The British
in India
15th and 16th centuries
 New
trade route to India
 Portuguese
have a monopoly on
trade between India and Europe, also
work to spread Christianity
 Brit
& French overpower Portuguese
and set up trading posts
British Expansion
 Trading
posts become centers of
power – not established by govt., but
by trading companies
 British
East India Company –
monopoly over trade in India, China
and East Indies
– Had power to sign treaties, maintain
armies and govern itself
Clash with the French
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French East India Company set up in 1664
at Pondicherry
Sepoys – Indians serving in the army of
European country
As Indian kingdoms compete for political
power, French and British sought to
strengthen their positions by allying
themselves with different rulers and
fighting others.
Defeat of the French
 Robert
Clive led small British and
sepoy force to defeat French
 Resulted
in British control of richest
province in India: Bengal
– Clive is named governor of Bengal
CLIVE AT PLASSEY
Reasons for British Success
in India
 British
brought all of India under
their control:
– Collapse of ruling Mogul empire left
India divided and disorganized
– “Divide and conquer” policy – played on
weaknesses and greed of local rulers
– Superior military and naval power; gave
their sepoys modern weapons
– Able administrators and governors
reformed and improved local govt.
Reforms to Local Govt.
 Indian
Civil Service – nonmilitary
employees of East India Co.
 Law
courts open to all subjects in
territories
 Abolished
internal tariffs on imports
and exports
Reforms to British dealings
 Many
governors and officials accused
of corrupt practices to line their own
pockets
 Raises salaries of employees
 Denied Indians high posts of govt.
(blamed them for most of the
corruption)
 Lord Wellesley, strengthens East
India Company’s power even more
WELLESLEY
From a wealthy
family
 Gains new
territories in
central and south
India for East India
Company by
defeating native
rulers

Drastic Changes – Early 1800s
Expanded control into Nepal and Burma
 Made English official language
 Abolished Suttee
 Stopped female infanticide
 Cracked down on thugs
 Set up postal and telegraph systems
 Railroads, canals for irrigation, roads
 Education in every province, higher
education in English
 Private ownership of land introduced

Expansion of Parliamentary Control

East India Company was so powerful and
wealthy, Parliament demands more control

Regulating Act, 1784, created a Board of
Control

1813 ended the company’s monopoly of
control over Indian trade

1853 – Civil service employees hired not
according to whoever the company liked,
but based on competitive exams
Great Uprising of 1857

Immediate causes:
– New cartridges were greased with animal fat
– Requirement that sepoys must serve outside of
India (forbidden, could lose caste position)
– Fear of forced Christianity, influence of
missionaries
– British were believed to be destroying Indian
traditional culture

At Meerut army post, the sepoys killed
every European man, woman and
child…this spread to other posts as well
SEPOYS
Sepoy Rebellion
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Hindus and Muslims fight side by side,
many dispossessed princes support it
South India did not join, nor did Sikhs in
the North
Mutiny defeated after 1 yr., British
reprisals were brutal
– ie: Entire population driven from Delhi and
thousands slaughtered. Captives fired from
cannons. “Cawnpore Dinner” – bayonet in the
stomach
The British Raj
 After
revolt, British Parliament
passed “An Act for the Better
Government of India” – completely
takes over the East India Co.’s
empire
 British
govt. of India is Raj – the
Hindi word for kingdom
“THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN”
 British
empire after World War I
Government of India

India divided into 2 unequal parts:
– British India – 3/5 of subcontinent in most
productive areas
– Native India – 1/3 of land in princely states
scattered all over
 Some
ruled by Hindu leaders, maharajahs
 Some ruled by Islamic rulers, nawabs or nizams
 British official advisor, resident
Princes could control schools, courts and
soldiers
 British controlled foreign affairs and
internal relations

Colonization
 1876,
Parliament makes Queen
Victoria the Empress of India and
ruler over all parts of India
 British
India ruled by a Viceroy, with
help of other British officials
 Under
Raj, Indians had almost no
voice in their govt.
Benefits of British Rule

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Pax Britanica – law and order creates
political unity previously unknown in
India
Best railroad system in Asia, 4,00040,000 miles. Third largest in world.
National Postal and telegraph system
Canal system irrigates millions of acres
Public health measures against cholera,
smallpox, etc. lower death rate
Famine relief system aided millions
when harvests were poor
New schools at all levels – English is
used in higher levels of ed. – Trained
lawyers and civil servants study ideas of
democracy and nationalism
Equality before law regardless of status
Industrialization, shipping and banking
facilities expanded
Limitations of British Rule
 Many
profits drained from India go to
benefit Britain
 The improvements mentioned above
were paid for by Indian taxes, (one
of reasons for American Revolution)
 Taxes collected in cash were bad for
poor, increase debt and poverty

Famines are
caused by British
production of
commercial crops
instead of food.
British landlords
not answerable to
anyone.
British
manufactured goods sold
cheaper
than Indian hand-made goods
INCONSISTENCY IN RULE
British policies are inconsistent. Liberal
govts. And some missionaries favor
educating and incorporating Indians to
help run empire;
 Conservatives (Tories) and Anglo-Indians
(British civil service and landowners) want
to keep them separate and crack down
hard on rebellions – hardened racist
attitudes.

 Separation
of ruler from ruled –
Indians treated as inferiors socially,
morally and culturally
– British segregated society further,
“Europeans Only” signs for public
facilities
INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT

Indian National Congress founded 1885.
TACTICS
 Support
limited to Indian elites.
 Boycotts.