Imperialism in India By: Athina and Maddie

Discussion Questions I.How would India be different today had they not been colonized by Britain? II.Do you think Britain would have colonized India if India didn’t have it’s vast amount of resources? III.If the Mughul Empire had not been weakened before the arrival of the British, do you think Britain still would have had an easy time taking over? IV.What is the significance of the British East India Company dominating India before the British government? V.How would Britain be different today if they had not colonized India?

Pre-Imperialism History ●Before the European’s arrived, India was ruled by the Mughuls. ●Mughul’s were Muslim and had Afghan origins. ●The most famous Mughul ruler was Akbar. ○Akbar set up a politically and economically stable state within India. ○Akbar demanded all taxes be paid in cash. ●This brought peasant’s into the market economy. ■50% of tax dollars came from agricultural yield. ○This strategy helped the economy thrive. ●The Mughul empire declined as British presence increased. ○Up to this point, India had not been politically unified.

Colonization: Who? ❖ The British colonized India. ➢ French tried to first, but the British pushed them out early on. ➢ British used same government model as used when colonizing North America ❖ India was under British “company” for forty years before they were a colony. ➢ The reason for this was that the British East India Company was still private. ■The Company used governmental affairs that reflected British values. ●The Company also introduced social reforms to make India appear more British ◆ The company depended on the support of the Indian people. ➢ This resulted in the Sepoy Rebellion. ■After the Sepoy Rebellion, India was considered a British Colony because The Company was ended.

Colonization: Why? ★ Originally, the British were in search of spices from the “East Indies”. ★ India had a vast wealth of raw materials ○Examples of these materials include: ■Oil ■Coal ■Rubber ■Cotton ■Indigo ■Jute (Burlap) ■Spices ■Sugar ■Tea ●These were shipped to factories in Britain

Colonization Pros ➔ For Indian people, there were several pros of being colonized by Britain ◆ Examples of these pros include: ●Railroads were built ●Education policies were put in place ●Hospitals were built ●A common language was established ➔ There were also pros for the British ◆ Examples of those pros include: ●Cheap source of labor ●Plentiful source of raw materials ●New trade posts had been established

Colonization Cons ➔ Along with the Pros of India’s Imperialism, there were several cons ◆ Examples of these cons included: ●Extremely low (almost non-existent) wages ●Very few and very limited rights ●Absolutely no say in government matters ➔ Most of the cons of colonization fell on the people of India, but there are a few that affected British people ◆ For example: ●Britain had to resolve another rebellion ●Britain had to pay to establish schools and hospitals in India

Controlled: When? ➢ Britain established India as a colony in ○1857 was the year that the Sepoy Rebellion ended. ○1857 was also the year that the British East India Company was removed. ➢ However, the British East India Company had been in control since the early 1800’s. ○Control of India was established when the British East India Company forced France out of their position of power.

Control: How? ❖ The French saw the Mughal Empire was weakened and set up trading posts along the coast of India in the 18th century. ➢ The British East India Company kicked them out in the early 1800’s. ■Britain used socio-cultural imperialism to control India. ●This is when a dominating country intentionally tries to change languages, religions, and customs of the country that is being dominated. ➢ The British used this type of imperialism to establish control because they found their lifestyle to be “superior” to that of an Indian person. ■For example, Britain established schools that taught in English because that’s what they spoke and they found it superior to the traditional language of India.

Post-Imperialism History ●It is believed that India was modernized by the invasion of British people. ○There is some controversy about whether or not the British were trying to help India or if they were exploiting India for their vast resources. ■Part of the controversy was that India was originally taken over by the British East India Company, which was a primarily profit driven company. ●The Indian National Congress does not believe that the British were helping their country. ●Imperialism also unified India. ○In fact, the Indian National Congress was created with the intention of unifying India.

How Imperialism Affects today ➔ Some effects were positive. ◆ For example, cultural changes allowed widows to remarry. ◆ Also, the British spoke out against the outdated Indian caste system. ◆ Indian’s learned English, which is now the international business language of the world. ●Due to this, jobs can now be outsourced to India. ◆ India still uses the educational system that the British put in place during imperialism. ➔ Other effects were negative. ◆ Britain destroyed the original native culture of India and replaced it with British culture. ●This was one of the reasons the Sepoy Rebellion happened. ●English destroyed the original native language. ◆ European’s set up a separate, racist society.

Pre-Imperialism India Post-Imperialism India Nepal is not apart of Post-Imperialism India

Discussion Questions I.How would India be different today had they not been colonized by Britain? II.Do you think Britain would have colonized India if India didn’t have it’s vast amount of resources? III.If the Mughul Empire had not been weakened before the arrival of the British, do you think Britain still would have had an easy time taking over? IV.What is the significance of the British East India Company? V.How would Britain be different today if they had not colonized India?

Sources n_4/earlyindia.html smpdfs09/ImperialismIndia.pdf