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The British Raj

The British Raj. HIST 1004 3/11/13. Imperial Japan. Yamagata Aritomo (1838-1922): Japan must define a sphere of influence including Korea, Manchuria, and parts of China. Vigorous military industrialization. 1894: Sino-Japanese War: Japan forces China to leave Korea and cede

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The British Raj

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  1. The British Raj HIST 1004 3/11/13

  2. Imperial Japan • Yamagata Aritomo (1838-1922): Japan must define a sphere of influence including Korea, Manchuria, and parts of China. • Vigorous military industrialization. • 1894: Sino-Japanese War: Japan forces China to leave Korea and cede Taiwan and the Liadong Peninsula . • 1900: Boxer Rebellion: Anti-foreign riots in China. • Japan fights alongside Western powers to put down rebellion.

  3. Russo-Japanese War • 1905: Russo-Japanese War: Fight over Manchuria • Japan defeats Russia and establishes a protectorate over Korea. • Humiliating defeat for Russia, cannot keep up with other colonial powers. • Tremendous victory for Japan, only fifty years after engaging the outside world. • 1910: Japan annexes Korea • Japan enters the club of colonial powers.

  4. The British in India

  5. The British East India Company (EIC) and Bengal • 1612: Sir Thomas Roe negotiates commercial treaty with Mughal Emperor Jahangir • 1691: Treaty with the nawab (prince) of Bengal establishes a fortified outpost at Calcutta. • 1756: A new nawab attacks Calcutta, imprisons men from the EIC in “the Black Hole of Calcutta” • Robert Clive overthrows the nawab. • 1765: Mughal emperor forced to acknowledge the EIC’s right to rule Bengal.

  6. The Slow Decline of the Mughals • Destabilization after collapse of Safavids. • 1739: Nadir Shah, warlord who seized power in Iran and Afghanistan, raids Mughal territory. • Carries off “peacock throne” and Koh-iNur diamond, symbols of Mughal kingship. • Continued raids from Afghanistan and European expansion encourages various regions to break off.

  7. The Seven Years War (1756-1763) and South India • Carnatic Wars (1746-1763) • Battles between rival independent Indian rulers. • Alliances with France and Britain brought European powers into the conflict. • Robert Clive uses forces from Madras to support a pro-British nawab. • Pushes French traders out of southern India.

  8. European Politics and India • French Revolution restricts France’s colonial endeavors. • Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt (1798-1801) • Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) and the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) • Also allowed Britain to take Dutch colonies.

  9. EIC and the South and Bombay • 1818: EIC annexed western territories to build Bombay Presidency • Some provinces conquered outright. • Others left under pro-British local princes.

  10. Company Men • Expansion of British power was conducted by chartered companies (the British East India Company), not the British state itself. • The line between the two was often blurry. • Representatives of the EIC would bargain (and fight) with local rulers for rights to build trading posts. • Trading posts were defended by private militias.

  11. Sepoys • Revolts against British rule Were regular in early 19th century • Biggest concern was loyalty of sepoys. • Sepoys – Indian soldiers working for British • Sepoys outnumbered British troops 200,000 to 38,000 in 1857.

  12. Sepoy Mutiny/Revolt (1857) • Growing resentment over ethnic and regional competition, requirements to fight overseas, and new technologies. • Enfield rifle: soldiers must tear cartridge open with teeth, but bullets are (rumored to be) greased with animal fat. • Muslims worried about pig fat, Hindus worried about beef fat. • Neither is true but rumors spread quickly. • Reflects concern over Britain’s disruption of society. • So do rumors of Sepoy violence.

  13. Sepoy Mutiny • Support for last Mughal Emperor (Bahadur Shah Zafar) and Maratha Emperor (Nana Sahib) • Revolt put down with support of British army • Leads to questions about EIC rule

  14. Violence of Sepoy Mutiny • Sieges and ambushes of British military stations. • Often home of civilian populations as well. • Women and children killed. • British response includes mass executions (blowing from the guns). • Unofficial lynchings.

  15. Revolt, Mutiny, or… • Today the Sepoy Mutiny is remembered in India as India’s First War of Independence. • Why does the name matter?

  16. Government of India Act 1858 • Because British government had to save EIC… • The EIC is dissolved and India formally becomes a part of the British Empire. • New centralized government, last traces of Mughal rule eliminated. • Governor-General in Delhi acts as Viceroy • Queen Victoria guarantees equal rights of all Indians • 1877: Empress of India

  17. The British Raj • British Raj: British reign over India • By 1818, EIC territory in India had a larger population than all of Western Europe • 50 times the population of Britain’s former North American colonies • Plan to remake India on a British model through administrative and social reforms, economic development, and “modernization”

  18. British Rule and “Tradition” • British must be careful to balance “Westernization” with respect for Indian culture(s). • Invention of “traditions” • More power given to local princes who support the British • Hindu and Muslim religious leaders who support the British given increased power and authority • “Tradition” also used to resist British rule • British bring their own imperial traditions (durbars)

  19. Indian Civil Service • Imperial bureaucracy • Held senior administrative and judicial posts • 1,000 members • Open to any British subject, but exams were given in England • 1870: Only one Indian member, 57 by 1887 • Attitude of European superiority ICS judge in Bengal

  20. Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) • British poet, historian, and politician • 1832-1833: Secretary to the Board of Control, overseeing the EIC • 1834-1838: First Law Member of the Governor-General’s Council (Council of India) • Promoted the development of bilingual education system in India. • Pushed for education in English rather than Sanskrit or Persian (as had been the case under the EIC) • “Macaulay’s Children”: Indians who adopted Western lifestyles.

  21. Indian Nationalism • After 1858, emphasis on reducing ethnic, religious, and social divisions. • Pan-Indian nationalism • Combine Western ideas with traditional practices • Many nationalists came from growing middle class, merchants and manufacturing. • Angered by obstacles put in place by British.

  22. Barriers to Indian Nationalism • Deep economic divisions • Rural: peasants – landowners – moneylenders – maharajahs (princes) • Urban: urban poor – laborers – craftsmen – merchants • Language: 1,652 dialects spoken in India, 122 spoken by more than 10,000 people, 29 spoken by more than 1 million • English as language of upper class • Religion: • Hinduism: division into 100s of occupational castes • Muslims: had ruled before British; ¼ of population • Gender

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