Part 1: India Part 2: Africa Part 3: Migration to and within Britain Building an Empire

How did India come to be the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of the British Empire?”

The Big Picture: The Rise of the British Empire Part 1 – India Part 2 – Africa Part 3 – Migration within the Empire

Todays Lesson Today we will investigate: Why the British wanted to expand their control in India What the role of the East India Company was in this expansion The role key individuals played in Britain expansion in India How important India was economically to Britain’s empire

What was India like before the Europeans arrived? India is rich in natural resources – iron ore, silk, copper, gold, silver, gemstones, tea and timber. Spices (which were very valuable in the Middle Ages) are common in India too. Any country that made strong links with India could potentially become very rich and powerful. By 1900 India was the ‘jewel’ in Britain’s imperial crown. British products of the Industrial Revolution were sold to a market of 300 million Indians, while much wealth an ideas came to Britain as a result of the Indian connection. Surat: the location of the first British trading station in India, founded circa 1608 : it can be seen as the first element in the British Empire. Want to know more?

Rivalry to control India In 1427, a Portuguese explorer named Vasco de Gama discovered how to get to India from Europe by sea. Soon many European countries (including Denmark, France and the Netherlands) were sending ships to India to trade. At first the ships simply reached an Indian port and bartered with local traders, swapping items such as guns, swords, buttons or shoes for silk, spices, cotton or tea. They then brought these back to their own countries to sell for a big profit.

Rivalry to control India With the permission of local Indian rulers, the European traders began to set up more permanent bases along the Indian coast. These were known as trading stations They were large warehouses surrounded by huge walls and guarded by men with guns. The goods were stored in the warehouses and this was where the trading took place. There were often workshops within these trading ports that turned raw materials into goods For example, cotton cloth was woven by Indian weavers and exported by the British in huge quantities. Opium, an addictive drug, was also grown and sold by British traders in China for a huge profit. The First English Trading Station in India. This illustration from the 1727 edition of The Voyages of Mandelslo by Johann Albrecht von Mandelslo.

The East India Company In the early years of European trade with India, the main countries with trading stations were France, the Netherlands and Britain. The British trading stations were run by one company – the East India company (EIC). The company’s ships carried cheap British goods and exchanged them for goods in countries as far away as Japan and China. They then brought the fine china, silk, coffee and spices back to Britain. As a result India became a base for some of Britain’s growing global trading, and became increasingly important. The businessmen in charge of the company, and the kings and queens to whom they paid taxes, made a fortune from this trade.

The East India Company early trading posts: Surat (1612) Bombay (1668) Madras (1638)

The East India company It had a monopoly in British trade in India to begin with, but this ended in 1694. However, by then the EIC was so powerful, with its own army and navy, that it continued to be the major force in trade in India for the next century. Key Fact: British East India Company officials who grew immensely wealthy in India were nicknamed ‘nabobs’. They used their ‘new money’ to buy wealth and power in Britain.

India during early European exploration Before the 1500s, the Indian subcontinent was divided into lots of kingdoms. Most were run by Hindu Princes These kingdoms would occasionally go to war against each other - but they largely witnessed long, peaceful periods. However, in the early 1500s the Mughals (who were Muslims) invaded India and took control. Within decades, the great Mughal Emperor had managed to unite many of the Indian states and ruled over all the Hindu princes. India c.1500

India during early European exploration For the most part, the next few generations of Mughal Emperors ruled peacefully. However, Akbar’s great-grandson, Arungzeb, was a fanatical Muslim and persecuted followers of India’s other religions. Wars broke out all over India during the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707), and the Mughals began to lose control of the country by the late 1600s and early 1700s. It was at exactly this time, when much of India was at war, that some European nations – and powerful trading companies such as the East India Company – began to take advantage of the situation.

European invasion in the 17th and 18th centuries Control over the goods coming out of India wasn’t the only thing that attracted the Europeans: India was a good place in which to sell their own goods to the many millions of Indians in their territory. Dutch, French and British companies also realised that by helping certain Hindu princes (by providing them with weapons and soldiers, for example), they could affect the outcome of wars, and help the princes to beat their enemies. They could then demand rewards from the princes they had supported – perhaps land or goods. If they ever fell out with a prince, and fought against him, they could win and take his territory!

The East India Company expands In the 1700s the EIC began to take over more and more Indian land. It had it’s own private army and navy, and used them against various personal rulers of India. For example, at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, around 3000 company troops led by Robert Clive defeated an Indian army of over 40,000, led by local prince Siraj-ud-Duala. This allowed the EIC to take over Bengal, one of the richest parts of India. The company also fought against other European nations, such as the Dutch, and took over their trading posts.

Key Individual: Robert Clive Using the information provided create a factfile explaining who Robert Clive was and what his role was in gaining control over India. Include the following information: A brief summary into his early life including his family background and education. A summary of his early years in India including his role at the East India Company. A summary of his role in key victories What impact you think Clive had on gaining and maintaining control of India. Want to know more?

The East India Company expands Over the following decades, more and more of India came under the rule of the East India Company. However, despite making huge profits in India, the EIC was losing money elsewhere, mainly as a result of a decline in trade with America at this time. So the British government decided to step in and help out with the company’s financial problems. The government didn't’t want this British company to go bankrupt and lose control of large parts of India. So in 1773,the government of India Act stated that both the British government and the East India company controlled the territory in India jointly. A Governor General was appointed to control the territory, and Warren Hastings was given the job.

Key Individual: Warren Hastings Using the information provided create a factfile explaining who Warren Hastings was and what his role was in gaining control over India. Include the following information: A brief summary into his early life including his family background and education. A summary of his time in India including his role at the East India Company. Why he was put on trial and what the outcome of the trial was. What impact you think Hastings had on gaining and maintaining control of India.

The East India Company expands After Britain lost the valuable American colonies in the late 1700s, India became an even more important part of the empire. The British government became increasingly involved in India and gradually took more control of the EIC’s affairs. By the mid-1850s, much of India was controlled by the British, but a major rebellion, one that would shock the world, was just around the corner.

Activities Answer Questions 1-4 on page 219 of the textbook Explain how Britain gained control over India. Try and divide your answer into the following categories: Military Economic Political Pages 218-221 Challenge yourself Compare British actions in India with those in North America in the seventeenth century. Can you see any similarities and differences?