India under british rule

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India under British Rule
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Part I European Arrival Imperialism

• How did India become a British colony?
• India became an English colony progressively. One
  of the most important events took place in 1857
  There was a popular revolt (the Sepoys) in India
  because the East India company tried to impose
  reforms which questioned the Indian culture (For
  example the remarriage of the widows). The
  Company managed the economy of the country at
  that time so the English brought soldiers to
  India to calm the revolt.Finally, the East India
  Company was eliminated in 1858 and the power was
  transferred to the British Crown.In 1876 Queen
  Victoria ( 1819 1901 ) proclaimed herself
  Empress of India, symbolizing the British
  political power.

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1498 European arrival (Portugal)
Vasco da Gama of Portugal
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16th c. Portuguese Empire at maximum extent
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1500-1700s Dutch, French, British follow
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1600 British East India Company
Tea
Silk
Cotton
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1700s Mughal decline British ascendancy over
French
Seven Years War British defeat French
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East India Company rule

• became like a foreign govt.
• took more land
• forced Indian rulers to sign treaties granting it
  power
• collected taxes from Indians
• est. law code courts

Robert Clive (1725-1774)
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1857 Sepoy Rebellion
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1858-1947 British colonial rule
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Part IIBritish Rule

• Was British rule good or bad for India?
• The good stuff ..
• The British came to India for trade. While slowly
  expanding their trade, they expanded their empire
  as well, and this became possible solely because
  of the dirty wars that prevailed between the
  princely states of India then there was not a
  whole united India, just a bunch of states
  governed by kings of different dynasties, or
  religions, who fought with each other and aimed
  only to expand their empires. The Britishers, in
  one or the other way, tracked them all down. They
  conquered India from all sides, therefore
  bringing it under a single rule the British
  rule.
• Perhaps the only thing we can thank the
  Britishers for cricket. The British Rule bought
  cricket to the country, and today, it is perhaps
  the only thing that has the power to bring almost
  the entire nation together.
• English language and education
• The language I am writing in, and you are reading
  in, is surely a gift of the British. Lord William
  Bentinck, who was the Governor-General from
  1828-1835, saw the difficulty in administration
  of economy, law, justice and cooperation due to
  the lack of a uniform language. The language of
  princes and diplomacy was Persian Sanskrit and
  Arabic were employed in the courts of law and in
  matters of religious disputation. English was
  supreme in commerce but in every other respect,
  it did not count. For a joint participation in
  administration, a single language was a must. And
  what language could that be other than English?
  Consequently, Lord Bentinck introduced English as
  the official language.
• The bad stuff..
• India was known as sone ki chidiya (Golden
  Bird) once upon a time. Then, the British came
  and the bird flew away or perhaps its gold
  turned into brass, whatever you prefer. India was
  extremely rich when Britishers arrived for trade.
  To put this into perspective, India accounted
  for 22 share of the worlds GDP when the
  Britishers arrived (the entire Europe accounted
  for only 23 at the time), and by the
  time Britishers left, Indias share in the
  global GDP was just 2.A number of things the
  Britishers crushed the Indian economy.
• The British, in the true sense of the word,
  looted India. They took away various wealthy
  possessions that Indians possessed. At an
  estimate, a trillion dollars were roughly looted,
  not counting the gems and other jewels.
• The most famous jewel that the English took away
  from India was the Kohinoor diamond, a 105
  carat diamond the largest diamond at the time.
  The Kohinoor now resides in the crown of the
  British queen.
• Playing the monkey
• Britishers were responsible for a number of
  battles in India. They arrived with the policy of
  divide-and-rule, and went on to
  play significant roles in fuelling the wars
  between the Marathas, Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims.
  While the Brit did not take an active part in the
  wars wars, they were indirectly involved in each
  of these since their arrival. Remember that story
  of two cats fighting over a piece of bread, where
  a monkey, taking the advantage of the dispute,
  gets away with the bread? Yep.
• Decline of Indian languages

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Source 1 Famine victims, 1877
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Source 2 Lord Lytton, Viceroy of India
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Information on Sources 1-2

• There was a devastating famine in India,
  1876-1878. Lord Lytton, viceroy of India,
  opposed any efforts to intervene in the famine as
  violating the principles of laissez faire
  economics. In The Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam
  Smith had written that famine has never arisen
  from any other cause but the violence of
  government attempting, by improper means, to
  remedy the inconvenience of death. Lytton
  opposed government charity because it would
  diminish the work ethic of those receiving it.
  The only charity he allowed was given out in
  small amounts and included difficult requirements
  for those receiving it.
• Lytton appointed Sir Richard Temple a Famine
  Delegate to control government expenditures. He
  set up a government program where those in need
  could get work as manual labor for railroad and
  canal projects. However, the workers had to
  travel far away from their homes and live in
  camps in order to do this work. They were given
  food, but the prescribed ration was 1627 calories
  per day. By comparison, the ration provided to
  prisoners at Buchenwald, a Holocaust
  concentration camp, was 1750 calories.
• There were calls for a Famine Fund to counteract
  future famines. However, Lytton opposed
  financing it with an income tax, which would
  affect the rich, and instead supported a land tax
  on the peasantry. This was rejected, so Lytton
  pushed taxes on small traders and on salt. In
  the end, the Famine Fund wasnt even spend on
  famine relief, but rather was used to reduce the
  tariff on cotton goods imported into India and on
  the war in Afghanistan.
• In 1876, at the beginning of the famine, the
  proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of
  India was celebrated with a weak-long feast for
  68,000 officials. Meanwhile, a British
  journalist estimated that 100,000 people died
  during the course of the festivities.
• The death toll of the famine is hard to
  calculate. One British demographer provides a
  figure of 7.1 million deaths.
• - Adapted from Mr. Carrolls synopsis of Late
  Victorian Holocausts (2001) by Mike Davis

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Source 3 British Railways in India
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Source 4 Christmas in India, 1881
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Source 5 Inoculation against Plague, Bombay,
postcard, early 20th c.
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Source 6 1815 print showing Hindu religious
custom of sati
British officer This Custom tho' shocking to
humanity we still allow in consequence of the
revenue it brings in, which is of importance. I
have also private reasons for not suppressing the
burning system immediately.British bishop
Why my Lord, with a view to Oeconomy under
existing circumstances it might be imprudent to
press the measure at present. Besides I think I
feel also the private motives which actuates your
Lordship.
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Source 7 Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, 1898-1905

• There has never been anything so great in the
  worlds history as the British empire, so great
  an instrument for the good of humanity.
• - Lord Curzon, British Viceroy of India,
  1898-1905

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Source 8.1 Trade that the British East India Co.
was involved in, 1814-1835
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Source 8.2 Trade that the British East India Co.
was involved in, 1814-1835