British

Imperialism
in
India
 Though trade with India had been highly valued by
Europeans since ancient times, the long route between
them was subject to many potential obstacles and
obfuscations from middlemen, making trade unsafe,
unreliable, and expensive. This was especially true
after the collapse of the mongol empire and the rise of
the Ottoman Empire all but blocked the ancient Silk
Road. As Europeans, led by the Portuguese, began to
explore maritime navigation routes to bypass
middlemen, the distance of the venture required
merchants to set up fortified posts.
 The Raj
Period of direct British rule over
the Indian subcontinent from 1858
until the independence of India and
Pakistan in 1947. The raj succeeded
management of the subcontinent by
the British East India Company, after
general distrust and dissatisfaction
with company leadership resulted in a
widespread mutiny of Sepoy troops in
1857, causing the British to reconsider
the structure of governance in India.
 The
Sepoy
Mutiny
of
1857
 In late March 1857 a sepoy (Indian soldier) in the
employ of the East Indian Company named Mangal
Pandey British officers at the military garrison
in Barrackpore. He was arrested and then executed by
the British in early April. Later in April Sepoy troopers
at Meerut, having heard a rumour that they would have
to bite cartridges that had been greased with the lard of
pigs and cows (forbidden for consumption by Muslims
and Hindus, respectively) to ready them for use in their
new Enfield rifles, refused the cartridges. As punishment,
they were given long prison terms, fettered, and put in
jail.
• Sepoys heard a rumor
that the cartridges of
their new rifles were
greased with beef &
pork fat
• both Hindus and
Muslims were
outraged by the news
– sacred animals
 This punishment incensed their comrades, who rise on
May 10, shot their British officers, and marched to Delhi,
where there were no European troops. There the local
sepoy garrison joined the Meerut men, and by nightfall the
aged pensionary Mughal emperor Bahadur shah II had been
nominally restored to power by a tumultouos soldiery. The
seizure of Delhi provided a focus and set the pattern for the
whole mutiny, which then spread throughout northern
India. With the exception of the Mughal emperor and his
sons and Nana Sahib, the adopted son of the
deposed Maratha peshwa, none of the important Indian
princes joined the mutineers. The mutiny officially came to
an end on July 8, 1859.
 Aftermath of the mutiny
The immediate result of the mutiny was a general
housecleaning of the Indian administration. The East India
Company was abolished in favour of the direct rule of India
by the British government. In concrete terms, this did not
mean much, but it introduced a more personal note into the
government and removed the unimaginative commercialism
that had lingered in the Court of Directors. The financial
crisis caused by the mutiny led to a reorganization of the
Indian administration’s finances on a modern basis. The
Indian army was also extensively reorganized.
 Britain’s “Jewel in the
Crown”
• The Brit. considered India the brightest “jewel in the
crown” – the most valuable of all Brit. colonies
• Why? 3 main reasons:
• The IR made Eng. a major power in the world
• India was a major supplier of raw materials for the
factories in Eng.
• Indian people were also a large potential market for
Brit. goods
British vs. Indian Relations
Mercantilism
 Positive Effects of British Colonialism
• Road networks, dams, bridges, irrigation, canals, and
telephone/telegraph lines were built, which helped India
modernize. Sanitation and public health improved.
Schools and colleges were established, so literacy
improved.
• The East India Company eventually gained control of
much of India and established British rule. Answer–The
British came to India for trade and to establish colonies.
They also wanted to spread Christianity throughout the
country.
• Brit. laid the third largest RR network in India
• Allowed India to develop a modern econ.
• Unified & connected regions
• Sanitation and public health improved
• Schools and colleges were founded, increasing
literacy
 Negative Effects of
British Colonialism
• Brit. held much of the pol. and econ. power
• Cash crops reduced food productions, causing
famine
• Increased presence of missionaries and racist
attitude by Brit. threatened traditional Indian life
 Why Imperialize India?
For getting raw materials
• India was a major supplier of raw materials
• Coffee, tea, indigo (dye for cloth), jute (rope-like
material), opium (narcotic drug) & cotton
For having a market to sell to
• 300 million people were a large potential market for
British-made goods
This is why India was called the most precious “jewel
in [Queen Victoria’s] crown”
 Economic Imperialism

economic imperialism is controlled by

private business interests

• The British East India Company set up

restrictions that prevented the Indian
economy to operate on its own
 British East India Company’s
Control
• Indian cottage industry
could not compete:
 Cotton taken as “tax” 
shipped to Britain 
manufactured into
clothing  clothing sold
to Indians
 Changes to India
• Women & Missionaries wanted to change the relationship
between British men & Indian women --- Bebes
(mistresses)
• Christianity vs. Hinduism
- polytheistic
- reincarnation
- rigid social structure (caste system)
- child marriages
- practices of suttee / sati (widows burning on their
late husbands’ cremation fire).
 British That Went to India
• At first it was single men looking to make
their fortune with the East India Company

• Technology changed who went to India

• steamboats shortened the route & later
the Suez Canal created a short cut
• now women & missionaries were willing to
make the trip
Suez Canal

SHORT CUT  India

Built with French $ and Egyptian
forced labor
Opened 1869
British control by 1882