British Imperialism in India What was the British

British Imperialism in India What was the British Raj and why did it form?

Economic Imperialism in India • 1600: British East India Company begins to set up trading posts in India • India’s ruling Mughal Dynasty keeps European traders under control • 1757: Mughal Dynasty starts to collapse BEIC • B. E. I. C’s troops attack remaining Mughal troops in the Battle of Plassey & take control of India • Sepoys (Indian soldiers) join BEIC • India is “Jewel in the Crown” (main supplier of raw material to Britain) • 1850 s: Sepoys discover rifles were greased w/ pork & beef fat • 1857: Sepoys rebel against the B. E. I. C. – Sepoy Mutiny (Rebellion) • Sepoys lose because British Govt sends troops & gets help from Indian Sikhs + Hindus & Muslims will not unite together to fight

• As a result of the Sepoy Mutiny, British Gov. takes direct control of India (colony) • This period is known as the British Raj • 1900: Ram Mohun Roy states Indians need to work together or will be forever ruled by Brits • 1905: British partition Bengal, to keep Muslim & Hindus separate & disunited • Hindus form Indian National Congress, Muslims form Muslim League Positive points of British Negative points of British Colonization British modernized India with telephone, roads, sanitation British relied on cash crops so there was not as much food Schools & colleges were founded and literacy increased More missionaries and racist British officials threatened India’s culture British built the world’s third largest British hold all of the economic & railroad system political power