For better or for worse, Britain has had a lasting effect on India. India became a part of the British Empire in the 1876 but gained its independence in 1947.
The East India Trading Company first managed India. After the failure of the first voyage to India by William Hawkins, it appeared that business could not be conducted there. However, things improved and the East India Trading Company expanded into India. Over the years, many achievements were made and records were set, and there were many successes and failures on both sides. But which one was the most crucial? And how did it all end?
Thomas Coryate was one of the first British men to travel across India. He was originally a jester in the court of King James I before he set off on his Grand Tour. His main motive in the Far East was to preach Christianity to Indians and try and convert them. However, his progress was slow because he travelled by foot. Once he reached Indian, he preached Christianity from Muslim towers, but no one really took notice of him. The Indians thought that he was strange, but harmless. This proved to be their undoing. Assuming all the British were similar to the slightly deranged Coryate, the Indians were grossly unprepared for the British invasion in 1876.
Thomas Coryate died of dysentery in Surat in 1617. However, he left many books describing his travels across India and Europe, providing modern historians with a clear impression of civilisation at the time.
The history of India shows how the British used cunning to achieve their aim of invading India. Robert Clive captured the province of Bengal after tricking Mir Jafar into signing a contract promising not use the Indian troops against the British in battle. The scene in the painting sh...
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... seemed more of a threat – the Indians would have been better prepared. Perhaps if Mir Jafar had not signed the contract, the British would not have won in battle. Who knows? We cannot say if India would be different today if the British Empire had not ruled there. What we can say is that the British constructed a large part of modern Indian infrastructure. The Indian railway is based on the British one. Indian law is based on English law. English is one of the official languages of India. On the negative side, the British treated the Indians as inferiors, and exploited them virtually as slaves. This led to the Indian Mutiny. Furthermore, Britain practically robbed India of its natural resources by dictating very low prices. Even today, the British pay a very low price for Indian tea. In conclusion, it is safe to say that Britain has left an indelible mark on India.
In the early 19th century, the British East India Company established more trade warehouses and thoroughfares in the Indian subcontinent. This occupation of Indian lands was welcomed by some groups and fiercely opposed by others. While met by more opposition, the British Empire expanded into the other Indian Ocean territories up to the end of the century. Because the trans-Atlantic slave trade was profitable for African elites and brought many valuable goods to West Africa, when it was effectively shut down after 1808 by British patrols, people along this coast were eager to keep the European trade lines alive. The imposition of this “legitimate trade” (any non-slave trade) saw a huge rise in African exports of gold and palm oil.
In the beginning of the 1600's, the East India Trading Company first landed in India. Once the EIC landed they immediately decided that they would take direct control of the area. Meaning that they had no regard for the inhabitants. After complete domination of India the EIC later had to deal with the Sepoy Mutiny; therefore, there was death and a change in leadership soon to fallow. Britain then took control of India by kicking out the smaller version of themselves, but over 50 years later history repeats itself with another massacre. Although Britain imperialism can be looked at positively by advances made in India, it is outweighed by its negative counterpart which crippled the country through India's economic shutdown, High death tolls,
The rise of Imperialism in India began when the East India Company gained control of India after the decline of the Mughal Empire. East India Company was a joint-stock company that was established when Britain showed economic interest in India’s natural resources. Initially, the East India Company created trading posts in Surat, Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta mainly to increase trade. The East India Company traded in cotton, silk, tea, and opium. These East India Company trading posts were supported by British troops and private armies, also known as sepoys (Indian soldiers). The East India Company functioned as military authority in parts of India with an increase in administrative and political powers. The East India Company ruled India until 1858.
Some negative effects; the British have basically taken over India and took full control over it,
Two important sources that will be used during this investigation are Indian Summer by Alex Von Tunzelmann and Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World by Niall Ferguson. Summary of Evidence After the Battle of Plussey in 1757, Britain gained much control over India. The British East India Company exercised power in this region instead of the Queen of England. The Company brought British soldiers and missionaries to the foreign land. The military in India was comprised of European troops and Indian troops, resulting in a variety of weapons present.
" India was where the riches of the world came from, the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. The British needed to dispel the threat of other Europeans in Africa to maintain control of India, and they did so efficiently. They quickly gained control of both the major sea routes to India and then turned their eyes to the rest of the continent. Whether the British were trying to foster public support or prevent another nation from becoming a threat, all British actions in Africa were directly or indirectly linked to India. The British were motivated by their desire to become powerful, and they skillfully combined enterprise and conquest to create a globe spanning empire centered around the wealth of India.
What is pictured when someone thinks of India? Perhaps the manufactured goods, or diverse people. The truth is, however, that until India gained its independence in 1947, it was ruled entirely by British government. The British then proceeded to “improve” India, driving it into a deeper hole. Although British Imperialism in India had some positive effects, the overall political, economic, and social impacts were negative.
India was a civilized land long before British rule, but was considered inferior anyway. How can Britain be considered good for India? It can’t be done without it. At least, not if India’s value is in it’s people. The British did however bring peace to a nation collapsing on itself.
However, where the is good there has to be bad. British colonization of India had it's drawbacks. As the great Mohandas Gahndi once said " You English committed one supreme crime against my people. For a hundred years you have done everything for us. You have given us no responsibility for our own government." At first glance this may seem like a positive effect but Ghandi did not intend it to be. Because even though it was a good thing that England setup a government in India they turned it into a burden because they did not let any natives into the important positions. They "mommied" the Indians if you will. Another negative effect England had on India was the breaking up of traditional industries. Prior to Britain colonizing India there were many more divers skilled labors. Such as shipbuilding, metalwork, glassblowing, and paper making. With the break up there was a noticeable rise in the unemployment India.
By the year 1857 the British had established complete political control of India. As Western education was introduced and missionaries eroded Hindu society resentment among Indian people grew and it was joined by unease among the old governing class when the British decided to formally abolish the Mughal Empire.
"All the leadership had spent their early years in England. They were influenced by British thought, British ideas, that is why our leaders were always telling the British "How can you do these things? They're against your own basic values.". We had no hatred, in fact it was the other way round - it was their values that made us revolt." -Aruna Asaf Ali, a leader of the Indian National Congress. (Masani, quoted in Wood, 32, 1989)
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”.
The British invasion formed into a historical development of British colonialism in India. Despite India under the British rule, Mahatma Gandhi played an important role in gaining Independence. He not only changed India but also strongly fought for India's independence, using various strategies. The British Empire ruled as long as they could to reform India both politically and socially.
The caste system in India is elaborately structured to have an Indian touch to it, clearly distinguishing it from social structures worldwide. Caste is a word often used to describe a cluster of people who have a specific rank in the society. Each caste system is elaborately crafted to suit the needs of the society and they vary from group to group; each has its own rules and customs. Different chaste systems are planned in a hierarchical manner to become part of any of the four basic colors; varnas (a Sanskrit word for color). These include; the varna of Brahmans, identified with the learned class and priests; varna of Kshatriyas, which is encompasses warriors, rulers and property owners, the varna of Vaishyas, which attracts traders ; and lastly the varna of Shudras, who are servile laborers (Bayly, 1999).
India, before 1947, was a country divided by many regions, languages, religions and cultures. On August 14th, 1947, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan became independent. On August 15th, 1947, the jewel of the British Empire, India, was granted independence. India had been divided, primarily along a religious line, into two pieces.