The Passage to India A visual history of Indian colonization through maps by Matthew Walters

Early Contact 1498-1765 Before European entry, India was ruled by the Mughal Empire who controlled most of the Indian subcontinent They reached their height in 1707, before rapidly declining into the 1800’s due to military defeats, inner turmoil, and European intrusion http://worldciv1red.wikispaces.com/mughals

Early Contact 1498-1765 The first European explorer, Portuguese sailor Vasco Da Gama, reached India in 1498 Were soon followed by Danish, Dutch, French, and English This map is drawn by a Venetian cartographer in 1566 showing India and Southeast Asia Antiqueindianmaps.com

Early Contact 1498-1765 European holdings were limited to small outposts for trading at various ports France and Britain start to vie for power in the 1700’s as the Mughals weaken France is driven out after the battle of Plassey in 1757 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_India#/media/File:European_settlements_in_India_1501-1739.png

Company Rule 1765-1858 The East India Company is granted revenue permissions in Bengal in 1765, after defeating the Mughal Emperor at the battle of Buxar, marking the first British colony in India British continue to expand in India, eventually defeating the Mughal Empire in 1803, making the emperor a puppet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:India1765and1805b.jpg

Company Rule 1765-1858 By 1818, the British defeat the Maratha Empire, the newest power in India who rose in opposition to the Mughals The East India Company now has total control of most of the subcontinent They would continue to expand into the frontier regions and Burma until 1857 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:India1837to1857.jpg

Company Rule 1765-1858 This map shows the railways that had been constructed in India by 1871. Started in 1853, this was one of many British attempts to modernize India. In 1857, the Great Indian Mutiny would break out, with the local armies revolting all across Northern India Caused in part by new rifles which required soldiers to bite cartridges lined with animal fats, upsetting both Hindu and Muslim soldiers Taking two years to put down, the munity radically changed rule in India, and would live in the consciousness of British India for years to come https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IndianRailways1871b.jpg

https://commons. wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_revolt_of_1857_states_map.svg Crown Rule 1858-1924 After the Mutiny, both the East India Company and the Mughal Empire were abolished, and India was now officially put under British rule The Military and Society were reorganized to bring more contact between the British and the Indians The results of this new change would create the social and political conditions under which A Passage to India would occur

Crown Rule 1858-1924 In 1876 Queen Victoria is declared Empress of India, making India Britain's most important and prestigious colony Britain continues to expand into the border regions, fully conquering Burma in 1885

https://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Brit_IndianEmpireReligions3 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brit_IndianEmpireReligions3.jpg Crown Rule 1858-1924 In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi begins a non-violent campaign for Indian self rule with support from the Indian National Congress In the early 1920s Edward Morgan Forster also worked in India briefly, and in 1924 published A Passage to India This map shows the majority religions in each region of India, religion always playing a major role in conflict in the country

Sources Used Wikipedia Metcalf, Barbara, and Thomas Metcalf. A Concise History of Modern India 3rd Edition. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2012.