British Imperialism in India

 Focus: empire building—As the Mughal Empire 莫卧儿帝国

declined, Britain seized Indian territory and soon controlled almost the
whole subcontinent.
 Why it matters: India, has the second largest population in the world, its
nowadays political were rooted to its colonial history.
 Key terms: sepoy 印度雇佣兵 , ‘jewel in the crown’
The East India Company
Mughal Empire

 Founded by Babur as the Timurid empire, which reflected the heritage of his dynasty.
 The Mughal designation for their own dynasty was Gurkani (Persian: ‫گورکانیان‬,
Gūrkāniyān, meaning "sons-in-law"). The use of "Mughal" derived from the Arabic and
Persian corruption of "Mongol", and it emphasised the Mongol origins of the Timurid
dynasty.
 Mughal Empire was in decline
Early 1700’s. States began to
break away from Mughal rule.
 Indian states were defeated by
East India Company.
 Indirect control, the Company
did not seek to conquer India,
they sought to exploit the
subcontinent’s wealth and
extend their influence.
 East Indian Company

 Mughal Dynasty was collapsing in 1707, and dozens

of small states broke away from Mughal control, and
each of them were headed by local rulers or
maharajah 王公 . Each states were too small to
organized a union to defend foreigner invasion.
 In 1757, East India Company troops led by Robert
Clive 罗伯特克莱夫 defeated Indian forces allied with
the French. This battle decided East India Company’s
position of leading power in India.
East India Company Dominates

 Governed Bangladesh 孟加拉 , southern India,

Ganges river 恒河 area.
 The company ruled India with little interference
干扰 from the British government.
 The East India company had its own army, it
recruited Indian soldiers, who were called
sepoys 印度雇佣兵 .
  India was a major supplier of raw materials for
British workshop.
 市场 Indian’s 300 million people were a large
potential market for British made goods.
British’s “Jewel in  British considered India the bright “jewel in the
crown”, the most valuable of all of Britain’s
the Crown” colonies.
 British policies called for India to produce 原材料
raw materials for British manufacturing and to buy
British goods.
 India own industries couldn’t survive from British
imported products.
British Transport Trade Goods

 The build of railroads 铁路 made India became

rather valuable to the British. Railroads connected the
interior 内陆 to the ports, it transferred raw products
from the interior to the ports and manufactured goods
back again.
 Agricultural products included tea, indigo 靛蓝 ,
coffee, cotton, and jute 黄麻 . Another crop was
opium.
Question

 How did the East India

Company gain control of India?
 Why did India so important for
Britain (“The Jewel in the
Crown”)?
 British held much of the political and economical power.

Indian-owned industries were been limited. British needs

for cash crops 经济作物 resulted insufficient 不足 of
food production.
British missionaries and British officials threatened 威胁
Negative Indian lifestyle/religion.
Impact of
Colonialism
 Famine in India
 During the British Raj, India
experienced some of the worst famines
ever recorded, including the Great
Famine of 1876–1878, in which 6.1
million to 10.3 million people died
and the Indian famine of 1899–1900,
in which 1.25 to 10 million people
died. Recent research argue that
famines in India were made more
severe by British policies in India.
 Positive Impact of
Colonialism

 British helped to build a large railroad

network 铁路网 . It enable India’s
modernization 印度的现代化 and
brought unity to the connected regions.
 Besides infrastructure, public hospital,
schools and colleges were funded. 兴建现
代医院，学校，大学
 Some changes, such as outlawing sati (a
widow‘s suicide by fire 寡妇殉葬 ) and
child marriage 童婚陋习 , may have been
well-meaning.
 Social Class in India

 Caste 种姓 determined Indian occupation. Castes were

divided into four broad categories called varna.
 Indian civil servants were of the third varna. House and
personal servants were of the fourth varna. Even within
the varna, job were strictly regulated.
 British ruler were in the position of first class, above the
Indian local elites.
The Indian Rebellion

 The Indian Rebellion

The Indian rebellion was fed by resentments born of diverse

perceptions, including invasive British-style social reforms,
harsh land taxes, summary treatment of some rich
landowners and princes, as well as skepticism 怀疑 about
the improvements brought about by British rule.
 Sepoy mutiny 雇佣兵起义
First War of Independence, widespread but unsuccessful
rebellion against British rule in India in 1857–59.
Begun in Meerut by Indian troops (sepoy) in the service of
the British East India Company, it spread to Delhi, Agra,
Kanpur, and Lucknow.

