British India: “The Jewel in the crown”

1. British India: “The Jewel in the crown”

2. British India • The British were established in India long before the age of imperialism. • In 1600 Queen Elizabeth I granted the East India Company a charter • This charter gave the East India Company the sole right to trade in the East Indies, raise taxes, own or dispose of land in these areas

3. British India • The British East India Trading Company had established trading posts (factories) throughout the country in the 17th century • They had factories in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay

4. Prior to British Control, the Indian subcontinent was ruled by the Mughal Empire

5. Provinces in India were ruled by Rajahs (also known as Nawabs, or sultans by Muslims) These rulers had trading relationships with East India Company Officials

6. The Jewel in the Crown? India had some of the most desirable resources sought out by imperial powers. • Cloth • Tea • Spices The British saw India as their most valuable territory and made every effort necessary to protect and expand their interests there.

7. Nabob... Not just a Coffee Brand • The word NAWAB referred to an Indian prince • East India Company activity in India presented opportunities for individuals to get rich, and many young company men took advantage of buying goods cheap in India and selling them in England • These young men came to be called Nabobs

8. How did a trading company subordinate the entire subcontinent? • By playing indigenous powers against each other. • The East India Company created its own army with which to enforce British interests. • British officers were brought to India to run the army, while the majority of enlisted men were Indigenous Indians known as Sepoys. • The Company’s expansion in India was mostly unrestrained in India until the 19th century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepoy

9. Positive Effects of Imperialism • Railways • Mapping of the Subcontinent

10. The Caste System

11. NEGITIVE EFFECTS OF IMPERIALISM: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL IMPERIALISM • Thugee • Sutee • Greased Cartridges

12. The Uprising of 1857 Indian troops refused to handle the cartridges. When the British tried to imprison them, the troops killed the British Officers. Fighting went on for over a year – The Indian Princes backed the British, along with many Indian troops. Bibi-Gahr Well Public Domain

13. British Reaction • They hanged the mutineers. • Tied mutineers across the barrel of a gun and blew them to pieces. • Reorganized the Sepoy army – no longer were units only Muslims or Hindus. • Disbanded the East India Company – India came under direct British rule.

14. India and the cloth industry http://wisevishvesh.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/556738738789_discoveries.jpg

15. http://www.topnews.in/files/Mahatma-Gandhi_1.jpg

16. braillesaltmarch.blogspot.com/

17. Decolonization and India Pakistan Conflict http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/default.stm • Like in Africa, imperial territorial boundaries were set without regard to cultural and religious divisions. • In the period leading up to independence, Gandhi’s party lobbied for a central Indian government. However, this idea was opposed by a group called the Muslim League which desired a country for Hindus and one for Muslims.

18. India and Pakistan When independence was gained, two countries were created, India and Pakistan.