Upload
cassidy-mccormack
View
221
Download
4
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
British Involvement in India (18th-19th Centuries)
British Presence in India: 18th century
• Until 1750s – coastal presence
• During and after 1750s – gradual military dominance and territorial acquisitions
The British East India Company (EIC)
• Trade monopoly in Asia (since 1600)*3,000 shareholders*Annual profits of 2 million pounds*Headquarters/directors in London
• India – focal point of EIC trade – raw cotton and woven cotton cloth for import
• EIC settlements – Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta
EIC Trade in India – First part of the 18th century
• Sophisticated economy
• Profitable for Europeans – no military intervention
• Security/stability guaranteed by the Mughals and nawabs
Company Trade – “Company Men”• Ambitious reps of the EIC • Relied on personal diplomatic skills and private armies
of sepoys to protect their’s and company’s interests.• Sepoys – Indian mercenary troops employed and
trained by Europeans.
http://www.economist.com/node/21542713
British in Bengal
• Bengal – territory in NE India
• British presence – Calcutta
• 1756 – Nawab overruns Calcutta
• Robert Clive (“company man”) and British/sepoy troops overthrow Calcutta’s nawab
• By 1765 – the EIC rules Bengal (granted by a weak Mughal Emperor)
Robert Clive and Expansion of the British Presence in India
• Robert Clive:*Arrived to India in 1743 – civil service for the EIC*Transferred to the military service of the EIC*Lost election to the House of Commons in England*Return to India in 1756 to take control of the British forces in Madras*Won the Battle of Plassey (1757), securing British control over Bengal
• Internal weakness and political fragmentation in India• Euro.interference in India’s politics / “kingmakers”!!!
European Rivalries in India• The British vs. The French (and the
Dutch)
• Seven Years’ War (ends in1763)
• Battle of Plassey (1757) – British win control of Bengal / decline of French presence in India
Territorial Expansion in India – end of the 18th century
• British gov’t and EIC directors – against
• Company – involved in local politics/wars
• Annexes, adds territories
• Economic pressures / transformation
British government of Indian territories (The British Raj)
• Largely done by the natives (indirect control and administration)• Policies of “westernization, Anglicization, and modernization”
- tax/property reforms, Christian missionaries, • Support of local traditions• End of the century – India must be “saved” from
backwardness…(education, religion, technology, economy, superstition, etc.)
British presence in India – 19th century (The British Raj)
• Before 1857 –
Combination of reforms and support for traditions
• After 1857 – Direct control and conservatism!
Before 1857: Mixture of “New and Old”
• “Civilizing” India included fostering “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions in morals and in intellect.” (Thomas Macaulay, 1835)
• British presence strongest in urban areas• At the same time, the authority of Brahmins and
caste separation grew stronger.
Causes of 1857 Sepoy Uprising (Mutiny – British perspective)
• Long term causes: *Policies of Westernization (especially under the Marquess of Dalhousie, Governor – General in 1840s)
- ”Doctrine of Lapse” + exclusion of high ranking Indians from civil and military offices- Perceived threat from Christianity (attack on tradition – sati, child marriage, infanticide, permission for widow’s to remarry)
Territorial Expansion under Lord Dalhousie
Sepoy Rebellion – Long Term Causes – cont.
• Economic causes:
- Enforcement of Sale Laws
- Increase in taxes / limited investment opportunities
- British export and import policies (manufactured goods undermine Indian cotton industry)
- Economic expansion (roads, canals, telegraph) at the expense of temples and shrines
Importance of Indian Cotton (raw material) to the British
Cotton exports from India
http://www.economist.com/node/21542713
Sepoy Rebellion – causes cont.Military causes:
(immediate causes)- The General Services
Enlistment Act (1856)- Challenges to Sepoy
privileges (recruitment from various ethnic groups: Sikhs, Gurkhas, etc.)
- Breech loaded Lee-Enfield rifle (cartridges greased with animal fat) immediate cause
The Sepoy Rebellion• May, 1857 – July, 1858*• Massacres/atrocities
committed by each side• Rebel leaders: Nana
Sahib and Bahkt Khan• Last Mughal ruler:
Bahadur Shah – installed by the rebels as ruler in Delhi during the rebellion
• British forces and sepoy troops loyal to them put down the rebellion.
