British Cloth Boycott

Tim LeeDaniel Kim

Jay KimJason Kim

Before Imperialism: India

• Indians used to buy and make clothing manufactured in their own country.

• The cloth was called Khadi, and it was a homemade Indian cloth.

Britain Takes Over India’s Clothing Market

• As the British imperialized India, India’s cotton was exported to the British.

• After the British made clothing using Indian cotton, they exported it back to India.

• This is how India got dependent on British cloth.

Monopoly

• Since the British dominated the cloth industry, India had no choice but to buy British cloth.

• Indians didn’t get to make decisions very much. (Where else would they get their cloth?)

One Solution: British Cloth Boycott

• This was part of the “Civil Disobedience.”

• Mahatma Gandhi started a fight against the British, through boycotting British clothing.

• Supporters of Gandhi began to wear homemade clothing.

How?

• Where else would you get your clothes, when you had no where to buy them?

– You make your OWN.– Remember, India did make

their own cloth before getting imperialized.

• Gandhi suggested that boycotters should spin their own cotton to make clothes, for at least an hour a day.

What he did:

• Banned Western clothing • By 1921 Gandhi simplified his

robe/dress to totally white. Simple.• Promoted "Swardeshi" which is

making home grown products.

• The Gandhi supporters started burning British clothing. This was not very favored by Gandhi since he was a non-violent person.

• Even in the congress or nationalist meetings, Gandhi spun clothes, and the sound of spinning could be heard in the meeting.

• Until his death, he spun 200 yards of cotton each day.

Effects:

• This weakened the economy of Britain since India was Britain’s one of the biggest market.

• There were many causes for India’s independence, but the boycotting was one of the causes.