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cotton, tea, indigo, coffee, and opium…yes opium. We’ll talk about opium and its uses with the Chinese next
Jewel in the Crown
• Raw Resources• 300 Million Customers• Forced to sell only to England• Could not compete with East India Trade Co
Problems the EIC faced
• Originally India’s government under the Mughal Empire was strong
• Mughal Empire Weakening by 1757• Fighting between princes and regional (state) rulers
(Majarajas)• EIC sent own soldiers to India• Soldiers recruited from India- Called Sepoys• Easy way to make money and gain more power in
homeland• Abundance workforce in India
• The British EIC had Bombay, Calcutta and Madras and at first the British did not want more land.
• But then war broke out between rival Indian princes, and the French interfere – making the Indians trade with France (and not Britain).
• The EIC would be forced out of India, unless something changed……
1700-1750: Problems
Robert Clive Conquers India
• Robert Clive worked in an office for the EIC but he was getting bored
• The EIC’s force of armed guards was growing into an army; Clive joined them as an officer
• In 1751 Clive led 500 men against 10,000 French and Indian soldiers and won!
• Clive led the EIC’s army to victory many more times, forcing the French out and making the East India Company very powerful – it wasn’t the British government taking over India – it was a British business!
From about 1800AD British Christians tried to change Indian customs
• The Hindu practice Sati is believed to have originated some 700 years ago in India.
• Women burnt themselves after their men were defeated in battles to avoid being taken by the victors. But it came to be seen as a measure of wifely devotion in later years and sometimes relatives would tie-up the wife, forcing her to die.
• The custom was outlawed by India's British rulers in 1829 following demands by Indian reformers. But many Indians were against change – especially when forced by the British.
• Today it happens only once every few years – and causes outrage across India and the world.
The 1857-58 Indian MutinySepoy Mutiny
• The pay of Indian soldiers (sepoys) - who were working for the EIC army - was cut
• There were rumors that the sepoys would have to convert from Hinduism or Islam to Christianity
• Forced to bite off the tip of the ammunition that was covered in beef/pork fat
• Jailed for being disobedient if they refused• Near Delhi some Sepoys murdered their British officers
and a revolt started against the British across India• Many 100’s of British men, women and children were
butchered - Cawnpore saw terrible atrocities• Then the British got their revenge……..
• At Cawnpore the British made anyone suspected of being a rebel lick the ground where the British had been butchered
• Other rebels were tied to the mouths of cannons and blown to pieces
• 1000’s died from both sides, and the relationships between the British and the Indians would never be the same again…..
The ‘British Raj’, 1858-1947• In 1858 in response to the
rebellion, the British Government abolished the East India Company and declared that India would be ruled directly by the British Government
• The army brought more British officers to India to prevent anymore rebellions
• This British ‘raj’, meaning ‘rule’, would continue until a man called Gandhi led India to independence
Raj
• Ruled by someone who had never been to India (called a Viceroy)
• Internal Fighting between Hindus/Muslims prevented them from doing anything about it
• Two separate groups were created in India to protest mistreatment by the British:– the Indian National Congress (made up of Hindus)– the Muslim League
These groups called for better treatment at first, but would later demand independence from British rule. It would take a while to get either.
Positives
• Built railroads, sewers, roads, canals, dams, bridges, telegraph wires, schools, colleges
• Health Improved, economy improved, literacy increased, crime/warfare decreased
Negatives
• Racism• Control Lost by Indians• Indian Companies put out of business• No longer self-sufficient• Religious disagreements…thought they were
trying to convert them to Christianity