1. British Imperialism in India
Ch.11 Sec. 4

2. India

3. Great Britain in India
1600’s Great Britain set up trading posts through out India

4. British East India Company
● controlled British trade in India
eventually the company gained political control over Bangladesh, Southern India, and Northern India (along Ganges River)

5. British East India Company
1800’s: company operated in India with no regulation by British government
company had its own army
Company army led by
British army officers

6. Sepoys Indians who joined British armies in India
Resented by other Indians

7. “Jewel in the Crown”
Great Britain considered India its most precious jewel (colony) in its Imperial crown

8. “Jewel in the Crown”
Industrial Revolution turned India into a major supplier of raw materials to Great Britain
300 million Indians were
a large market for
British products

9. “Jewel in the Crown”
British forbade India from trading on its own with other countries
India was forced to produce raw materials for only Britain and to buy finished products from only Britain
Indian competition with British finished products was forbidden

10. “Jewel in the Crown”
Britain set up a railroad network to take raw materials from inside India to its ports

11. Raw Materials Taken from India
Tea
Indigo (dye for clothing)

12. Raw Materials Taken from India
Coffee
Cotton

13. Raw Materials Taken from India
Jute (fiber for making rope)
Opium (plant that heroin is made from)

14. Raw Materials Taken from India
Britain relied more on raw materials from India as wars around the world cut off British supplies from other places
example: American Civil War ( )
made Indian cotton more important to
Great Britain because cotton supply from
America was cut off

15. Positives for India
Great Britain laid the world’s third largest railroad network in India
Railroads brought unity to disconnected regions in India
Modern road
network
■ Telephone and telegraph lines
Dams, bridges, canals
Sanitation and public health improved
Schools/
colleges founded
Truces between
local warring rulers
in India

16. Negatives for India British restricted Indian-owned industries
British held all political and economic power
British restricted Indian-owned industries
Cash crops made it impossible for small farmers to produce enough food for themselves
Racist attitudes of most British officials and missionaries threatened Indian traditional life

17. Indians Rebel
Indians were angry at attempts to forcefully convert them to Christianity
By 1850 most Indians resented that Great Britain owned their country
■ Indians were angry at the constant racism expressed towards them by the British
Indians were angry Britain controlled all useful land in their country

18. Sepoy Mutiny
1857 gossip spread amongst Sepoys (Indian soldiers for the British)
the seals of their ammunition had to be bitten off
they believed the British dipped the seals of their
ammunition in beef and pork
(Hindus can not eat beef/ Muslims can not eat pork)

19. Sepoy Mutiny
British commander was outraged when 85 Sepoys refused to accept the ammunition
The Sepoys were jailed for disobeying orders
May 10, 1857 Sepoys rebelled; marched on Delhi (Indian capital)
rebellion spread into northern and central India

20. Sepoy Mutiny British government sent troops to help them
Fierce fighting between British and Sepoys (aided by other Indians)
East India Company took more than a year to regain control of the country
British government sent troops to help them

21. Indians Did Not Fully Unite During Sepoy Mutiny
serious splits between Hindus and Muslims
unclear inconsistent leadership
Many Indian princes did not take part in the rebellion (made alliances with
British)
Sikhs (Indian religious group) remained loyal to the British

22. Sikhs

23. Sikhs Minority Indian religious group
Sikhs feared Muslims would regain
control of the country during
Sepoy Mutiny
■ Muslim Mughals ruled
India before Britain

24. Sikhs
Mughals did not allow religious freedom
Sikhs replaced Sepoys in Britain’s Indian army after the Sepoy Mutiny
Great Britain allowed some religious freedom in India

25. Turning Point
1858 British government took direct control over India (because of the Mutiny)
Raj (time period when
India was under Great
Britain’s control: )

26. Raj India was divided into 11 Provinces and 250 districts
sometimes a handful of
officials would be the only
British amongst millions of
Indians in a district
Mutiny increased distrust between British and Indians: it fueled more British racism towards Indians

