1. British Imperialism In India
Background Notes
The British East India Company set up trading posts at Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta in the 1600s.
At first, India's ruling Mughal Dynasty kept European traders under control. By 1707, however, the Mughal Empire was collapsing.

2. British East India Company
During the 1700’s and 1800’s the East India Company slowly took control of India
As the Mughal Empire grew weak, the East India Company grew in economic and political strength and began to build its own military force
The military force mainly consisted of sepoys, Indian soldiers, led by British commanders

3. The British
The British wanted many of the raw materials India produced - cotton, indigo, jute (burlap), spices, sugar, and tea
These material were shipped to Britain for use in British factories – finished products were then shipped around the world to British colonies

4. The Sepoys
Background Notes
Ninety-six percent of the company's of army of 300,000 men in India were native to India.
British believed they were superior and looked down upon their dark-skinned compatriots.
In the military, Sepoys could not be promoted to high ranks and the pay was miserable.
British did not respect Indian cultural or religious traditions and beliefs.

5. The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857
In 1857, new cartridges were issued to Indian troops of the British East Indian Army.
The cartridges were rumored to have been greased with cow or pig grease; as such, they were forbidden to the Indian troops because of their religious beliefs.
Moslims believe that pigs are unholy, and Hindus believe that it is unholy to kill a cow.
The cartridges of this time required a soldier to tear open the cartridge with his teeth, and pour the powder and bullet down the barrel of the gun. This process would have caused the Sepoys to get soul polluting grease directly into their bodies.

6. After refusing to use the new cartrdiges, a whole regiment of Sepoy troops were imprisoned by the British.
Other Sepoys attempted to free these prisoners and it snowballed into a revolt across all of northern India.
There were many massacres where hundreds of Europeans were killed by Sepoys who were bent on revenge and on kicking the British out of India.

7. Background Notes

8. Nana Sahib – Massacre at Cawnpore

9. Sepoy Rebellion
The British suppressed the rebellion and abolished the British East India Company
India became a British colony
In 1877 Queen Victoria took the title Empress of India
India would now be controlled directly by the Crown of England, and not a trading company supported by England
Background Notes

10. The Results of the Sepoy Rebellion
The mutiny marked a turning point in Indian history.
As a result of the mutiny, in 1858 the British government took direct command of India.
The part of India that was under direct British rule was called the Raj. The term Raj referred to British rule over India from 1757 until 1914.

11. Treatment Of Indian Soldiers After The Sepoy Mutiny
Tie them to a cannon, and fire the cannon.

12. Social changes in India during the British presence
Social changes in India during the British presence. Some good, some not so good

13. Economic Restrictions
Indian competition with British goods was prohibited. For example, India's own handloom textile industry was almost put out of business by British textiles. Cheap cloth and ready-made clothes from England flooded the Indian market and drove out local producers.
Indian production of salt was also prohibited.
To pay for British imports, Indians had to raise cash crops such as tea, pepper, coffee, and cotton. As Indian farmers grew less food, famines became frequent and widespread.

14. Advancements In Transportation
Under the rule of the British, the laying of the world's third largest railroad network was accomplished.
The railroads allowed the British to transport raw materials from the interior to the ports and manufactured goods back again.
The majority of the raw materials were agricultural products produced on plantations. Plantation crops included tea, indigo, coffee, cotton, and jute. Another crop was opium. The British shipped opium to China and exchanged it for tea, which they then sold in England.

15. The railroads also allowed India to develop a modern economy and brought unity to connected regions.
Along with the railroads, a modern road network, telephone, and telegraph lines, dams, bridges, and irrigation canals enabled India to modernize.

16. Social Changes
Improved health care and sanitary conditions led to population growth.
The British set up schools and colleges to educate higher-caste Indians. The course of study stressed English language and culture.

17. Ritual of Sati
Sati (Su-thi , a.k.a. suttee) is the traditional Hindu practice of a widow throwing herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
Sati was prevalent among certain sects of the society in ancient India, who either took the vow or deemed it a great honor to die on the funeral pyres of their husbands.

18. Child Marriages
In India during the 1860s, marriage meant girls getting married below 8 or 9 years old. It wasn’t until 1880 that child marriage as a problem became a public issue in India and examples of young wives being killed and or raped by their “husbands” brought the tradition to an end.