Imperialism
India
India
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Throughout history India had always been a
trading post which traders and merchants could
obtain
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Tea, sugar, silk, salt, jute (fiber used for ropes)
It was a great source of raw materials
 India also had a large population and consumers
who wanted manufactured products
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The British in India
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In the 1600’s the British East India Company sets up
trading post in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta.
The company was privately owned and was responsible
to increase the profits to it’s stockholders.
The company saw India as having a wealth of natural
resources and a large market to sell goods.
The British East India Company had exclusive trade
rights in India
The British in India
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During the French and
Indian War (Seven Year War)
Robert Clive an employee of
the company helped drive
the French out of India.
The British East India Co.
now had exclusive rights to
trade and all the natural
resources they wanted.
The British in India
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By the mid 1800’s
century the Mughal
Empire of India was in
decline.
The rulers of India could
not control the British.
By the 1850 Britain
controlled 3/5 of India.
The British in India
Britain’s empire extended around the world and
with control over India “the sun never set on
the British Empire”
 India was also known as the “Jewel in the
Crown”
 India was seen as the most valuable of Britain’s
colonies.
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The British in India
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Raw Goods supplied by
India.
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Plantation crops
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Tea
Indigo
Coffee
Cotton
Narcotics
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Opium
The British in India
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Opium Trade
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The British would ship
opium from India to
China.
The opium would then be
traded to the Chinese for
tea.
The tea would be sold in
England.
The British in India
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Results of Colonialism
Britain only allowed India to produce raw goods and
only buy British manufactured goods.
 Indian was not allowed to compete with British
finished goods.
 Indian cloth makers all but went out of business.
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The British in India
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Positives
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India gained a vast railway
system
Telephone, telegraph lines
Bridges, dams, and canals
Schools and colleges
Ended local warfare
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Negatives
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British held most of the
political and economic control
of India.
The British restricted industries
from producing manufactured
goods.
Cash crops reduced farm
production and increased
starvation in India.
British customs and religion
threatened India’s customs.
The British in India
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The Sepoy Mutiny
The British used Sepoy’s, Indian soldiers assigned to
the British Army.
 The Sepoy’s were Hindu and Muslim
 Both the Hindu and Muslims of India felt that the
British were trying to convert them to Christianity.
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The British in India
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Muslim do not eat pork
Hindu do not eat beef.
The rumor was that the cartridges that the Sepoy had to
use for their guns were covered by a beef and pork seal.
The seal had to be bitten and the cartridge removed
before it could be placed in the gun.
The Sepoy refused to use the cartridge and the British
jailed the soldiers.
The Sepoy believed that the British covered the
cartridges in pork and beef on purpose.
The British in India
The Sepoy rebelled against the British.
 The fighting between the British and the Sepoy
lasted about a year.
 The British Army finally put down the mutiny.
 The British Army took control of India away
from the East India Company.
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The British in India
The direct British rule of India was called the
Raj and lasted from 1757 to 1947
 British soldiers and politicians held control over
millions of Indians.
 Policy for India came directly from Britain.
 The mutiny caused distrust between the British
and Indians.
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Results of the British Take Over
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India became the model colony not only for
Britain but for the rest of the world
The upper castes were forced to learn English and to
respect English law
 Christainity was spread throughout India
 Urban centers grew in India and Indians were
influenced by British government (Parliamentary)
 Education was brought to all the upper castes
 The British tried to end the untouchable caste
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