COLONIAL HISTORY OF

BENGAL
 DEFINITION

• "the policy and practice of a power in extending control

over weaker people or areas."  (Collins Dictionary)

• The process of European settlement and political control over

the rest of the world “ 　 (The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, 2006 )

• Rest of the World Means, including the Americas, Australia,

and parts of Africa and Asia.
• Colonialism was presented as "the extension of civilization",
which ideologically justified the self-ascribed racial and
cultural superiority of the Western world over the non-Western
world.
 POSTCOLONIALISM

•  An academic discipline that analyzes, explains, and responds

to the cultural legacy of colonialism.
• Postcolonial studies analyze the politics of knowledge
(creation, control, and distribution) by examining the
functional relations of social and political power
• that sustain colonialism and neocolonialism—the imperial
regime's depictions (social, political, cultural) of the colonizer
and of the colonized.
 POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE

• Oriental Knowledge---- --------Western Knowledge

• Relation to culture, life---------- impose western
culture through
knowledge
• Represent oriental knowledge as “Backward”, “uncivilized”
for establishing the western domination.

• By establishing their knowledge, British tried to change the

way of life of native people.
• The “Top-down” approach not participatory knowledge.
 COLONIAL DOMINATION

• Means by the notion of “domination”

• Economic, Cultural, Political and Social

• Economic: Establish their business and exploit raw materials and

labor force
• Cultural: Establish their religious views by missionary activities
• Political: gain political control for establishing colonial rules
• Social: Changes way of life of the native population by
education, dress code etc.
• Colonialism is a relationship between native majority and
minority of foreign aggressors.

• The fundamental decisions/ and rules are made and

implemented by the colonial rulers.

• affecting the lives of the colonized people

 TYPES OF COLONIALISM

• Historians often distinguish between two overlapping forms

of colonialism:

• Settler colonialism:  involves large-scale immigration, often

motivated by religious, political, or economic reasons.

• Exploitation colonialism: involves access to resources for

export, typically to the metropole.
• would rely on indigenous resources for labor and material.
 NEW WAY OF SLAVE TRADING

• Prior to the end of the slave trade and widespread abolition,

when indigenous labor was unavailable

• labor were often imported from Africa to the Americas

• first by the Portuguese Empire, and later by the Spanish,

Dutch, French and British.
 THE OTHER

• "The Other," is the process of creating a separate entity to groups

• labelled as different 　 (uncivilized/backward) due to the

repetition of characteristics.

• Colonial rulers created Africa, South Asia as “others”

• The “others” are non-Brtish, cultures were different from

dominant rulers
 THE OTHER

• The Western powers perspectives of the East as the "other,"

different and separate from the societal norm.

• In recent world, the east and middle east people are portrait as
other by the West for religion, culture, food habit, etc.

• Otherness created by the dominant class of people.

• Bengalis created “tribals” as other.
 COLONIAL INDIA
Imperial entities of India
Dutch India 1605–1825
Danish India 1620–1869
French India 1769–1954
Portuguese India
(1505–1961)
Casa da Índia 1434–1833
Portuguese East India Company 1628–1633
British India
(1612–1947)
East India Company 1612–1757
Company rule in India 1757–1858
British Raj 1858–1947
British rule in Burma 1824–1948
Princely states 1721–1949
Partition of India 1947
 FRENCH COLONIALISM

• The French Colonial Empire, constituted the overseas

colonies from the 16th century.

• "First Colonial Empire", that existed until 1814

• the "Second Colonial Empire", which began with the conquest

of Algiers in 1830.

• The second empire end after the loss of bitter wars in Vietnam
(1955) and Algeria (1962).
• France began to establish colonies in North America,
the Caribbean, and India in the 17th century.

• France losing its power after a series of wars with Britain,

during the 18th and 19th century.
FRENCH NORTHERN AMERICA WAS KNOWN
AS 'NOUVELLE FRANCE' OR NEW FRANCE
 THE BRITISH COLONIAL RULE

• The British Empire administered to the other territory by the

United Kingdom.

• It established by England between the late 16th and early 18th

centuries.

• It was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was

the foremost global power
• By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million
people

• One-fifth of the world's population at the time

• At the peak of its power

 THE BRITISH SUN

• the phrase "the British sun never sets" was often used to
describe the British Empire.

• Its meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its
territories.
• After the independence of the North America in 1783, British
attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

• As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is

widespread.
 SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN.
THE LOSS OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES MARKED THE END OF
THE "FIRST BRITISH EMPIRE".
DIVIDED AND RULE POLICY IN INDIA

• British adopted divided and rule policy over India by 3 ways

• Organization of the Army
• Separate electorates
• Partition of Bengal
 ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY

• In 1857, Rajputs, Brahmins and upper class Muslims were

mostly removed from the Army for the revolt.

• By having loyal minority groups form the Army, Britain

ensured that the majority doesn't influence the army.
 SEPARATE ELECTORATES: 

• In the early 20th century came the "separate electorates"

- where a Hindu would elect a Hindu politician,
- a Muslim would elect a Muslim politician.

- The idea that "India" was not "one nation", as two major religious
groups are existing. 

• As a results many religious riots were happened by the influence

of British rulers.

• It was fruitful policy for continuing British rule over India

 PARTITION OF BENGAL:

• Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal in 1905 along religious lines.

• Indian regions were seldom organized by religious lines until

then.

• In 1947, the partition would get permanent. 

 THE SWADESHI MOVEMENT

• The Bengali people started swadeshi Movement against the

British Colonial rule

• It was a political resistance against the economic and cultural

torture of British colonial rule

• The slogan ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’, issued a call for the

boycott of foreign goods.

• The slogan was to buy swadeshi (domestically produced goods).

• women came out of the seclusion of their homes to
demonstrate;

• School and college students emerged from their institutions in

procession; landlords, businessmen

• and professional people—all merged with the popular tide.

 GREAT BENGAL FAMINE OF 1770
("CHHIATTŌR"- "76"; "MONNŌNTÓR"-)

• The Bengali name "Chhiattōrer monnōntór" is derived from

Bengali calendar year 1176 and the word for famine
("Chhiattōr"- "76"; "monnōntór"- "famine" in Bengal.

• The famine is estimated to have caused the deaths of up to 10

million people

• It is usually attributed to a combination of reasons and the

policies of the British East India Company.
 REASONS OF FAMINE

• The start of the famine has been attributed to a failed monsoon

in 1769.

• That caused widespread drought and two consecutive failed

rice crops.

• On the other hand, exploitative tax revenue maximization

policies of the British East India Company after 1765 crippled
the economic resources of the rural population.
• As a result, food grain prices rose sharply and local population
starved

•  ”It
as a man-made famine, noting that no
previous famine had occurred in India that
century”.
----------Nobel prize winning Indian economist Amartya Sen