Imperialism in India ‘The Jewel in the Crown’

The British Empire “The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire” Suez Canal

The Decline of the Mughal Empire – The British East India Company set up trading posts in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta in the 1600s. – The British East India Co. took advantage of the collapsing empire to take control of more Indian territory.

The ‘Jewel in the Crown’ – The British outlawed the production of goods that competed with British goods. – Indians grew cotton which was then used in British textile factories. Cloth was then sold back to the Indian people. – Plantation crops included tea, indigo, coffee, cotton, and jute.

Indians Rebel – By 1850, the British controlled most of India; many of the Indian people were unhappy because of their economic situation and how they were treated by the British. – Sepoy Rebellion Indian soldiers of the British East India Company rose up against the British. The violence lasted almost two years. The British government sent troops to quell the insurrection. The Indians were unable to overthrow the British because Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs distrusted one another and did not unite.

Indian Nationalist Movements – Indians resented being treated as second class citizens in their own nation. – Indian National Congress Jawaharlal Nehru – Muslim League Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Indian Nationalism Grows – Many Indians served British army in World War I. – Amritsar Massacre – Gandhi Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Spinning his own cloth was a form of resistance The Salt March

Indian Independence – World War II was very expensive. The British began to realize it was not in their interest to try and maintain colonies. – Also, after fighting the Nazis the British had to take a look at themselves and ask, ‘Was it acceptable to take by force the land and resources of another nation in order to enrich the imperial nation?’

India Divided The Partition of India – India was partitioned into two nations. Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in rioting between the two groups. – Gandhi – Fast unto death.

Gandhi Assassination Gandhi assassinated by fellow Hindu. Gandhi’s legacy of nonviolent civil disobedience later influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Western Powers in Southeast Asia Pacific Rim countries – Geopolitical significance: on the border of the Pacific Ocean – Plantation crops such as sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, rubber, coconuts, bananas, and pineapple. – Resources, tin and rubber. The Dutch – The Dutch East India Company – The Dutch East Indies – Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, and Bali, Indonesia. The British in the Malayan Peninsula French Control Indochina Siam maintains its Independence The United States – The Philippines – Hawaii