India in rela on to the rest of the world | Source Analysis

Content What is the source about? What does it tell us?

Origin Where did the source come from? Who is the author? Is it a primary
or secondary source?

Mo ve Why was the source made? What is its purpose?

Bias What perspec ve is the source from? Is it one-sided?

Audience Who is the source directed at? Why was the source created? Who is
the intended audience?

Trust Is the source reliable? Is the source useful? Why/why not?

Source 1
Title of source: A photograph of a railway bridge in about 1900, designed by British
engineers and built by Indian workers.

Content The source cements Bri sh influence and economic development in

India. This railway was easier to transport troops, making it easier to
control huge amounts of land in India. Furthermore, the Bri sh were
able to strengthen their control by gaining more trust from the Indians
as if the Bri sh were trying to help them. They were able to decrease
impacts of drought and famine over wide areas of India by
implemen ng numerous railway systems. These railways were used to
help stop drought and famine by how it was a faster way of travelling.
Railway tracks were also built for Bri sh troops to have the ability to
travel to trouble spots across India.

Origin This is a primary source due to how it was taken during the period of
me of Bri sh development in India. It was made in the 1900s,
designed by Bri sh engineers and built by Indian workers.

Mo ve Sources like this demonstrate that it is hard to make judgements

about the empire in India. On the one hand, Bri sh investment built
railways, and this allowed new industries like tobacco, coal and metals
to develop. Bri sh rule also brought developments like increased
amounts of irriga on - huge amounts of extra land became available
for farming as a result of irriga on.

Bias It is a one-sided perspec ve, from the Bri sh standpoint of the

progression of the bridge. They do not recognise or admire the hard
work that the Indian had to go through in developing the bridge. The
Bri sh just want to represent the good viewpoint of the bridge and
not the hard work put by the Indians.

Audience The audience at the me was the Bri sh popula on, who saw the
image as an image of hard work from the Bri sh, most likely not
 recognising the hard work from the Indians.

Trust This source is reliable because it embodies who the author is and
doesn’t look fake or sketchy. It also displays a piece of Bri sh history in
the form of a photograph; therefore, it can not be made up because it
is in real-life history.

Source 2
Title of source: The British lion’s vengeance on the Bengal tiger (1857). Punch Magazine

Content The source indicates a Bri sh lion taking vengeance on a Bengal ger,
which is na ve to India. The ger is feeding on a white woman and the
lion avenges the human by a acking the Bengal ger. This is a
metaphor that depicts Bri sh superiority and their strong rule over
India. This was mainly based on the events of the East India Company
and the Indian revolu on.

Origin This image was a secondary source which was created by the Punch
magazine, sugges ng that it was not made at the me but instead
created by a magazine a erwards to inform others of what happened.
It was originally manifested from 1750 - 1918 in punch magazines
made of humour and sa re.

Mo ve The source informs us of how superior the Bri sh was from the Indian.
This is suggested from how the Bri sh lion looked like it had the
advantage and that the Bengal ger seemed weaker and inferior.

Bias The punch magazine delineated how the Bri sh are more superior
than the Indian, in the form of the lion and the ger. They were only in
favour of making the Bri sh look be er and not the Indian.

Audience This image was created or the Punch Magazine, sugges ng that it was
made for an audience who would read the magazines. Furthermore,
the magazines were made of humour and sa re, so it could have had
messages or jokes for a specific group of people who would
understand it.

Trust The image was actually an inspira on of reports of the atroci es

commi ed during the Sepoy Mu ny. This is most likely a reliable
source of what happened in the situa on; however, it may have been
over-exaggerated to some extent.
Content The source depicts the harsh environment
that the Aborigines

Origin This lithograph is a secondary source, the

ar st created it from hearing conversa ons
from Bri sh soldiers at the me. This was
created in 1852 by W. L. Walton. The
sketches that were used as his inspira on
were originally created by Godfrey Mundy
and his wife. He completed this print from
his imagina on using these sketches.

Mo ve This was made to show what awful ac ons

the Bri sh did towards the Aboriginals
during the massacre.

Bias It shows the perspec ve of both the Bri sh

soldiers and the Aboriginals. The Bri sh
a ack the Aboriginals and massacre them,
whilst the Aboriginals are trying to defend
themselves.

Audience This was created to show the perspec ves

of both the Bri sh and the Aboriginals
during the Waterloo Creek massacre.

Trust This source is useful because it is an

artwork made from history.
PEEL Paragraph
Compose two PEEL paragraphs in response to the following ques on:

“With reference to two sources of your choice, compare and contrast the posi on of India
with another na on following Bri sh contact.”

India, in contrast to Australia, had a significantly different position during the rule of Britain on
its land in the 20th century. When the British first entered the land of India, they were more
civilized with the people there; whereas, when the British entered Australia, they attacked
the natives. Furthermore, the two nations had different perspectives of politics, religion and
culture. In the year 1858, India was fully governed by Britain, giving minimal control for locals
in the area. This was effectively demonstrated by The British lion’s vengeance on the Bengal
tiger artwork, created and presented by the Punch magazine in 1857. This source was a
metaphor that depicted British superiority and their strong rule over India. Furthermore,
Britain was more civilised when developing and growing in India. They slowly grew their
power over India by installing infrastructure to gain the Indians’ trust and helping stop famine
and irrigational issues. In conclusion, India had some positive impacts on its nation from the

In Australia, however, the country finally became a nation in 1901, when all the 6 states
finally united to one. The rule of Britain was first introduced into Australia when Britain first
arrived in Australia to create a penal colony. This caused a new society to dominate and rule
over the native Aboriginal population. Furthermore, The Europeans slaughtered Aboriginals
and stole the land from them out of pure greed so that they could take all the resources for
themselves. A lithograph named, Mounted Police and Bikes, made in 1852 by W. L. Walton,
depicts the discrimination effectively. This lithograph represented the mistreatment and
suffering that the Aboriginals had to go through by revealing British soldiers slaughtering
innocent Aboriginals. Therefore, Australia had a different experience with the British than the
Indians because the British treated the Aboriginals disgustingly.

Ergo, the two nations, India and Australia, experienced some comparable experiences and
differing contrasts following British contact with their land. India was impacted positively by
the British when they helped out the Indian with famine and irrigational issues. On top of
that, the British were very civilized when landing in India. On the other hand, when the British
entered Australia, they were instantly extremely aggressive towards the Aboriginals. They
overpowered Aboriginal societies and slaughtered innocent people for superiority. However,
the two nations highlighted similar attributes from the British; the British gained full control
over both nations, this gave the countries less control over anything. This was represented in
India when the country was fully governed by India in 1858. In Australia, this happened very
early in Britain’s development in Australia and Australia only gained independence on 3rd of
March, 1986.