unit 2 british empire

transvaal integrated into British Union of South Africa

1902

sierra leone established as protectorate

1896

RNC rule converted into british colony

1906

what happened when britain demanded that king prempeh turn over his empire to britain as a protectorate

prempeh refused

triggered fourth anglo-ashanti war and forced prempeh from his throne

final ashanti uprising

1900

when was ashantiland incorporated into the gold coast colony

1902

nigeria unification

1914

how did britain establish their claim to nigeria

1890 agreement with the french

1890 treaty with germany - east africa

britain - kenya, uganda and zanzibar

germany - mainland tanzania

when was the 38-min zanzibar war

1896

zanzibar becomes a protectorate

1890

when and why was the uganda railway constructed

1896

made to connect coast with fertile and temperate highlands bordering lake victoria + indian ocean

how many miles of uganda railway were built

660

cost of uganda railway

£5 million

worker conditions in uganda railway construction

2500 indentured workers from india and china dead from accidents, disease and wildlife

poor conditions and poor salary

british workers allowed to punish or fine workers for insubordination or desertion

justification of uganda railway

- encouraged colonial settlement

- protected source of nile against potential enemies

- promoted british tourism (safari tours)

- would help end arab slave trade

uganda railway was also known as...

the lunatic line

disarray in sudan after mahdi's death

mahdi's successor tried to unify the people but internal resistance fighters, disease and famine caused conflict

heligoland-zanzibar treaty

1890 agreement between britain and germany

germany gained heligoland and caprivi strip (tiny but navally-advantageous bit of land)

britain gets zanzibar

why did salisbury want to reconquer sudan

believed egypt was vital to the security of britain's sea-route to india

britain wanted to avenge general gordon's death

kitchener's orders in sudan

penetrate sudanese territory as far as dongola

what did kitchener want to do in sudan

take khartoum and conquer the whole region

when was the battle of omdurman

1898

how did britain win a decisive victory at battle of omdurman

using advanced modern weapons (maxim guns) against an army relying on old fashioned, less effective weapons

when was the fashoda incident

1898

fashoda incident

kitchener runs into major marchand of france in fachoda

both pressed their nation's claims to the area and accused the other of trespassing

how did british media portray the fashoda incident

claimed france and britain were on the brink of war despite the interaction being relatively civil

why did france agree to back down after fashoda incident

had its own internal problems at the time and didnt want to deal with britain's army in sudan

backed down via 1899 agreement

anglo-egyptian sudan established as a veiled protectorate

1899

kitchener appointed governor-general

why was somaliland important to britain

access to the indian ocean and colonies in the east

ndebele resistance

resisted against british intervention that came about following the discovery of gold in the region

first matabele war 1893-94

80,000 matabele warriors stood against britain

easily defeated by maxim guns

why did the fight for british confederation of south africa gain traction in the 1890s

to counter germany's territorial gains and boer confidence as a result of transvaal's gold wealth

why did uitlanders seek help from rhodes in 1895

boer govt was denying them citizenship and voting rights

response to uitlanders

jameson raid - goes disastrously

discredited british gov and amplified boer determination to resist british intrusion

rhodes forced to resign

when was the jameson raid

dec 1895 - jan 1896

scorched earth policies

burned farms to destroy supplies of food and shelter for soldiers and civilians

done to remove civilian support for boers

concentration camps

thousands of black african men + afrikaner women and children herded into camps where thousands died of disease and starvation

when were the boers defeated

1902

when were the boers granted self government

granted in 1905

when did ministers of transvaal, orange free state, cape colony and natal draw up constitution for 'union of south africa'

1908

when did union of south africa become a single british dominion territory

1910

who was consulted when there were disputes between administrative departments

the cabinet

similarity between administration of egypt and india

right to self-rule was explicitly denied

until what year were british officials granted unrestrainted power over the raj

1909

indian civil service demographics

almost all white, recruited from oxbridge

ICS' job

ensure

- regime was secure

- indians were compliant (at the bare minimum)

- india was profitable to britain

typically how many ICS officers were there per district

only 3-4

divide and rule

britain deliberately emphasising societal divisions and asserted its own moral authority

societal divisions amplified via british policy of 'divide and rule'

race, language, religion, caste, occupation and region

what did the indian national congress criticise

- british trading arrangements

- restraints on indian industry

- heavy taxation imposed on indians (to pay salary of british civil servants)

