

Positives

• Built railroads, sewers, roads, canals, dams, bridges, telegraph wires, schools, colleges

• Health Improved, economy improved, literacy increased, crime/warfare decreased

Negatives

• Racism• Control Lost by Indians• Indian Companies put out of business• No longer self-sufficient• Religious disagreements…thought they were

trying to convert them to Christianity

Independence