IMPERIALISM IN INDIA!

By: Liz, Connor, and Drew

Motivation for Imperialism

• India had a lot of natural resources, such as tea, indigo, coffee, cotton, jute, and opium.

• India supplied a lot of raw materials for the factories.

• There were a lot of people in India, 300 million, that would buy British products.

How Britain Gained Control of India

• In 1757, Robert Clive led East India Company troops in a decisive victory over India, called the Battle of Plassey.

• When revolts and outbreaks started happening, the British government decided that they can’t have anymore outbreaks, so the rule of India was put directly under the British Crown.

Extent of Control

• Britain governed directly or indirectly an area that included modern Bangladesh, most of southern India, and nearly all the territory along the Ganges River in the north.

Effects of Imperialism

• When the British colonized India they built 40,000 miles of railroad and 70,000 miles of paved roadway

• Had a jump in agriculture, through large scale irrigation works

• The English also built many institutions in India and setup a productive government

• Britain also linked India to the modern world through modern science and modern thought.

Effects of Imperialism

• Even though it was a good thing that England setup a government in India they turned it into a burden because they did not let any natives into the important positions.

• They broke up traditional industries, and a lot of unemployment occurred.

• Modernized India by putting in telegraph and telephone lines, dams, bridges, and irrigation canals.

• Improved educational and literacy.

• British troops cleared central India of bandits and local warfare.

How the Imperial Power Was Removed

• Two nationalist groups, the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, were formed.

• Mahatma Gandhi led millions of people in national campaigns of non-violent civil disobedience.

• On August 15, 1947, India gained independence from British rule

Current Status of India• Struggling with Islamic terrorism• Women have same rights as men• It is predicted, by Goldman Sachs, that

India’s GDP in current prices will overtake France and Italy by 2020, and by 2035 it was projected to be the third largest economy of the world.

• It is also said that India’s economy will surpass the United States (in US$) by 2043.

• At the federal level, India is the most populous democracy in the world.

• India maintains the third largest military force in the world.