'servants of india society'

humanitarian group

active among dalit community at bottom of caste system

advocated reform of old restrictive laws and practices

when were the imperial cadet corps founded

1901

imperial cadet corps

gave military training and 'special' officer commissions to indian elite

curzon's reforms

- reformed universities and police

- lowered taxes

- adopted 'gold standard' to ensure stable currency

- set up Commerce and Industry Department

- set up Agricultural Department

what did curzon's Agricultural Department do

sponsored research and oversaw establishment of agricultural banks

curzon response to 1899 and 1902 famines

refused to allow aid to be given to starving villagers bc they needed to develop 'self-reliance'

how many died of the 1899 famine as a result of curzon's refusal to provide aid

estimated between 1-4.5 million

when was the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) created

1901

why was the NWFP created

protect border from feared russian invasion

temporary invasion of tibet

1903-04

to counter russia's perceived ambitions in the area

when was the partition of bengal

1905

what was bengal divided into

muslim-majority province of East Bengal and Assam

hindu-majority province of West Bengal

why was there outrage at the partition among hindu elite of west bengal

many owned land in east bengal that they leased to muslim peasants

protests against partition

strikes, protests and boycotts (swadeshi)

swadesh movement

boycott of british-made goods to champion indian autonomy

eg burning lancashire cotton

how did curzon try to combat the new strand of nationalism that arose as a result of partition

strict censorship on indian press

hindus viewed partition as being...

pay-back for their criticisms of british rule

divisions in the congress after partition

split between the extremists and the continuing moderates

why did the partition of bengal happen

- to improve administrative efficiency

- to mitigate overpopulation in the province

- divide and rule

population of bengal before partition

78 million (twice as large as britain)

east bengal

31 million people - majority muslim

west bengal

54 million people - majority hindu

example of act of terrorism committed after partition

assassination of curzon wyllie in 1909 by punjabi nationalist madan lal dhingra

surendranath banerjee

twice president of the INC, led campaign against partition

curzon resigns

1905

when was bengal reunited

1911

all india muslim league

political party founded in 1906 by muhammad ali jinnah

established to defend the rights of india's muslim population

initially favourable to british rule but adopted indian self-governance as a goal in 1913

indian councils act of 1909

27 indians to be elected from provincial constituencies to viceroy's council

reps advised viceroy and assisted in making laws

further democratic reform in india 1910

no. of indians now able to secure seats in elections for provincial councils expanded to 135 across indian subcontinent

why did viceroy hardinge move indian capital from calcutta to delhi

delhi = muslim stronghold

undermined hindu revolutionary groups

who was the first and only british monarch to visit the raj

george v

what was the 1911 durbar held to commemorate

george v's coronation

1911 durbar was a display of both...

power and pageantry designed to strengthen loyalty of indian princely rulers

cost of viceroy's camp at durbar in today's terms

£2 million

how many indians served in ww1

1.3 million

indian attitude to supporting britain's war effort

mostly accepted and supported but it raised hopes of a 'new deal' for india once the war was over

when did britain assume direct rule over egypt

1914

when was the aswan dam opened

1902

cost of aswan dam

£2 million

6 years to build

500k acres of former desert needed to be irrigated

the capitulations

exemptions from local law granted to european traders

slowed down law-making as any new egyptian law passed had to be approved by all govs represented in egypt

caisse de la dette

institution created by european govs to control egypt's finances and supervise egypt's debt repayment

what else could members of the Caisse do

prevent british consul-general from spending egypt's money on matters they disapproved of

members of the Caisse

austria-hungary, france, germany, russia, italy, britain

how much of egypt's revenue went to paying european bond holders

half

mixed courts

set up to deal with cases involving egyptians and europeans

presided over by european and egyptian judges (werent always supportive of the british)

when was the entente cordiale signed

1904

entente cordiale

agreement between france and britain

french agreed to respect britain's rights in egypt in return for britain recognising france's take-over of morocco

impact of entente cordiale on caisse de la dette

no longer controlled egypt's finances - now only became a debt-collection agency for foreign bondholders

when did evelyn baring act as an adviser for the khedive

1883-1907