British Imperialism in
India
Ch.11 Sec. 4
India
Great Britain in India
1600’s Great Britain set up trading posts through out India
British East India Company
●

controlled British trade in India
eventually the company gained political control over
Bangladesh, Southern India, and Northern India (along Ganges
River)
British East India Company
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1800’s: company operated in India with no regulation by
British government
company had its own army
Company army led by
British army officers
Sepoys
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Indians who joined British armies in India

Resented by other Indians
“Jewel in the Crown”

Great Britain considered India its most precious
jewel (colony) in its Imperial crown
“Jewel in the Crown”

Industrial Revolution turned India into a major supplier of
raw materials to Great Britain

300 million Indians were
a large market for
British products
“Jewel in the Crown”

British forbade India from
trading on its own with
other countries

India was forced to produce raw
materials for only Britain and to
buy finished products from only
Britain

Indian competition with British
finished products was forbidden
“Jewel in the Crown”

Britain set up a railroad network to take raw materials from
inside India to its ports
Raw Materials Taken from India

Tea

Indigo (dye for clothing)
Raw Materials Taken from India

Coffee

Cotton
Raw Materials Taken from India

Jute (fiber for making rope)

Opium (plant that heroin is
made from)
Raw Materials Taken from India

Britain relied more on raw materials from India as wars
around the world cut off British supplies from other places

example: American Civil War (1861-1865)
made Indian cotton more important to
Great Britain because cotton supply from
America was cut off
Positives for India

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Great Britain laid the
world’s third largest
railroad network in India
Railroads brought unity to
disconnected regions in
India
Modern road
network
■ Telephone and telegraph lines

Dams, bridges, canals

Sanitation and public health
improved
Schools/
colleges founded

Truces between
local warring rulers
in India

Negatives for India


British held all political and
economic power
British restricted Indianowned industries

Cash crops made it impossible
for small farmers to produce
enough food for themselves

Racist attitudes of most British
officials and missionaries
threatened Indian traditional life
Indians Rebel


By 1850 most Indians resented
that Great Britain owned their
country
Indians were angry Britain
controlled all useful land in
their country

Indians were angry at attempts
to forcefully convert them to
Christianity
■
Indians were angry at the constant
racism expressed towards them by
the British
Sepoy Mutiny

1857 gossip spread amongst Sepoys (Indian soldiers for
the British)

the seals of their ammunition had to be bitten off

they believed the British dipped the seals of their
ammunition in beef and pork
(Hindus can not eat beef/ Muslims can not eat pork)
Sepoy Mutiny


British commander was
outraged when 85 Sepoys
refused to accept the
ammunition
May 10, 1857 Sepoys rebelled;
marched on Delhi (Indian capital)

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The Sepoys were jailed for
disobeying orders
rebellion spread into northern
and central India
Sepoy Mutiny

Fierce fighting between British
and Sepoys (aided by other
Indians)

British government sent troops
to help them

East India Company took more
than a year to regain control of
the country
Indians Did Not Fully Unite During Sepoy
Mutiny

serious splits between Hindus and
Muslims

Many Indian princes did not take
part in the rebellion (made
alliances with
British)

unclear inconsistent leadership

Sikhs (Indian religious group)
remained loyal to the British
Sikhs
Sikhs

Minority Indian religious group

Sikhs feared Muslims would regain
control of the country during
Sepoy Mutiny
■
Muslim Mughals ruled
India before Britain
Sikhs

Sikhs replaced Sepoys in
Britain’s Indian army
after the Sepoy Mutiny

Mughals did not allow
religious freedom

Great Britain allowed some
religious freedom in India
Turning Point

1858 British government took direct control over India
(because of the Mutiny)
Raj (time period when
India was under Great
Britain’s control:
1757-1947)

Raj

India was divided into 11 Provinces and 250 districts
sometimes a handful of
officials would be the only
British amongst millions of
Indians in a district

Mutiny increased distrust between British and Indians: it fueled more
British racism towards Indians
Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833)
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well-educated Indian who
began a campaign to
modernize India
he was opposed to India’s
caste system (social class
system that ties a person to the
social class they are into for
life: based on Hindu beliefs)
opposed to child marriages
and widow suicides
believed these practices
needed to be changed if India
wanted to be free from rule by
outsiders
Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833)

other Indian writers picked up
on Roy’s ideas and called for
changes

Indian resented being secondclass citizens in their own country

Indians were paid 20 times less
than British

Indians could not hold top jobs
in government
Indian National Congress 1885

Made up of Hindus; called for
self-government

INC led acts of violence
against British in Bengal

upset that Britain segregated
Bengal (Indian city) into Muslim
section and Hindu section in 1905

1911 Britain changed the order
of segregation
Muslim League 1906

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Made up of Muslims
also upset about segregation of
Bengal in1905

also called for self-government

also participated in acts of
violence against British in India
Indian Nationalism Grows

