Expansion and Empire (3)

What were the early motives for expansion into India

• British East India company sought profitable trade in spices, textiles; • India was in a strategic location for other Asian countries; • Rivalry with other European powers such as the Dutch East India Company; • Large market of buyers in India

How did the British try to control India

• Doctrine of Lapse (1848) - disallowed Indian princes to adopt and allowed British to annex states if the ruler died without a male heir; • Defeating regional powers with the East Indian army - Battle of Plassey 1757

Impacts of British control in India

• Railway development - India had fourth largest railway spanning 41000 miles by 1929; • Heavy taxes on Indians; • Education Act 1835 - introduced modern education to India; • Famines

East India Company

• 1600 - East India Company is founded by a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth II; • Set up trading posts; Surat - 1611, Madras - 1639, Bombay - 1668; • They then began to expand their territory; • 1765 - treaty of Allahabad, allows EIC to collect taxes AND 1784 - India Act, brings EIC under the government; • 1833 - India Act, ended the EIC commercial functions making it solely an administrative body; • 1857 - Sepoy revolt leads to end of EIC rule

Robert Clive

1725 - 74; • Nabob (wealthy EIC officials); • 1744 - arrived in India as a minor trader, before becoming an officer; • 1757 - defeated Siraj, nawab of Bengal, at battle of Plassey

Robert Clive significance

• 1757 - won Battle of Plassey, securing British control of Bengal; • Established EIC as ruler of Bengal; • 1765 - Treaty of Allahabad, made EIC able to collect taxes; • Obtained a vast personal fortune

Warren Hastings

1732 - 1818; • First governor general of India after the Governor of India Act in 1773; • Served with Robert Clive during Plassey but resigned from EIC after seeing harsh treatment of Bengalis; • Resigned in 1784 after shareholders became impatient with his mismanagement of finances

Warren Hastings significance

• Short term - served as first governor general of Bengal, expanded British influence; • Long term - established a more centralised and efficient admin system in India, promoted study of Indian languages and culture, his trial for corruption raised questions about British presence in India

Indian Sepoy Rebellion

1857; • Fighting between British and Indians lasting for a year; • Underlying causes - Sepoys felt unfairly treated, felt pressured to convert to Christianity, Britain had been trying to abolish traditional Hindu customs (Suttee and Castes)

Causes of Indian Rebellion

• Sepoys paid less than British soldiers; • Felt pressured to convert to Christianity; • Britain had been trying to abolish Hindu customs (suttees); • Higher taxes for Sepoys

Spark of Indian Revolution

• 1857 - new Enfield rifle given to Hindu and Muslim soldiers with bullets that contained beef and pork fat in them; • Sepoys refused to use them and were humiliated, stripped, shackled in front of other Sepoys before being imprisoned; • Next day, a group of Sepoys broke into revolt and killed British officers and families, freed Sepoys, set fire to barracks and British homes

Consequences of Indian Rebellion

• Government of India Act - 1858, EIC replaced with direct rule by British Government; • New government set up and viceroy in charge; • Indians allowed to go to England for education

Negative impact of Britain in India

• British customs forced on local people; • Indian workers were exploited, native lands seized and Indian artifacts taken back to Britain; • Devastating famines in the late 1800s; • Food crops replaced with cash crops leading to famine

Positive impact of Britain in India

• Infrastructure development - 30k km of railway and 130k bridges, roads, canals, factories and mines; • 400 million pounds invested into India by 1914; • Introductions of vaccines and improved sanitation; • Legal system; • Industrialisation; • Agricultural advancements

Why was Britain interested in Africa

• Economic - Africa had gold, palm oil, rubber, diamonds; • Britain needed new markets for its goods from Industrial Revolution; • Rivalry with Europe - other countries were also colonising Africa; • Many people believed they were benefiting Africa due to White Man's Burden

Scramble for Africa

• Period between 1884 and 1914 where European powers divided Africa into colonies; • Berlin conference 1884 - meeting of 14 European powers and America, led to partition of Africa

Significance of Berlin conference and scramble for Africa

• Partition of Africa, with 90% being colonised by 1900; • Increased exploitations of resources; • Artificial borders; • Economic underdevelopment; • Cultural disruption; • Rise of nationalism and independence movements like Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta

Impacts of British rule on Africa

• Famine - food replaced with cash crops; • Arbitrary borders split cultures and groups; • Racism - led to apartheid later, Christianity spread; • Railways built

Impact of African rule on Britain

• Wealth - huge profits from African resources; • Led to anti-slavery movements

Short term significance of Cecil Rhodes

• 1895 - expanded British territory, naming it Rhodesia; • Developed infrastructure such as railways; • Promoted racial segregation - laying foundations for apartheid; • Exploited resources; • Boer War

The Second Boer War

1899 - 1902; • Gold discovered in the Transvaal leading to an influx in British workers into Boer controlled areas; • British workers were not granted political rights by Boer leader Paul Kruger; • 1895 - Jameson raids, Cecil Rhodes sponsored plans to overthrow Boer leader

When was the Second Boer War

1899 to 1902

Causes of the Second Boer War

• Gold and diamonds found in Boer territory; • British miners flooded the Transvaal; • Paul Kruger taxed British miners but denied them voting rights; • 1895 - Jameson raid failed, humiliating England

Key details about the second Boer war

• Fought using guerilla tactics; • Scorched earth policy by Britain; • 26k Boer women and children died in concentration camps

Consequences of Boer War

• Won at huge cost (200m, 22k dead); • Britain seen as brutal oppressors leading to more opposition

Suez Canal

• 1869 - Suez Canal is built by Egypt and France; • 1875 - Britain buys Egypt's shares in the Suez Canal; • Shares in Suez justified British involvement in Egypt, giving them more control

The Great Famine

1845 - 1852; • Caused by potato blight, a disease that destroyed potato crops; • Led to 1 million deaths from starvation and disease, 1 million emigrated to Britain and America; • British response - limited and unsympathetic, continued to export Irish food to Britain

Irish Migration to Britain

• Caused by famine and poor economic conditions; • Between 1845 and 1855, 750k Irish people migrated to Britain

Jewish migration to Britain

• 1881 - Russian Tsar assassinated and pogroms blamed leading to persecution; • Led to 140k migrating to England, mainly settling in London, Manchester and Leeds; • 1905 - Alien Act restricting migration

The Uganda Railway

• After Berlin Conference, British wanted to establish control in East Africa; • British government decided to fund the Uganda Railway in 1895; • Built to connect Mombasa to Lake Victoria; • 32k Indian workers migrated to build it; • Finished in 1901

Significance of the Uganda Railway

• Boosted trade; • Encouraged British tourism to Africa; • Led to migration of Indians to Africa; • Led to more British settlers in Kenya