Download The British Empire in India “The Jewel in the Crown”

The British Empire in India
“The Jewel in the Crown”
In this lesson, students will be able to define
the following terms:
Imperialism
Sepoy Rebellion
British East India Company
Effects of British Imperialism on India
“The Sun Never Sets on the British
Empire”
East India Company

British economic
interests began in
early 1600’s


British East India
Company (privately
owned)
Set up trading posts
around India



Bombay
Madras
Calcutta
Mughal Dynasty & EIC

Mughal Dynasty (India’s ruling
Empire)


Established early control over European
traders
By 1707 Mughal empire was collapsing



Small states began breaking away from the empire
In 1757 Robert Clive led East India Company troops
establish power in India. Battle of Plassey
East India Company Dominates


Governed Bangladesh, India, & land along
the Ganges River
East India Company had an army of Indian
soldiers known as the sepoys
Britain’s “Jewel in the Crown”
What do you think this statement means?


Major supplier of raw
materials for Britain
Industrial expansion
India’ s population of
300 million people
made profitable
market for British
goods.
Rule w/ an Iron Fist
“Jewel in the Crown”
India was forced to produce
raw materials for only Britain
and to buy finished products
from only Britain


British forbade India from
trading on its own with other
countries

Why is this bad for India and
Good for Britain?


What does this mean?
Indian competition with British
finished products was
forbidden

What does this mean?
“Jewel in the Crown”

Britain set up a railroad network to take raw materials
from inside India to its ports
Raw Materials Taken from India

Tea

Indigo (dye for
clothing)
Raw Materials Taken from India

Coffee

Cotton
Raw Materials Taken from India

Jute (fiber for making
rope)

Opium (plant that
heroin is made from)
Sepoy Mutiny

1857, a rumor spread
throughout the sepoys that the
cartridges of their rifles were
sealed with both cow and pig
fat.
Cows are sacred to Indians
 Muslims were forbidden to eat
pork


The Sepoys who refused to
take the new cartridges were
put into jail
Sepoy Mutiny

Sepoys rebelled across
India

East India Company was
losing control over India

The mutiny was not put
down until the British
government sent in
troops.
Effects of the Sepoy Mutiny

Sepoy Rebellion was unsuccessful not b/c of a lack of
anti-imperialism sentiment but because of the division
amongst Muslim and Hindu Indians.

The most lasting changes which occurred, was that
authority was transferred from the East India Company
to the British crown.
Turning Point

1858 British government took direct control over
India (because of the Mutiny)

Raj (time period when
India was under Great
Britain’s control:
1857-1947)
Raj

India was divided into 11 Provinces and 250 districts
“sometimes a handful of
officials would be the only
British amongst millions of
Indians in a district “

Result: Mutiny increased distrust between British and
Indians: it fueled more British racism towards Indians