In the 1600s, the British people took interest in India. In 1707 when the Mongol Empire was collapsing, which meant the British had a chance to take over. By 1857 Britain took full, direct control of India. Although the British developed a very strong army, they restricted the freedom of Indians, created national parks, but abused natural resources, and killed almost 60 millions people but brought modern medicine.
When the British took over India, they took over pretty much the entire government and created laws that restricted the rights of the Indians. According to Dr.Lalvani, the British were “superbly efficient” in their duties. However, they only let 6% of the entire government be native Indian( Doc. 2). Which makes it virtually impossible for them to have a say in anything major or minor. When the Rowlatt act was passed, prohibiting gatherings of groups. Many groups continued to gather despite the act, many being violent (Lalvani). But there were also a large majority of peaceful gatherings, such as the Amritsar Massacre (Gandhi). At least 379 unarmed, helpless, defenceless people(men, women, and children) were shot and killed by British troops.
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The British made about 10,000 miles of railroad and about 136,000 bridges that benefited the Indians because they provided the necessary transportation to/from jobs and home. But, the British used the railways to transport goods to Britain to be sold there. Not only that ,but they also started mass production and sold goods for less(Doc 4). Goods like Indigo were very commonly grown in India(Gandhi + Doc 4). Indians were doing tons of manual labor to get raw materials for the British to use, while getting very little to no
The British improved and modernized India which formed their efficiency that they have today. They established railroads and bridges so people can travel thru their country easier. The British also ingrained a fair trading system between India and British. Some may claim that it was not fair because the Indian textiles were getting sold less and less. From 1790 and so on the sales of Indian textiles progressively declined (Doc. 6).
Once the BEIC had control over India, they reshaped the government to better suit their needs. For instance, the BEIC required that natives couldn’t serve in “civil administration till they become Christian,” seeing that “no civil or military servant in India rises to a position of real influence or distinction.” (Document 15) Before the BEIC, India’s government was self-sufficient and flourishing. Laws were passed in response to problems that people were encountering, with the well-being of the people as the key objective. The BEIC was not taking into account the natives.
They made many changes within the country; Dadabhai Naoroji praises them about in his speech to the London audience in document 18.3. He refers to how the British abolished the religious practice of Sati(when a widow burns herself at her husband's funeral), educated both male and female, gave freedom of rights, and the security of life and prosperity to the people of India. When looking from a British point of view these seem like modern improvements but, actually these were the norms and culture of India. Which Britain had no right to impair. I oppose the harmful, unequal practices, although I believe that India was developed enough to abolish the practices themselve.
One of the ways was the creation of the Proclamation of 1763 by George III. This gave mostly all of land control to Britain. They had the say so of which non- Indians could make that land their residency, who can make money on that land, and etc. British control was like a correctional officer telling the inmates when they can shower, eat, and have yard time.
The British rule in India during the Imperial period was extremely negative for the Indian people however, the British rule ultimately created a improved Indian nation. The British forced the idea of monoculture, were racist, created unfair trade and economic distress. For the Indian nation they did provide an education system, human rights, peace and created a more modern society. The British rule began in the early 1600s.
The British rulers of India helped settle 500 million diverse peoples with different religions all over India during their rulership, providing stronger communities held together by values of religion (Paragraph 6). However, the people of India were given little to no responsibility of themselves and their own nation (Document 1). Meaning the British also created a great divide of the native people and the British imperialists get to dictate what taxes and laws exist, all of which to only better the lives of themselves and did not pertain to the basic human needs for the people who actually lived in India. Paragraph 12 shows that the British did bring several different states of India into one unified nation to help establish an effective justice system, civil service, loyal army, and efficient police force to protect the people of India. On the other hand, document 2 shows that the Indians had no say in the taxes they had to pay to the British or how they spent their money as a nation.
In the nineteenth century, Europeans had a desire to explore the boundless world in front of them and impressive transportational technology like steamboats to get them places. The desire to become “imperialists,” the desire to make an empire by conquering weaker countries, was also strengthened by a racist worldview that Africans and Asians needed the influence of Europe’s “civilized” society. So Europe set off, each nation vying for its own colonies, to wage wars, create treaties and expand their borders. It sounds glamorous on the surface, but in reality, millions of natives lost their lives in the desperate struggle to save their homeland from the greedy invaders.
India was dominant towards the cotton textile industry trade, which motivated England to take the opportunity of forcibly removing all indigenous competition: “...the British who most fully took advantage of the collapse of the empire. Between 1757 and 1803, they took control of most of India except the Northwest. The result was that the East India Company now administered major sectors of the economy, and quickly reduced the role of the big Indian bankers by changes in taxes and methods of collecting them. ”(Mukherjee) By eliminating any further competition at their weakest moment, England lowered India’s economy and chances of industrializing.
Although both India and China were colonized by the British, there were many differences between the two countries and the effects imperialism had on them. In the 1600s, the British East India Company gained trading rights for the Mughal empire which was in modern day India. As the Mughal empire lost power, the East India Company
They also have a higher standard of living, better sanitation, and a better means of transportation (Doc4). In addition, the coming of the British brought an end to the slave trade, infanticide, and brought the value of India’s exportation trade up (Doc5). The British used the idea of “White Man’s Burden” in order to bring civilization and justice to the “barbarians” and westernize them in a way. The British also brought free trade into India and while they were there became one of the wealthiest countries because of everything being extracted out of it. Lastly, the British kept peace on the region and introduced Western technologies.
Through the East India Company, Britain also came to control India. Through the course of the 19th century, the British government ruled India, known as the British Raj. During this time, the people of India began to revolt. One example being the Sepoy Rebellion was due to Sepoys unhappiness with the pay inequality compared to British soldiers as well as the suspicion of rifle cartridges with animal fats, which conflicted their religion. Despite the thousands of killed Sepoys, the Sepoy Rebellion opened a new council for Indians in government and removed the East India Company.
Throughout the rule of the British in India, Europeans mainly controlled the government and police force, leaving the Indians with no voice and no protection. According to Dr. Lalvani, the British established an efficient administration over 500 million people. While this was beneficial to the British, the Indians had no control over the taxations and laws that affected them (Doc. #2). Since all of these laws and taxes were targeted to help the British, India’s freedom was stolen, as shown in the Rowlatt Act, a law that allowed the government to imprison people without trial.
Shown in document 6, he complained to the English that “You have given us no responsibility in our own government.” Lot of money was taken from the people to support the British government. Later India became dependant on Britain's goods coming in. The British encouraged farmers to grow cash crops causing famine in the country, many starved to death. Also racism was a huge deal because the British saw them as a lower class and having a different culture caused the people to be treated like slaves.
They gave them no say in their taxation at all. Britain rule was bad because it made the Indians extremely poor and left them with no money for food. It also impacted India in a negative way because all their soil for farming was destroyed and they also built railroads right in the middle of the towns. These railroads were used to benefit Britain because it made shipping materials and trade easier for them. Lastly, British rule caused lots of deaths from famine.
In the article Lalvani states that, the British “established the framework for India’s justice system, civil service, loyal army and efficient police force”. The British may have set up a government but the framework, however, did not include Indians. “ Of 960 civil offices...900 are occupied by Englishmen and only 60 by natives” (Doc 2). In no way are 60 voices of a race considered ‘savage’ going to overpower 900 white men, who could easily kill them for taking a stand, or trying to change the unjust laws that are