Indian National Congress (Hindus)/Muslim League
(Muslims) Found Common Ground

Both worked together towards Indian Independence
World War I

Great Britain got 1 Million
Indians to enlist in the
British army to fight in
World War I

Britain promised Indians selfgovernment in exchange for
them enlisting in the British
army
1918 Indian troops returned
home: expected Britain
to fulfill its promise
Rowlatt Act (1919)
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instead Indian troops were treated as second class citizens
again by Great Britain
many Indians committed acts of
violence against British in India
in response
Great Britain passes Rowlatt Act (1919) in response
Rowlatt Act (1919)

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allowed British gov’t to jail protestors for 2 years with no
trial
violent protests by Indians in Punjab (province with most Indian
World War I veterans)
Amritsar Massacre (Spring 1919)

10,000 Hindus and Muslims
went to Amritsar (capital of
Punjab Province): festival to
pray and hear political
speeches

alliance of Hindus and
Muslims scared the
British
Amritsar Massacre (Spring 1919)

Britain had earlier banned public
protests: Britain issued the ban
without informing most Indians!

British General Reginald Dyer
ordered his troops to fire on the
unarmed crowd without warning

Shooting lasted 10 minutes: 400
Indians Killed; 1200 wounded

news of the massacre spread
rapidly across India: Indians
demanded independence
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)
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Amritsar Massacre set the
stage for Mohandas
Gandhi to become leader of
the Indian Independence
Movement
his teachings blended ideas
from all major world
religions (especially
Hinduism, Christianity,
Islam)
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)
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Gandhi preached/practiced
Civil Disobedience
deliberate and public refusal to
obey any unjust law
rebellion without violence

1920 Indian National
Congress officially adopts
Gandhi’s policy as a means to
push for independence
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)

Gandhi’s Plan for Civil Disobedience:

Refuse to buy British goods

Refuse to attend British schools
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Refuse to pay British taxes

Refuse to vote in elections

Indians weave their own
cloth (to put British cloth
out of business)
Civil Disobedience

1922 Indian rioters
attacked a police station
and set officers on fire!

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Many British businesses went
out of business in India
British arrested Indians who
protested and boycotted
Salt Acts 1930

These laws required that Indians buy salt only from the
British government (without refrigeration, salt was crucial
to keeping food from spoiling)

Required Indians to pay
a sales tax to British on salt as well
Salt March 1930

In protest Gandhi and his
followers walked 240 miles
to the coast to make their
own salt

demonstrators marched to a
British salt processing plant to
protest

made salt by evaporating sea
water
Salt March 1930


British police attacked
protestors with steel clubs
British arrested 60,000 peaceful
protestors (including Gandhi)

Protestors refused to defend
themselves: marching peacefully

International newspapers covered the
event: won worldwide support for
Gandhi’s movement
Great Britain Grants India Self-Rule

1935 Government of
India Act

This was the first step in full
independence for India

Gandhi and his campaign was
successful
■ British Parliament
allows India some selfrule
■ Allowed for local selfgovernment (mayors) and
limited elections (regional
representatives)
Internal Conflict

India does not get full
independence until after World
War II (after 1945)

Hindus far outnumbered
Muslims in India

Hindus and Muslims had
conflicting views for India’s
future

Leads to more internal conflict
British Imperialism in India Trial
Assignment

For this activity we are going to imagine that
Great Britain is being put on trial for its
imperialism in India. We are imagining that
the Indian people have brought a criminal case
against Great Britain for all of the activities
and actions of the British in India from the
1600s-1900s. You will have your choice of
which side you want to represent.

If you choose to be on the side of the Indians,
you will be the prosecuting attorney. This
means that you will represent the Indian
people in court, and you must convince the
judge and jury (me and your classmates) that
Great Britain is guilty of exploiting,
oppressing, colonizing, and ravaging India.

If you choose to be on the side of the British,
you will be the defense attorney. This means
that you will represent Great Britain and you
must convince the judge and jury (me and your
classmates) that Great Britain was right and
justified to do all of the things it did in India.
2 Page Opening Statement:
This is your first opportunity to explain to the judge
and jury what your argument is. You must explain:
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What Great Britain did in India
Why Great Britain did these things
Why Great Britain is guilty/not guilty of any crimes
Why you are prosecuting/defending Great Britain
Examples of oppression/assistance Great Britain did to
India
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Ways the Indian people were harmed/helped by Great
Britain
What would happen if Great Britain continued to control
India
Great Britain’s reasons for colonizing India (good and/or
bad)
Positive/Negative effects of Great Britain colonizing
India
What should be done from this point on
Why Great Britain should/should not be punished for
colonizing India
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What Great Britain’s punishment should be (if
not, why not?)
Use biased and subjective language that makes it
clear through out which side you are on
Prove your point beyond a shadow of a doubt
(more examples the better)