Western Imperialism In Asia

History 381: Asian Experience

Colonial Southeast AsiaColonial Southeast Asia

The Spread of Colonial Rule

Africa and Asia a source of raw materials and markets for European manufactured goods

Motives for expansion:– Economic– National Grandeur– Moral purposes

No longer happy to deal with independent states; maintaining access important

Competition for control over territories “Opportunity in the Orient”: Colonial Takeover in Southeast Asia

– Malay Peninsula– Singapore– Burma– Vietnam– Philippines

The Colonial System

Resistance from societies with long traditions of national cohesion

Direct and indirect rule Philosophy of colonialism

– Darwinism Survival of the fittest

– Agent of civilization Bring the benefits of the West Assimilation/association

Colonialism in Action

India Under the British Raj– Some territories taken over directly by the East India

Company and later the British crown Others ruled by local maharajas and rajas

– Order and stability– Attention to education– Building railroads, the telegraph, and postal service– British textiles put out of work those in the Indian

textile industry– Failed to bring benefits of modern science and

technology– Psychological effects

Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia Primary aim was economic Indirect rule

– Burma– Malaya– Indochina

Slow to create democratic institutions Slow to adopt educational reforms Reluctant to take up “white man’s burden” Slow economic development

– Some manufacturing in urban areas– Problems with growth of cash crops

Problems of population growth “Modernizing elite”

The Emergence of Anti-Colonialism

Nationalism Imperialism brought a consciousness of modern nationhood Introduction of western ideas of citizenship and

representative government New elite Traditional Resistance: A Precursor to Nationalism

– Led by existing ruling class– Resistance in India– Peasant revolts– Religious resentment

The Rise of British Power in India The Mughal CollapseThe Mughal Collapse

• Aurangzeb and his weak successors; fragmentation and Aurangzeb and his weak successors; fragmentation and disunity in the Mughal Empire; Maratha raiders and their disunity in the Mughal Empire; Maratha raiders and their failure to succeed the Mughals; internal discord; external failure to succeed the Mughals; internal discord; external Persian incursions; regional divisionsPersian incursions; regional divisions

Westerners in IndiaWesterners in India

• Early European contacts with India; Western trade Early European contacts with India; Western trade interests and Indian political interests; Portuguese then interests and Indian political interests; Portuguese then Dutch and British dominance; the distribution of Dutch and Dutch and British dominance; the distribution of Dutch and Portuguese interests in IndiaPortuguese interests in India

British in IndiaBritish in India

The Early English PresenceThe Early English Presence

• Early British efforts blocked by Portugal; ventures of the Early British efforts blocked by Portugal; ventures of the English East India Co.; English naval supremacy over the English East India Co.; English naval supremacy over the Portuguese; weak attraction of British commodities in Portuguese; weak attraction of British commodities in India; powerful attraction of British naval powerIndia; powerful attraction of British naval power

– Territorial BasesTerritorial Bases

• Well-positioned mercantile bases and fortresses: Well-positioned mercantile bases and fortresses: Madras (in the South), Calcutta (in the East), Bombay Madras (in the South), Calcutta (in the East), Bombay (in the West); 1714 embassy and English attainment of (in the West); 1714 embassy and English attainment of the right to local administrationthe right to local administration

The Mughal and Post-Mughal Contexts• The decline of the Mughal order and the attraction of secure refuge within company jurisdiction• Merchant attraction to English stability and order• Indian cottons• Indian prosperity and limitations under English rule• Commercialization and collaboration

Anglo-French Rivalry and the Conquest of Bengal• Anglo-French competition and the French defeat; superior Anglo-French competition and the French defeat; superior

European military power; the “Black Hole of Calcutta” and European military power; the “Black Hole of Calcutta” and the Battle of Plassey; English control of Bengal; Indian the Battle of Plassey; English control of Bengal; Indian collaborationcollaboration

• Robert Clive and the Beginnings of British India Robert Clive and the Beginnings of British India • The background of Robert Clive; adventures against the French; The background of Robert Clive; adventures against the French;

victory at Plassey; Bengal administration; suicidevictory at Plassey; Bengal administration; suicide

• The Establishment of British RuleThe Establishment of British Rule• British plunder and extortion in Bengal; defeat of the Marathas by British plunder and extortion in Bengal; defeat of the Marathas by

the Afghans; the Board of Control for India; defeat of the Indian the Afghans; the Board of Control for India; defeat of the Indian Bengal regimeBengal regime

• From Trading Company to Government• Indirect British administration via the Indian princes• Napoleonic wars and the seizure of French territory• The seizure of Maratha territory; Warren Hastings; Cornwallis; Wellesley; territorial expansion• The central Ganges Valley, Ceylon—tea and rubber in Ceylon