Bahadur Shah
What were the results of the uprising?• Mughal rule/dynasty –
officially ends• The Government of India Act
of 1858 (transfer of power from the EIC to the “Crown”)
• Queen Victoria declared the Queen of India (Secretary of State for India (London) – Viceroy (governor-general) in India.
• British policy: conservatism and emphasis on traditions
The Colonial (Imperial Stage)• British policies in India:
*Doctrine of Lapse – suppressed*The Viceroy’s council included Indians*Indian rajas’ treaties and Indian people’s traditions, customs, and religions were to be respected (less support for Christian missionaries) *Taxation system reformed (emphasis on export of Indian raw materials)
• Military recruitment from “martial races” – loyal to the British during the Sepoy rebellion
• Durbars
DurbarsDoesn’t this remind you of Theatre States?
• Elaborate ceremonies/parades designed to legitimize and celebrate political power of the British rule and native Indian elites.
Social and economic changes in India – 19th century
• British investment in infrastructure / public works (railroads, canals, harbors, etc.)
• India’s main exports – cash crops (cotton, opium, tea, silk)
• Implementation of western style technologies, laws, and education
• Rise of India’s urban elites (merging of Western education and Indian cultural heritage)
• Greater mobility of population (+) - emergence of common national identity (Pan-Indian)(-) – spread of diseases (ex: kala mari)
The Indian Civil Service (ICS)• The ICS – Elite government officials/bureaucrats who administered
British India after 1858.• Composition of the ICS:
*~1,000 officials – chosen by merit / British men – advantages in recruitment – based on racist attitudes*1870 – 1 Indian member*1887 – 57 Indian members*1914 – 5% Indian members*1947 - 597 Indians and 588 British
Development of Indian Nationalism• The Sepoy Rebellion - ?• Economic development =
Pan-Indian identity• Early leaders – Western
educated elites / middle class (ex: Rammohun Roy)
• Indian National Congress (1885) – early demands focused on economic opportunities and social changes within the British Raj.
Work Cited:• http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/images/gallery/british_east_india_company.jpg
http://the-diplomat.com/sport-culture/files/2012/01/East-India-Company.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_VqdNmb7Wc_I/Sy149pQvpwI/AAAAAAAAC_0/s6kT4cOCt-Y/Delhi%20Durbar%201903%20-%20A%20Procession_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/freedom/2401.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:European_settlements_in_India_1501-1739.png
http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/willow/history-of-the-united-kingdom1.gif
http://www.lessing-photo.com/search.asp?a=A&ac=20202020867F&an=Penny%2CEdward&p=1
http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/53/5394/2WNJG00Z/posters/severino-baraldi-the-battle-of-plassey-june-1757.jpg
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/eastindia.html
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/images/India-rail-lines-map.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2f/Shuja-ud-Daula_Tilly_Kettle_1772.jpg/220px-Shuja-ud-Daula_Tilly_Kettle_1772.jpg
http://s3.hubimg.com/u/150662_f496.jpg
http://criticalspatialpractice.blogspot.com/2006/02/platform.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/britain_empire_01.shtml
http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/b67c1a8c0ea6adecf1914789a3054ce8_1M.png
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-oTvrNzN358/TTxZmFaZuzI/AAAAAAAAA0o/GnaxfcGcUrc/s1600/harvesting_souls_of_india.jpg
http://chestofbooks.com/food/household/Woman-Encyclopaedia-2/Our-Fellow-Women-In-Foreign-Lands-No-3-The-Educational-Work-Of-The-
Church-Of.html
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1800_1899/britishrule/incountry/incountry.html
http://indiasfirstwarofindependance1857.blogspot.com/2010/05/mounted-rebel-sepoys-charging-through.html
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/paintings/HY07
http://www.wou.edu/las/socsci/kimjensen/paper1.htm
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Bahadur_Shah_II.jpg/230px-Bahadur_Shah_II.jpg
http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/csl1967l.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dM8sowSPGRA/SUfOYS8MwDI/AAAAAAAAC64/USvW-9MHwIc/s400/px3d2.jpg
http://benjuandraw.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/british-army-polo-team-in-india.jpg
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7460682.stm
http://www.oldindianphotos.in/2011/04/bombay-mumbai-cotton-market-albumen.html
http://peopleofindia1868-1875photos.blogspot.com/2011/11/images-of-british-india.html
http://oldphotosbombay.blogspot.com/2010/06/typical-english-bungalow-see-bombay.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Raja_Ram_Mohan_Roy.jpg
http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indianindependence/indiannat/congress.jpg