The British Empire c1857-1967 (FULL SPEC)

british interest in africa can be dated from the...

loss of american colonies at end of 18th century

reason for british merchants trading with west africa

to obtain gold and ivory

when did britain abolish slavery

1807

when was the Long Depression

1873-1896

what did britain seek out in africa in 1850s

coal, iron and timber

cycle of dependency

britain exploited african resources in order to produce goods

sold those goods back to africa

goods manufactured from african resources

textiles and weaponry

when did britain seize Cape Colony

1806

reason for britain taking over Cape Colony

temperate climate + deep water ports held advantages over other harbours

protected routes to the middle east, china, australia and india, so gave britain considerable power over sea routes to east

moral factors in motivating british expansion

from 1860s on, christian missionaries saw it as their 'moral duty' to spread their faith among non-christians ie 'heathens'

exploration as a factor in motivating british expansion

chartering africa was a priority for all so that key sources of economic potential eg raw materials could be pinpointed

most of africa had been added to european maps by

1857

raw materials sought out by european explorers

gold, palm oil and diamonds

link between exploration and sense of adventure

exploration encouraged through desire for stories of adventure and urge to explore the 'Dark Continent'

which two explorers' expeditions led to the recording of the source of the upper nile

burton and speke

when were burton and speke's expeditions (that allowed them to record the source of the upper nile) carried out

a series of expeditions undertaken between 1857 and 1868

date of acquisition of basutoland as a protectorate

1868

date of occupation of transvaal

1877

date of zululand being established as a protectorate

1879

date of egypt and sudan established as a client state

1882

britain's relations with muslim rulers in egypt

hostile

when was britains interest in egypt revived

during 1861 american civil war

british mills starved of raw cotton due to abolition of slavery, so britain was eager for a new source of this vital material

what did britain invest in - egypt

cotton industry and isma'il pasha's (ruling khedive) modernising programme

what % of britain's cotton came from egypt by 1870s

40%

features of isma'il pasha's modernising programme

irrigation, railways, schools

cutting of suez canal through egypt to connect mediterranean with red sea and arabian peninsula

by how many miles did the suez canal reduce the route to india

6000 miles

consequence of isma'il pasha's policies

severe debt, so had to sell country's shares of the suez canal to britain

when did britain purchase shares in the suez canal

1875

when was construction of the suez canal completed

1869

how much did disraeli buy shares in the suez canal for

£4 million

disraeli's purchase of shares in the suez canal

done secretly without securing parliamentary consent

caused political outcry but proved to be worthwhile in the long run

when was isma'il pasha deposed by the ottoman sultan

1879

who replaced isma'il pasha

his son, tewfiq

what type of ruler was tewfiq

puppet ruler

what kept egypt afloat

british money and political interference

Lord Dufferin

british commissioner

what was done to prop up egypt's failing economy

taxed imposed on egyptian food and goods

army cut by 2/3

consequences of measures taken to improve egyptian economy

rising unemployment

rebellion under colonel Arabi Pasha

when was the arabi pasha revolt

1882

result of arabi pasha revolt

tewfiq forced to appoint Arabi's allies to government

Arabi's allies' anti-european stance...

provoked british concerns over

- trade and investment

- security of the 100,000 europeans living in egypt

- canal route to india

death toll of violence in alexandria (egypt)

50 europeans

125 egyptians

what convinced PM gladstone to intervene in egypt

further revolts across egypt

how did gladstone intervene

sent naval reinforcement to bombard alexandria

destroyed residential areas, killed hundreds of civilians and reduced defensive ports

result of arabi's defeat

britain able to retake cairo and reestablish tewfiq as a puppet ruler

who was installed as consul-general

Major Evelyn Baring

what was tewfiq forced to do as ruler

- make a gov amenable to britain

- employ british military personnel to supervise his army

- rely on british advisors

when was egypt 'officially' obtained by britain

1885 Convention of London

secured international loan for egyptian government

veiled protectorate

a state controlled by another in an indirect manner

Baring effectively ruled egypt behind screen of egyptian ministers aided by british administrators

