BRITISH IMPERIALISM IN INDIA

Lesson 3 – Chapter 6

British Empire: Trade Routes

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The British Influence in India

Portuguese, Dutch, and French influence was growing in India during the 17th century.

The British joined forces with the Dutch to drive out the Portuguese from India – no sooner had they done so they began fighting each other.

The Dutch and British won the East Indies

The British Influence in India

British were successful in India – building forts at Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay

The British rented the forts from the British East India Company

Queen Elizabeth I Britain granted the British East India Company a monopoly on trading in India and Asia in 1600

The British East India Trading Company - BEITC

Run by London merchants that had trading rights in India

It was difficult for them to make a profit:India was far from BritainIndia was broken up in

independent states so the company had to do business with many Indian princes

These princes did not always comply with the goals of the company so the BEITC took matters into it’s own hands.

The British East India Trading Company

The company would be able to control it’s own destiny:Increase land holdingsIncrease taxesMake war – had control

of the British military in India

By doing this, the BEITC in fact became the government of India

Sir Robert Clive – “Clive of India” – p. 150

Drove the French out of India firmly establishing Britain’s influence in the country

He tried to stop private trading by BEITC employees and Indian princes – cut into profits of the BEITC

Many influential people despised Clive for doing so and accused him of taking bribes

Even though he was found innocent, the disgrace of was too much for him – committed suicide

Some historians believe that the BEITC was the world’s first transnational company.

How the British gained complete control of India

By 1857, British government takes control of India from the BEITC

British gov’ t sent capable governors to India and they employed Indian soldiers loyal to Britain known as sepoys

Since British influence was increasing in India, Hindus and Muslims were becoming uneasy – their way of life was changing

How the British gained complete control of India

Indian customs were made illegal and new commerce and industry conflicted with the caste system

Sepoy mutiny - can be found in religious beliefs

Before a bullet could be used, a soldier had to bite it

Rumor circulated that the grease on the bullet came from a pig or a cow

How the British gained complete control of India

Muslims are forbidden to eat pig and Hindus are forbidden to eat cow – the sepoys mutinied and fighting spread to many parts of India

It took many months to put down the mutiny and caused tensions between Muslims, Hindus, and the British

The Raj – p. 151 Hindi word for “rule” The poor leadership by the

BEITC – Sepoy Mutiny, corruption of company officials, high taxes on the Indians - alarmed the British government

British government ended the powers of the EITC and took over control of India in 1858

Impact of British Rule on India – T-Chart

Positive Effects Negative Effects

Jury trials – educated Indians served as judges

Established responsible gov’t Educational opportunities Caste system was

extinguished Improved farming methods –

irrigation systems Improved health facilities,

hospitals/medicines Railroads were constructed Improved communications -

the postal system and telephone/telegraph lines

Discouraged Indian businesses

Not able to practice customs High taxes placed on people

– some sold their children to slavery to pay

High unemployment Education was taught from

the British perspective – Indian identity was being lost

English associated with one another – feelings of inferiority between Indians and the British

Cotton and deindustrialization in India – p. 151

Deindustrialization – loss or decline of industry

Weaving was intricate to the Indian identity India is forced to buy only British textiles and

forbidden to weave cloth This ensured that there would be no

competition for British textile manufacturers

The term deindustrialization may be used in a variety of senses.

Today, it often refers to the evolution that occurs when an economy shifts away from manufacturing toward service industries (e.g. health care, education, tourism, and retail).

Canada, for example, has been deindustrializing since the middle of the 20th century.

This use is different from the way “deindustrialization” is used to refer to the destruction of the Indian textile industry.

Reproducible L - Analyzing and Interpreting Cause-and-Effect Relationships

- Cotton and De-industrialization in India – Pg. 151

British Ban on Imports of Clothfrom India.

Reproducible L, Analyzing and Interpreting Cause-and-Effect Relationships

•British manufacturers needed raw materials to supply the factories•Cloth is an important commodity to sell all over theworld

•New technology (cotton gin) enabled manufacturersto make vast amounts of cloth

•Colonists were needed as a source of markets

Causes

Reproducible L, Analyzing and Interpreting Cause-and-Effect Relationships

•British government bow to the demands of English manufacturers and ban dyed cloth fromIndia

•Laws are enacted over the next 200 years restricting trade in cotton – to reduce competitionfrom other countries like the USA

•the ban destroyed Indian livelihoods, andthis destruction severely affected families andCommunities•lead to weakened cultural ties to weaving andtextiles

Effects

What conclusions can be drawn from the photo?

Mohandas Gandhi

“I want to save time and labour, not for a fraction of mankind, but for all. I want the concentration of wealth, not in the hands of a few, but in the hands of all.”

What does this statement mean? What do they think the speaker is advocating? The Cotton Trade and Mohandas Gandhi - p. 152

Indian Nationalism

Opposition was not new in India – economic hardships had touched off periodic uprisings

But these uprisings did not threaten British control – peasants were poorly armed and organized

1885 – a group of well-educated middle-class Indians formed a political party called the Indian National Congress – campaigned for free education and greater Indian representation in local government

Indian Nationalism 1900s – Indian nationalists wanted an end to

British rule They urged Indians to boycott British goods and

Indian writers published books restoring pride in India’s heritage.

Mohandas Gandhi – rallied widespread support for the independence movement so that Indians could restore their identities according to Indian traditions

1947 – India gained it’s independence from Britain

Video - Gandhi

Legacies of Imperialism in India – pgs. 156-157

Reproducible 2.6.7 – Legacies of Imperialism in India

With a partner read the pages and complete the reproducible.

Pakistan, India, and Kashmir