British Imperialism in India

British Imperialism in India A Brady Sprague PowerPoint

Table of Contents • Advantages of Imperialism • Disadvantages of Imperialism • Overall Effects of Imperialism • Western Powers Involved • Indigenous Response • Results of Independence

Advantages of Imperialism • British Economic gain from Tea and cotton exports, makes India “the jewel of the crown” • Indian rail system and telegraph lines constructed, largest in Asia, 5th in the world. • Widow Burning, Slavery, Female Infanticide and Widow remarriage prohibitions outlawed • Sewage systems and filtered water dramatically reduce cholera spread by rail • British reform produces many jobs and increases trade • Sovereignty of Indian princes and Muslim Holy men kept under the British Raj

Disadvantages of Imperialism • Racism rampant, British looked down upon the Indians that they ruled over • Cholera grows into an epidemic after the construction of the railroads, later solved • Indians lose real power over themselves, forced to work on British plantations (not as slaves, however) • Cultural difficulties, conflicting traditions between British and Indian peoples

Overall Effects of Imperialism • Rapid expansion of British and Indian economies • Modernization of transportation, sanitation and communication in India • Powerful and efficient Indian central government • By 1818 Britain controls an empire with a population greater than that of western Europe and 50 times that they lost in North America • Disgruntled traditionalist Indians

Historical Background • British East India company founded in 1600 • Old Mughal states were ruled by Nawabs, or Muslim Princes • The Raj was Britain's rule over the subcontinent of India • European companies took control by forming large mercenary armies of Sepoys, or trained Indians

Western Nations Involved • The French were stymied by the British in 1763 • The Dutch East India company was dissolved in 1795 • Great Britain held a monopoly on the entire subcontinent of India • British companies ruled directly over their workers and land, while British government officials oversaw the Bureaucracy (direct rule)

Indigenous Response • There were constant rebellions throughout India, requiring the British to keep a large military presence and Sepoy force • Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 occurs, the first nearly successful revolt against British rule by Indians • Most work for British companies, on British plantations but maintain traditional lives at home

Indigenous Response • Rammohum Roy founds the BrahmoSamaj in 1828, seeks to reconcile western values with Hindu traditions • Roy helps found the Hindu college in Calcutta in 1816 • First Indian woman school opens in 1849 • New nationalists from the Indian Middle Class emerge, forming the Indian National Congress in 1885

Gaining Independence • Independence from Great Britain was not free for Indians • Independence movement led by the Indian National Congress and other organizations • Mahatma Ghandi led millions in campaigns of non-violent civil disobedience

Results of Independence • On the 15th of August 1947, India gained independence from British rule • Muslim-majority areas were partitioned to form a separate state of Pakistan. On the 26th of January 1950, India became a republic and a new constitution came into effect • Today, India has one of the worlds fastest growing economies and is a nuclear power • Many of today’s top universities are located in India

British Imperialism in India