why was colonel charles gordon sent to egyptian-administered sudan

to act as Governor-General on behalf of Khedive Isma'il

when was general gordon meant to act as governor-general

1877-1880

whom did britain face opposition from in sudan

Mahdi

mahdists' goal

liberate sudan from outside rule

when had the mahdi's taken complete control over area surrounding Khartoum

by 1882

when was the expedition to launch a counter-attack against mahdists sent

1883

when and why did gladstone send gordon to sudan

1884

to oversee the evacuation of british and egyptian troops from khartoum

when were the british-egyptian forces defending khartoum defeated

january 1885

outcome of attack in 1885

gordon beheaded

did gladstone retaliate following general gordon's death

no, for fear of causing further loss of life and money

when was another campaign launched to expand britain's control over mahdists and sudan

1896

where did policy decisions regarding rule of britain's overseas territories lie

the elected government

when was the separate Indian Office established

1858

what did creation of separate Indian Office signify

importance of british involvement in india

impact of the 1857 indian rebellion

who initially oversaw the expansion of british influence in india

East India Company

india under East India Company

millions of subjects had been added to british empire by conquest or annexation

added to british expenditure on administration and defence

population of india under british rule according to 1871 census

236 million

what year was the East India Company dissolved

1858

year of the Indian Rebellion

1857

extent of the Indian Rebellion

lasted a year with thousands of deaths

how did the Indian Rebellion end

violently crushed by the East India Company Army

when was the Government of India Act

1858

terms of the Government of India Act

- East India Company's territories in India passed to the queen

- crown appointed a viceroy to replace the company's governor-general

- creation of secretary of state for India - received powers and duties previously held by East India Company directors

- the India Council consisting of 15 members knowledgeable on Indian affairs appointed as an advisory body to help Secratary of State run India

when was queen victoria made 'empress of india'

1877

Legislative Council

council of 5 members responsible for finance, law, economy, army and home affairs

who was the viceroy represented by in provinces

provincial governors

approximately how many british civil servants were employed in the indian civil service

around 1000

how did someone get a job in the administration of india

competitive academic examination

were the academic exams for the ICS exclusionary on the basis of race

technically no - the examinations were open to all races

however, the exams were only held in london, so basically all successful candidates were white males

doctrine of lapse

if an indian ruler died without a male heir his princely state fell under british rule

ended common practice of adopting heirs when natural heirs did not exist in order to entrench expansion of british rule

when was the doctrine of lapse abandoned

1858

what % of india was made up of princely states

40%

how did the East India Company develop the legal system

merged courts with Crown Courts and established English law as the norm

how did the indian rebellion impact rule of law

greater focus was given to traditional indian practices and customs

when was the Indian National Congress formed

1885

what did members of the INC do

discussed public affairs

forum for debate and criticism

advocated greater indian involvement in government

number of british troops at the outbreak of the rebellion

<40,000

proportion of british to indian troops raised to ratio of...

1:2

british army by late 1880s

70,000

indian army by late 1880s

125,000

why were indian troops kept separated

to prevent any sense of unity which could lead to revolt

how many indian troops were sent to egypt to suppress arabi pasha's revolt in 1882

7000

how were disloyal bengali troops dealt with

replaced with gurkhas and sikhs

how many bengali troops were disbanded

62 of 74

how many miles of railway tracks were added in the decade following the rebellion

3000

purpose of expanding railway

exaggerate british presence

swifter deployment of troops

why was germany a threat

had a vast supply of natural resources and showed industrial potential

threatened britain's status as the strongest naval power

other threats to britains power status

france and russia

what did naval power enable other nations to do

explore territories eg asia and africa that britain previously faced no competition in

france in indo-china

established power in the 1860s and began to push north

joined by germany also seeking commercial partnership

year of the brussels conference

1876