Direct cause: From 1857, new weapon-the Pattern 1853

Enfield Rifle was introduced to Sepoy troop. Rumors spread
that the cartridges 子弹 for the new rifle were greased with
pig and cow fat. This made them offensive to both Muslims
and Hindus.
 The Sepoy Mutiny
 When sepoys refused to accept the
cartridges, British commander were
shocked and reacted badly. He jailed the
soldiers who disobeyed. On May 10, 1857,
the sepoys rebelled, they captured Deli in
the first. Then the rebellion spread to
northern and central India.
 The sepoy rebellion were joined by native
rulers and thousands of ordinary people in a
struggle that threatened to destroy British
colonial power on the Indian subcontinent.

National Army Museum, London, UK

 The Sepoy Mutiny

 The British soldiers in the whole

India were only 35000,
reinforcements took months to
arrive.

Captain Charles John Stanley Gough, 5th (Bengal) European

Cavalry winning the VC, Indian Mutiny, 15 August 1857.
National Army Museum.
Most of the Hindus 印度教 and Muslim 穆斯林 are
against British troop, but Gurkhas 廓尔克 and Sikhs 锡
克 are remain loyal to Britain.
 The Cawnpore massacre 坎普尔大屠杀
‘The place was literally running ankle 脚踝 deep in
blood, ladies' hair torn from their heads was lying
about the floor; poor little children's shoes lying
here and there, gowns, frocks and bonnets belonging
to these poor creatures scattered everywhere.

But to crown all horrors, after they had been killed,

and even some alive, all were thrown down a deep
well in the compound 混杂 . I looked down and saw
them lying in heaps 成堆 . I very much fear there
are some of my friends included in this most
atrocious fiendish 残暴的 of murders.’
---Major George Bingham at Cawnpore, 1857
 The Devil's Wind
The Cawnpore massacre inflamed 刺激 British
feelings. They left the site untouched as a reminder to
newly arrived troops. News of the atrocity, installed a
desire for revenge. The British recovery few mutineers
were captured alive. Thousands were indiscriminately
hanged, and many innocent civilians killed.

When trials were held, those convicted of mutiny were

blown from cannon. It was a cruel punishment with a
religious dimension 宗教原因 . By blowing the body
to pieces 粉碎 the victim lost hope of entering
paradise. The people of northern India called the long
period of reprisals 报复 ‘ the Devil’s Wind’.
  Culture clash: British introduced their economy and legal system into
India, which changed Indian’s lifestyle greatly. British also tried to
convert them to Christianity, which caused Hindus’ and Muslims’ anger.
 Discontent among Indian soldiers: poor terms of service, bad pay, lack of
promotion, increased cultural and racial insensitivity from British officers
all caused Indian soldiers’ discontent. A small spark can start a fire.
Why did the  Local rulers: East India Company expanded their control of local states,
which rise local rules anger. The policy of lapse, which said that the lands
Sepoy of any ruler who died without a male heir would be forfeit to the
Mutiny Company, it’s an unpopular policy among local rulers.
happen?  Religious and social revolt: Many peasants who had been forced to
switch from subsistence farming to export crops in order to meet
increasing tax demands, joined the rebellion without hesitate.
British
government
Led to feelings of distrust
rules India
between Indians and
directly 英国政 British
府直接统治印度
In 1877 Queen
Victoria was crowned
Empress of India in
his place.
Britain
ended the Impact of Atrocities
rule of the the Sepoy committed
British Mutiny by both
East India sides
Company
The British Raj

 Raj: refers to the

period of British
direct rule in India
 Viceroy: Indian Civil
Service Government
agency that carried the
British administration
of India
 Nationalism surfaces in India
 From the early 1800s, some Indians began to demanding more
modernization and the right for self governing.
 Ram Mohun Roy: well educated, a modern-thinking Indian, began a
campaign to change India from traditional practices. His activities
inspired other Indian reformers to call for adoption of Western way.
He was been called the “Father of Modern India”.
 Nationalist feelings started to surface in India. Indian elites were
barred from top posts in the Indian Civil Service, they were made as
second-class citizens.
Nationalist Groups Form

 The Indian National Congress: founded in 1885.

 The Muslim League: founded in 1906.
 The partition of Bengal: In 1905, British administration
decided to divided Bengal into two parts, a Hindu section
and a Muslim section. Conflicts and acts of terrorism
broke out, British had to take back the order and divide the
province in a different way.
 纪录片《英国对印度的征服》
Group task

 Investigation: 19th century Imperialism

 Four groups
 Chose one country, Great Britain, France, Germany, The United States, Russia, Japan.
 Investigate which nation or region they tried to colonized; the conflict caused by
imperialist country(war, rebellion, uprising) and the result of these conflict; introduced
some of the significant individuals.
 小组合作，选择一个帝国主义国家，介绍这个国家的殖民历史，他们入侵了哪些地
区或者国家，中间发生了哪些冲突和战争，引起了哪些反抗，这个过程中有哪些值
得注意的人物。