The British in India British interests in India
The British in India British interests in India started with trade in the 1600 s. The British government granted the British East India Company control over trade in India, which lasted until 1857. For many years, the British East India Company (as with other similar companies from the Netherlands, France, etc. ) acted as sort of a quasi-state with the ability to wage war, sign treaties, issue currency and more. Flag of the British East India Company (1842)
India: the “Jewel in the Crown” India came to be considered the most valuable colony in the British Empire. India was put under strict economic control. European cloth flooded into the Indian marketplace, and India became a valuable source of raw materials such as tea, indigo, cotton, jute and opium.
Sepoys • After 7 Years’ War (1764), British East India Company gained de facto control of India • Had it’s own private army of Indian soldiers called sepoys • Usually left local princes in control locally, although they couldn’t disobey the British
Maps showing the increasing influence of the British East India Company over time
The Sepoy Mutiny (1857) • Started when rumors spread among Sepoys that rifle cartridges were being greased with pork and beef fat • Spread with encouragement of Indian princes • Showed discontent of attempts to westernize Indians (attempts to spread Christianity) • Indians massacred approx. 200 men, women, and children at Cawnpore • British responded with brutality
Impact of colonial rule on India Positive • Railroad construction by the British linked Indian territories and help develop the economy • Schools, hospitals, and improvements in sanitation increased literacy and public health • Put an end to much of the local warfare between rulers • Improved infrastructure – telephone lines, roads, dams, bridges, etc. built by British Negative • British held political and economic power over the Indian people; their independence was taken • Indian people faced some discrimination/racism by the British • Cash crops emphasized over food crops (led to some famines) • Some Indian-owned industries, such as textiles, were harmed because only British products could be sold
Indian Nationalism • Groups such as the Indian National Congress (formed in 1885) and the Muslim League (1906) fought for Indian rights and eventually for selfgovernment for India • Millions of Indian soldiers fought for the British side in World War I, but faced continued inequality upon their return Indian soldiers at Neuve Chapelle, a WW I battle fought in France in 1915. (Photo: Realistic Travels)
The Amritsar Massacre To protest new laws that limited the right to dissent, about 10, 000 Hindus and Muslims gathered in an enclosed area in the city of Amritsar on April 13, 1919. The British government had banned public meetings, and a British commander named Reginald Dyer ordered his troops the open fire on the crowd. About 400 people were killed and 1, 200 wounded. The incident turned many formerly loyal Indian subjects into nationalists against British rule.
Mohandas K. Gandhi and Indian Independence After the Amritsar Massacre, Mohandas Gandhi, a lawyer who had taken up causes of Indians facing discrimination throughout his lifetime, emerged as the leader of the Indian movement for independence. Gandhi convinced many Indians to follow a policy of civil disobedience to British rule. He advocated nonviolent actions such as boycotts, hunger strikes, and peaceful demonstrations to bring about change. In 1935, the British Parliament passed the Government of India Act, which granted limited self-government in India. After WW II, in 1947, India was granted full independence (along with the newly formed nation of Pakistan). On January 30, 1949, Gandhi was shot and killed by a Hindu extremist.
Quotes from Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history. ” “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. ” “Be the change that you want to see in the world. ” “An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. ” “Each one prays to God according to his own light. ” “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. ” “In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place. ” “I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers. ”
Imperialism in China The Qing Dynasty ruled China from 1644 -1911. It was the last of the Chinese dynasties. After many years of prosperity, the Qing leaders gradually lost control of the country starting in the 1800 s with the arrival of the wonderful Europeans!
Trade with China? • During the 18 th Century, the market in Europe and America for tea (a new drink in the West) expanded greatly • Also a continuing demand for silk and porcelain • However, the West had little China wanted!
The Opium War, 1839 -42 • Finally, Europeans found something the Chinese wanted: OPIUM! • By the 1800 s, raw cotton and opium from India were the two main British imports to China (despite the fact that opium was illegal in China) • In 1839, the Qing government cracked down on opium traffic and destroyed 20, 000 chests of illegal opium
The Opium War, 1839 • -42 Britain retaliated and China was disastrously defeated – Chinese self-image was injured beyond repair • Treaty of Nanjing (1842) – first of “unequal treaties” or “national humiliations” – Britain got total control of Hong Kong – China was forced to open more ports to foreign trade – Extraterritoriality (exemption for British nationals from Chinese laws)
Foreign Domination of China • As the Chinese government weakened from internal problems and external invasions, warlords negotiated and granted France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and Russia exclusive trading rights, with monopolies on certain trading ports in China • The US had not acquired any territory: proposed the Open Door Policy – all foreign countries would have equal access to Chinese ports • Although done for selfish reasons, the Open Door Policy probably kept China from being colonized.
The Boxer Rebellion • Unhappiness among peasants and workers with the foreign intervention and privileges, many joined a secret organization known as “the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists” (later known as the Boxers) • Policy reached climax in 1900 with the Boxer Rebellion • Western response was swift and severe • Boxer Protocol
Boxer Protocol • Official Name – Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Netherland, Russia, Spain, United States and China —Final Protocol for the Settlement of the Disturbances of 1900 • China had to pay 8 world powers millions of dollars worth of silver • China had to promise not to import weapons or create secret antiforeign groups • China had to make a monument to a baron of Germany killed in the Boxer Rebellion
JAPAN and the west • Under Tokugawa shogunate, Japan kept out Western influence • 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the US showed up with a gunboat – Japan decided trading with the West wasn’t such a bad idea, after all • Had to accept series of “unequal treaties” (like China); Treaty of Kanagawa (1854)
Japanese Respond to Imperialism • Japan decided it must acquire technology, or face domination by Europe • Led to Meiji Restoration: leading Samurai overthrew Tokugawa Shogun in 1868 • The young Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito led Japan on a path to modernization
Meiji Reforms • Abolished feudalism • Adopted western-style autocratic constitution • Built up industry – Government set up factories, then sold them off to influential families (zaibatsu) – families came to dominate Japan • Sent students abroad to study in West and established western-style universities • Brought in foreign experts
Japanese Imperialism • Japan defeated China in Sino-Japanese War • Russia had designs on Korea and other Asian territory • 1904, Russia soundly defeated in Russo-Japanese War – Japan sunk Russia’s entire fleet; Japan now recognized as a “great power” Japan annexed Korea in 1910
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