• The Reasons for British Hegemony• Indian collaboration• British rule preferred to any Indian alternative• British efforts at honest, humane, and effective government

The Orientalists and the Bengal Renaissance• British and Indian cross-cultural appreciationBritish and Indian cross-cultural appreciation

• Calcutta, Colonial Capital Calcutta, Colonial Capital

• East India’s hot, humid climate and “The City of East India’s hot, humid climate and “The City of Dreadful Night”Dreadful Night”

• DiseasesDiseases

• A major trade center and transportation hubA major trade center and transportation hub

• An industrial centerAn industrial center

• Conspicuous wealth alongside slumsConspicuous wealth alongside slums

•From Tolerance to Arrogance• Indirect British rule; some Indians thrive, some are ruined under the British system; very limited social or cultural repression; the rise of the Indian middle class; industrialization• The British “need” to “civilize” India; the imposition and promotion of British culture; railroads, postage, and telegraphs; British defeat at the hands of the Afghans; British defeat of the Sikhs in Punjab and Kashmir

•The Revolt of 1857• The British annexation of the independent central Indian states; angry Indian aristocracy and troops; the rebel capture of Delhi; the new view of Britain as an occupying power; British atrocities; no chance for an equal partnership between England and India

•When were the beginnings of empire?; British East India Co., interests; territorial acquisitions; Orientalist vs. utilitarians’ philosophies regarding India; utilitarian victory and the move to “civilize” India; British education and legal systems in India

• Indian intellectual mastery of British and Indian cultures; the rise of Indian nationalism; Western values and Indian yearnings for them (freedom, sovereignty, liberty, etc.); the unification of India via rail, telegraph, the English language, the press

• Assessments of early British administration; the rise of an Indian identity; the exclusive nature of British culture; the backwardness of the princely states; backward rebels and educated Indian elites both demand independence

The Consolidation of the British Empire in India

Colonialism in India India Under the British RajIndia Under the British Raj

– Some territories taken over directly by the Some territories taken over directly by the East India Company and later the British East India Company and later the British crowncrown Others ruled by local maharajas and rajasOthers ruled by local maharajas and rajas

– Order and stabilityOrder and stability– Attention to educationAttention to education– Building railroads, the telegraph, and postal Building railroads, the telegraph, and postal

serviceservice– British textiles put out of work those in the British textiles put out of work those in the

Indian textile industryIndian textile industry– Failed to bring benefits of modern science Failed to bring benefits of modern science

and technologyand technology– Psychological effectsPsychological effects

Changes in EmpireSepoy Mutiny or the Indian Revolt of 1857

Pre-1857: Indian states under indirect/informal control Influence of British East India CompanyBritish Colonizers --the “treason” of the IndiansMutiny confirms “inferiority” of natives for

Colonizers1857: Indian states are directly ruled by Britain1876: Victoria is made Empress of India

The Emergence of Anti-Colonialism

Nationalism Imperialism brought a consciousness of

modern nationhood Introduction of western ideas of citizenship

and representative government New elite Traditional Resistance: A Precursor to

Nationalism– Led by existing ruling class– Resistance in India– Peasant revolts– Religious resentment

Maintenance of EmpireMaintenance of Empire

India in 1900:

•3500 colonial officials in a population of 300 millions

•75,000 white troops

•200,000 Indian troops

Sikh soldiers in the Indian Army

Image of Imperial AdministrationQueen Victoria: Empress of India in 1876

Maintenance and the Rituals of Empire

Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia Primary aim was economic Indirect rule

– Burma– Malaya– Indochina

Slow to create democratic institutions Slow to adopt educational reforms Reluctant to take up “white man’s burden” Slow economic development

– Some manufacturing in urban areas– Problems with growth of cash crops

Problems of population growth “Modernizing elite”

Discussion

1. Do you agree with the author that it was unfortunate that “Rajputs, [and] Marathas saw each other as rivals and indeed as enemies” rather than uniting to defeat the British? Why?

2. During the 1700s, why might have an Indian of average means or less supported the British instead of the ruling dynasty?

3. During the 1700s, why might Indian merchants or other wealthy Indians have supported the British?

4. Some nationalists have contended that British imperialism in India and elsewhere in Asia followed a conscious policy to capture lands through a “divide and conquer” policy. How valid is this view of history?

5. The Manchu takeover of China can be compared with Britain’s entrance into India. How did the two roles resemble each other? In what ways did they differ?

6. What led British attitudes to shift “from tolerance to arrogance” regarding their Indian colonies?

7. What are some of the positive contributions of British rule in India? What are some of the negative results? Was British rule good or bad for India?