5.2 - India under Imperialism

The Mughal Empire (1526–1857)

• Gunpowder empire

• Descendents of Mongols built an empire on the Indian subcontinent

• Periods of strong and weak leaders

British East India Company (BEIC)

• Joint-stock company chartered by the British Crown in 1600 and it was the world’s largest corporation by 1700

• Operated in India with little regulation by the British government

• Built its own army led by British officers

  • Originally had mercenaries that were eventually replaced by seploys

• They had a monopoly over trade in India

• Over time, the BEIC became more and more involved in Indian politics.

  • After the Mughals lost their last strong leader the BEIC used military power and treaties with local leaders to seize control

Battle of Plassey (1757)

• BEIC wanted control over India’s wealthiest province: Bengal

• BEIC (3,000 men) vs Bengali forces and France (50,000 men)

• Result: BEIC victory

  • Gained control of Bengal

  • Ability to collect tax and police the territory

India before the BEIC

• World’s richest country with 27% share in the world’s economy in 1700 which and by 1947 they had only 3% share

• Textile industry

  • 25% of global textile trade

• Strong, stable international trading network

• Shipbuilding

  • fueled maritime trade

  • Strong, superior ships made by artisans

• Poinears in the steel industry (metalsmithing)

  • Damascus steel

  • Exported blades to Arabs and Europeans

India after the BEIC

• 27% share in the world’s economy in 1700 which and by 1947 dropped to 3% share

• the British dismantled all native industry

  • established a legal monopoly over Indian textile trade

  • cut off India’s export market and made themselves the exclusive buyers of Indian textiles

  • Paid for goods with taxes from India

    • India’s economy stagnated and prices collapsed

  • Placed an 80% tariff so India couldn’t afford to export to the British

  • Reduced to being a exporter of raw materials

    • Britain sold finished product back to India at a premium

  • Indians were pushed into agriculture

    • Britain taxed cultivators 50-80% - people owed more money than they made

Regulating Act of 1773

• BEIC faced severe financial crisis

• Established government supervision of the Company’s work because of public outrage due to mismanagement and corruption

Pitt’s India Act (1784)

• 1783 - Loss of American colonies led the British government to turn attention to Indian subcontinent

• Brought the Company’s rule in India under the control of the British government

• “Jewel in the Crown”

  • considered the most valuable possession of the British Empire, providing immense economic, strategic, and military resources

Doctrine of Lapse

• Annexation policy to expand Company control

• Allowed the British to seize Indian states if a ruler died without a direct male heir that is deemed fit to rule

• Led the Company to take control of around 30 states in India in the 1800s

Sepoys

• Indian soldiers who staffed the BEIC’s army 

  • Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs

• Greatly outnumbered British officers

The Sepoy Rebellion (1857)

AKA: The Indian Mutiny, The Great Revolt of 1857, The First Indian War of Independence, The Indian Uprising of 1857

• Started the British Raj

Government of India Act of 1858

• As a result of the Sepoy Rebellion

• Established the British Raj

  • solidified British sovereignty over India

• Dissolved the BEIC