27. Ram Mohun Roy ( )
well-educated Indian who began a campaign to modernize India
he was opposed to India’s caste system (social class system that ties a person to the social class they are into for life: based on Hindu beliefs)
opposed to child marriages and widow suicides
believed these practices needed to be changed if India wanted to be free from rule by outsiders

28. Ram Mohun Roy ( )
other Indian writers picked up on Roy’s ideas and called for changes
Indian resented being second-class citizens in their own country
Indians were paid 20 times less than British
Indians could not hold top jobs in government

29. Indian National Congress 1885
Made up of Hindus; called for self-government
upset that Britain segregated Bengal (Indian city) into Muslim section and Hindu section in 1905
INC led acts of violence against British in Bengal
1911 Britain changed the order of segregation

30. Muslim League 1906 Made up of Muslims also called for self-government
also upset about segregation of Bengal in1905
also participated in acts of violence against British in India

31. Indian Nationalism Grows
Indian National Congress (Hindus)/Muslim League (Muslims) Found Common Ground
Both worked together towards Indian Independence

32. World War I
Great Britain got 1 Million Indians to enlist in the British army to fight in World War I
Britain promised Indians self-government in exchange for them enlisting in the British army
1918 Indian troops returned home: expected Britain to fulfill its promise

33. Rowlatt Act (1919)
instead Indian troops were treated as second class citizens again by Great Britain
many Indians committed acts of
violence against British in India
in response
Great Britain passes Rowlatt Act (1919) in response

34. Rowlatt Act (1919)
allowed British gov’t to jail protestors for 2 years with no trial
violent protests by Indians in Punjab (province with most Indian World War I veterans)

35. Amritsar Massacre (Spring 1919)
alliance of Hindus and Muslims scared the British
10,000 Hindus and Muslims went to Amritsar (capital of Punjab Province): festival to pray and hear political speeches

36. Amritsar Massacre (Spring 1919)
Britain had earlier banned public protests: Britain issued the ban without informing most Indians!
British General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire on the unarmed crowd without warning
Shooting lasted 10 minutes: 400 Indians Killed; 1200 wounded
news of the massacre spread rapidly across India: Indians demanded independence

37. Mohandas Gandhi ( )
Amritsar Massacre set the stage for Mohandas Gandhi to become leader of the Indian Independence Movement
his teachings blended ideas from all major world religions (especially Hinduism, Christianity, Islam)

38. Mohandas Gandhi ( )
Gandhi preached/practiced Civil Disobedience
deliberate and public refusal to obey any unjust law
rebellion without violence
1920 Indian National Congress officially adopts Gandhi’s policy as a means to push for independence

39. Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Gandhi’s Plan for Civil Disobedience:
Refuse to buy British goods
Refuse to attend British schools
Refuse to pay British taxes
Refuse to vote in elections
Indians weave their own
cloth (to put British cloth
out of business)

40. Civil Disobedience
1922 Indian rioters attacked a police station and set officers on fire!
Many British businesses went out of business in India
British arrested Indians who protested and boycotted

41. Salt Acts 1930
These laws required that Indians buy salt only from the British government (without refrigeration, salt was crucial to keeping food from spoiling)
Required Indians to pay
a sales tax to British on salt as well

42. Salt March 1930
In protest Gandhi and his followers walked 240 miles to the coast to make their own salt
demonstrators marched to a British salt processing plant to protest
made salt by evaporating sea water

43. Salt March 1930 British police attacked protestors with steel clubs
Protestors refused to defend themselves: marching peacefully
International newspapers covered the event: won worldwide support for Gandhi’s movement
British arrested 60,000 peaceful protestors (including Gandhi)

44. Great Britain Grants India Self-Rule
1935 Government of India Act
■ British Parliament allows India some self- rule
■ Allowed for local self- government (mayors) and limited elections (regional representatives)
This was the first step in full independence for India
Gandhi and his campaign was successful

45. Internal Conflict Hindus far outnumbered Muslims in India
India does not get full independence until after World War II (after 1945)
Hindus far outnumbered Muslims in India
Hindus and Muslims had conflicting views for India’s future
Leads to more internal conflict