The British Empire in India

I- Indian imperialism began with

•The British East India Company-
set up trading posts in India to
control trade between India and
Britain.
N No total British control of India,
-

yet…

•India’s ruling Mughal Empire kept

European traders under control.
D Decline of the Mughal Empire
-

•Beginning in 1707 allowed for the

British East India Company to begin
controlling India’s political and
economic life.
I India = Britain’s “Jewel in the Crown”
-

• Industrial Revolution has turned Great

Britain into an industrial giant and India
provides raw materials for production
• “Jewel in the Crown” – the most valuable
of Britain’s colonies
• British setup restrictions that prevented
Indian economy from operating on its own-
forced to sell raw materials to Britain only
and purchase only British goods  growing
resentment among many Indians
The East India Company even had its own
army, led by British officers
and staffed by sepoys, or Indian soldiers.
•By the 1830s, the East India Company
(regulated by British Government) ruled
India.

•Many Indians resented British rule.

A Angry Indians = total British control
-

•In 1857, a large number of British-trained

Indian soldiers(sepoys) rebelled against their British
officers

•Sepoys believed that their bullet cartridges

were sealed with pork and beef fat.

•Muslims who don’t eat pork and Hindus who believe

the cow to be sacred- had to break cartridges w. their
teeth. They believed they were being forced to violate
their religion
Sepoy Rebellion
•The Sepoy
Rebellion was put
down and India
became a British
possession

•British rule in
India from 1757-
1947
•became known as
Raj
 British
Imperialism in
India
Positive BLUE Negative RED
The British provided a single system of
law and government, unifying India.
They
also introduced English as a unifying
language.
The British built roads, bridges, and
railroads in India. They set up
telegraph wires. However, India’s
cottage industries, in which goods
were made in homes, were hurt by
competition with British goods.
The British built hospitals, introduced
new medicines, and provided famine
relief. At the same time, health care
improvements led to a population
explosion without an increase in
economic opportunities.
 Indians were also looked down
upon by the British and their culture
was treated as inferior to European
culture. Indian workers provided the
British with inexpensive labor.
 Indians worked for long hours under
terrible working conditions. The British
gained wealth while Indians were
exploited.
 Foldable:
FORMS OF IMPERIALISM

• Colony

• Protectorate

• Sphere of Influence
 Colony
•Group of people who •Direct Rule: officials
leave their native sent from “MC” to rule,
country to form a impose culture,
settlement in a new land language, politics and
•***Still connected to economics
their “mother country”***
 Protectorate
•Country whose policies •Indirect Rule: use of
are guided by a foreign local rulers to
country- not directly administer laws & codes
ruled. of “MC”, encourage
•Local rulers left in cooperation to prepare
place, but accepted for future industry.
advice regarding trade, •EX: England & US
industry, politics &
missionaries.
 Sphere of Influence

•Area in which an •When one country has

outside power claims trading rights in another
exclusive investment & place
trading/economic
privilege
Sepoy Rebellion
 “You Are There” Diary
Your task:
Write a diary entry as if you were a sepoy living in
India during the Sepoy Rebellion

Keep in mind this is not a report on the event but the thoughts and feelings of
someone living through it.

Your diary should include any key terms or people involved with the event in
some way.

Instructions:
•Write a one-paragraph entry about the beginning of the event. Include the
date. Briefly described how the event began.

•Write a one-paragraph entry about the middle of the event. Include the date.
Mention whether things are better than the beginning or not.

•Write a one-paragraph entry about the end of the event. Include the date.
Describe your character’s feelings about the event now that he/she has lived
through the whole thing.