44 - New Imperialism in Asia (abridged)

Dutch East Indies

colony in the Indonesian archipelago formed from the holdings of the Dutch East India Company in 1800; based on rigid racial and social structures with Dutch elite living separate from native subjects

British East India Company

joint-stock company that obtained a government monopoly over trade in India; acted as virtually independent government in regions it claimed

sepoys

Indian infantry soldiers of the Mughal empire, British East India Company, and French East India Company

battle of Plassey

battle in 1757 between the British East India Company and an Indian army under Sirãj ud-daula, ruler of Bengal; British victory marked the rise of British control over northern India

Robert Clive

architect of British victory at Plassey in 1757; established foundations of the British Raj in northern India

Ram Mohan Roy

(1772-1833) Western-educated Indian leader sometimes called the "father of modern India"; sought an Indian society based on both modern European science and traditional Hinduism; cooperated with British to outlaw sati

Sepoy Mutiny

1857 anti-British revolt against by many different groups across India; begun by disgruntled Indian soldiers of the British East India Company; caused the British government to assume direct control of India

British Raj

British political rule in the Indian subcontinent from 1858-1947 under the direct authority of the British crown; established during the reign of Queen Victoria

Indian famines

19th century disasters that resulted in more than 60 million deaths from starvation; caused by droughts but greatly exacerbated by British colonial policies emphasizing export of food and cash crops

Indian National Congress

nationalist Indian political party founded in 1885 to demand greater participation of educated Indians in the British Raj government; demanded independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi after 1920

Allan Hume

British member of the Imperial Civil Service in the British Raj who co-founded the Indian National Congress with Western-educated Indians in 1885

Dadabhai Naoroji

a founding member of the Indian National Congress and first Indian member of the British Parliament in London (1892-1895); criticized the British drain of wealth from India as 'vampirism'

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

radical Indian nationalist and first leader of the Indian independence movement beginning in the late 1890s; used Hindu religious symbolism to develop a mass following; called for swaraj

swaraj

Indian self-rule, or "India for Indians"

Muslim League

political party established in 1906 to protect Islamic interests in Hindu-dominated India; its strong advocacy for a separate Muslim-majority nation-state led to establishment of Pakistan during the 1947 Partition of India

Singapore

British trading post at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula founded in 1819 to control trade through the Strait of Malacca

French Indochina

federation of French colonies in southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954, including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos

Mongkut of Siam

Thai king (r. 1851-1868) who insisted that his nation modernize in order to avoid colonization by British and French

Opium War

1839-1842 war between Great Britain and China caused by the Qing government's refusal to permit the importation of opium into its territories; the victorious British imposed the one-sided Treaty of Nanking on China

Treaty of Nanking

1842 treaty between China and Great Britain; gave Britain control of Hong Kong and trade access to Shanghai and other ports

Open Door Policy

policy proposed by the United States in 1899 under which all imperial nations would have equal access to trade opportunities in China; suggested to avoid division of China in a way similar to Africa

Boxer Rebellion

failed 1900 Chinese popular uprising of martial artists against Western and Japanese imperial spheres of influence in China