British economic interest in India began in the 1600s when Britain set up trading posts in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. By 1707, the Mughal Empire was collapsing. Several small states broke away from the Mughal control. In 1757, Robert Clive led the East India troops in a victory over Indian forces at the Battle of Plassey. From this time until 1858, East India Company was the leading power in India. Over time, the area controlled by East India Company grew. Eventually, East India Company governed modern Bangladesh, most of southern India, and almost all the territory along the Ganges River. After the Industrial Revolution, Britain was known as the “world’s workshop,” and India was the major supplier of its raw material. Britain had a firm hold on India; their policies called for India to produce raw materials for British manufacturing and to buy British goods. Any Indian competition with British goods was prohibited. Imperialism between Britain and India had a positive economic outcome for the British during the 1600s, as well some bad impacts on Indian people; leaving their governmental power in the hands of Britain. Britain had much political and economic power over India. As Dadabhai Naoroji stated, “1Europeans [the British] occupy almost all the higher places in every department of 2government… All they [the Europeans] do is live off of India while they are here. 4When they go, they carry all they have gained.”(Doc 3). Naoroji, who was a political leader, was left with no power as the British took over the government. Naoroji and several other Indian political leaders of this time were left powerless. Naoroji was also a cotton trader. He was angered with the British for using India for the goods they produced. The Briti... ... middle of paper ... ... Indian intellectual Dadabhai Naoroji’s quote best describes the situation when he says, “1To sum up the whole, the British rule has been – morally, a great blessing; politically peace 2and order on one hand…on the other, materially, impoverishment…” (Doc 2). British rule created an overall better lifestyle for the mental wellbeing of the Indian people, but materialistically when it came down to producing goods, Imperialism also created chaos. Imperialism throughout India can be viewed as a mixed blessing. British Imperialism in India brought about many changes in India; both positive and negative. It was however, as a whole, an important turning point in India’s history. Imperialism had its positive economic outcomes for the British during the 1600s, but also had its negative effects on India’s people; leaving their governmental power in the hands of Britain.
To begin, British Imperialism had many political effects on India’s people throughout the years. The forcefulness of Europe’s invasion brought plenty of fear and destruction among the government, which in the following years would become run completely by British officials. According to document two, “The Indians have no control whatsoever over their own taxation...The entire civil government is now carried on by men who live lives quite remote from the people they govern.” According to Dr. Lalvani in paragraph twelve, Imperialism brought Indians together. He states, “perhaps the most innovative of all was the bringing together of several different states into one unified India.” That may have been the result in sight, but the truth is, as shown in document one, when Gandhi states, “For a hundred years, you have done everything for us. You have given us no responsibility for our own
To begin with, one can observe that the British colonizers did indeed improve Indian civilization by developing means of communication and transport. They built a great number of bridges, over 40,000 miles of railway and paving an astounding 70,000 miles of road (Doc. 4). They established schools,newspapers and telegraphs for the people of the colonies.All blessings of civilization they could not create for themselves (Doc. 1). Furthermore, the British brought 30 million acres under cultivation with large scale irrigation works, began industrialization, improved sanitation and provided an overall higher standard of living (Doc. 4). With many new establishments and institutions to staff, job opportunities opened up left and right for Indian workers.Their contributions to Indian civilization made famine all but disappear throughout India. Without the British, it’s quite possible India could not achi...
Despite impacting India very positively, imperialism still caused problems within the Indian society. An example of this negative effect is that poverty was very prevalent in India due to the dismantling of the old crafts such as metalwork, glass, paper, etc. The rationale for this huge spike impoverishment is because India was to be used as a supplier for raw materials, thus halting the growth of the economy (Doc 7). Not only did Britain disrupt the Indian’s industry, but they also caused unemployment through the superseding of Indian handspinners in the 19th century. (O.I) Another negative effect imperialism has made on India is through the persecution of Indians. "For a hundred years you have done everything for us. You have given us no responsibility in our own government," says Mohandas Gandhi in regards to the British rule. He also says that the British treat the Indians insultingly and without empathy (Doc 6,7,8).
In 1707, The Mughal Empire was collapsing while the east india company (Britain) was using this as an advantage to take power over india,by 1757 after the battle of plassey they have taking rule over india leading them to use india for its resource/workforce.The laws created by the British had a structured government,but was strucerd to control the indians.Raw resources from india was moved to east india company control which ,however lead to the need of a workforce.British control as far as it goes for social was not positive because of the millions of deaths from the cause of famine which was the cause of cash crops.British control was not positive it was negative impact on india and its people.
Do you ever wonder why whenever you have a problem, it’s always an Indian person that answers on the phone. Imperialism is when one country (usually the one with more power) takes over another country for their own benefits. Imperialism generally happens when a country needs something that they don’t have and that thing will make their country run smoother. What they do is find who has what they need and if they aren’t best buddies with them, they usually take that country over for what they need. This happened in 1857 when the British took control over India for their cotton and tea because we all know how the British love their tea. Although Britain had developed a strong government for India, gave them plenty of jobs, and built schools for them; However, British government only served the needs of the Britians, the jobs were so crappy that Indians died of starvation, and only the super rich Indian males were the only ones getting educated.
There is no doubt that British imperialism had a large impact on India. India, having previously been an group of independent and semi-independent princedoms and territories, underwent great change under British administration. Originally intended to consolidate their hold on India by establishing a population that spoke the same language as their rulers, the British decision in the 1830s to educate Indians in a Western fashion, with English as the language of instruction, was the beginning of a chain of events, including a rise in Indian nationalism, that led to Indian resentment of British imperialism and ultimately to the loss of British control over India.
In the 1600's the English took advantage of the crumbling Mughals. In 1757, Robert Clive led an unquestionable victory against the Indian Forces at the Battle of Plassey. After that battle, the East India Company was the leading force in India. Eventually, the company governed directly or indirectly areas that included modern day Bangladesh, most of southern India and almost all of the land along the Ganges River in the north. Until the 19th century, the East India Company ruled with little to no interference from Britain. The company had even established their own army. The company staffed its army with British and Indian Soldiers, or Sepoy, with the Sepoys eventually out numbering the British soldiers ten to one. Mountstuart Elphinstone, the governor of Bombay referred to the Sepoy army as “a delicate and dangerous machine, which a little mismanagement may easily turn against us.” (British Imperialism in India.)
One country that had imperialism was India. By the mid-1880s, the British East India Company controlled three fifths of India. The cause of British domination was that the land was very diverse and the people could not unite and that the British either paid local princes or used weapons to get control. Positive effects of imperialistic rule in India were that the British set up a stronger economy and more powerful industries. They built roads and railroads. British rule brought peace and order to the countryside. They revised the legal system to promote justice for the Indians regardless of class. Indian landowners and princes, who still owned territory grew rich from exporting cash crops such as cotton and jute. The British introduced the telegraph and the postal system as a means of communication. These improvements and benefits from British rule eventually lead to Indian nationalism. The exposure to European ideas caused an Indian nationalist movement, the people dreamed of ending Imperial ...
In 1857 the British had invaded the nation of Hindustan (India). Many feel that if it were not for the British Empire, India would still be an under developed country. The British established a government system that before did not exist. It was a three level system including the imperial government located in London, the central government located in Calcutta, and later on provincial governments scattered throughout the regions of what was known as the British Raj1. Alt...
Iyer , L, 2004, The Long-term Impact of Colonial Rule: Evidence from India. [Online] available at [accessed on 12 November 2010]
In India the British colonization had more positive affects than negative. For Instance, When the British colonized India they built 40,000 miles of railroad and 70,000 miles of paved roadway. As a result the British made it much easier to travel across India. Another good affect that the British had on India was the jump in agriculture, through large scale irrigation works. About 30 million acres were put into cultivation. Industrialization had also begun. Because of all these reasons almost no famine existed in British colonial India. The English also built many institutions in India and setup a productive government. "They have framed wise laws and have established courts of justice"(The Economic History Of India Under Early British Rule). In addition to all these positive affects, Britain also linked India to the modern world through modern science and modern thought.
dominant power in India. The military campaigns of Robert Clive and the administrative enterprise of Warren
The decision to grant independence to India was not the logical culmination of errors in policy, neither was it as a consequence of a mass revolution forcing the British out of India, but rather, the decision was undertaken voluntarily. Patrick French argues that: “The British left India because they lost control over crucial areas of the administration, and lacked the will and the financial or military ability to recover that control”.
India was the first major Asian civilizations to fall victim to European predatory activities (Duiker 31). With conquering India, the British had various purposes behind it. Their main purpose was to achieve a monopolistic trading position (The Economic and Social Impact of Colonial Rule in India). The second purpose was the control of India; this was a key element in the world power structure, in terms of geography, logistics and military manpower (The Economic and Social Impact of Colonial Rule in India). When the East India Company continued to trade under the British, huge armies were created, largely composed of Indian sepoys (Marshall). The armies were used to defend the Company’s territories protect the Indian states (Marshall).
Imperial Britain was the most powerful empire of its time. The British would capture any country that they felt had resources to offer. There is no argument that the British made their impact on the way India is today. India, before Britain, was a country filled with groups of independent princedoms but this all changed under British rule. The British introduced English to the Indians and later on started educating the Indians in a Western Fashion. In addition to the language they brought to India, they also brought industrial advances with them. Even though the British took harsh measure to gain rule of India, India would not be as developed as it is now without the British and would not be one of the world 's largest industrial countries