British IndiaJanuary 28, 2014

Review• What sorts of Europeans can we see in Japan in

the 16th century? What about in the 18th century?

• Where did the Portuguese establish outposts in Asia?

• Why were the Spanish so successful in the Philippines both politically and in terms of promoting their religion?

• What were the most important kingdoms in Southeast Asia in the 18th century?

RELIGIOUS GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH ASIA

• Though northern India had been under Muslim rule for several centuries by 1800, the majority religion continued to be Hinduism.

• Islam was stronger in northern India but was the religion of the majority of the population in only a few places.

• In the Punjab, Sikhism grew into the dominant religion.

• Ceylon had only a few Muslims. The Sinhalese in Ceylon tended to be Theravada Buddhists. The Tamils in Ceylon tended to be Hindus.

• Nepalese were mostly Hindus, though their Hinduism is sometimes hard to distinguish from Buddhism.

India through the Mughal era

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South Asia in 1805

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/1962/India-1797-1805

The Mughals as Predators

•Why did the Mughals weaken? (p. 160)•Conquest of the Deccan led to Mughal power being stretched too thin. Succession disputes weakened the ruling elitepredatory rule (excessive taxation) alienated the population India was divided along religious, linguistic, and caste lines increasing commercialization decentralized power.local leaders had their own armies

The result: The Mughals lost their monopoly over the legitimate use of force.

The Gradual Increase In British Power

The British East India Company•1616: First British “factory” established --What

is a factory? (p. 170)

•1639: The British acquire Madras

•1661: The British acquire Bombay (Mumbai)

•1690 The British acquire Calcutta (Kolkata)

•1757: The Black Hole of Calcutta incident leads to the British takeover of Bengal (p. 170)

•1760: The British defeat their French rivals in India (though the French keep Pondicherry)

How did the British gain control?

• There was no longer a single effective government for all of India

• Increasing commercialization made Indians vulnerable to British economic power.

• British gained a footing as tax-collectors for local Indian rulers.

• They advanced with superior military tactics and technology, plus a lot of help from Indians. Much of the British Army of India was composed of Indian soldiers (p. 172)

• They didn’t rule all of India directly.Instead, much of India (40% of the territory, and 33% of the people) was left under the control of “princely states.” The British dispatched “residents” to help those princes govern. (What is a princely state? pp. 172-73)

India Before Nationalism

“One of the enduring features of the Indian political scene until the later nineteenth century was the absence of any national feeling….The caste system doubtless made it more difficult to develop an abstract loyalty to a state over and above that to the vertically and horizontally arranged caste and subcaste groups in the country.”

Deepak Lal, professor of international development at UCLA.

More on gaining control

• How did the British gain control of the economy? First, they assumed responsibility for tax-collection. (They used local people, zamindars in the north and local tax collectors in the South— p. 178)

• Then, after 1800, they used tariffs and new technology to undermine India’s textile manufacturing lead.

• What role did the influx of silver play in the European penetration of Asian economies? It led to increased production because now there was a more convenient way to engage in trade.

• How did the British deal with the great variety of religions in India? They didn’t interfere with them, though they hardened the distinction between Hinduism and Islam (pp. 177-80)

Non-Indian South Asia

•NepalThe British attacked in the 19th century and won battles but were unable to establish lasting control over Nepal.

Nepalese Gurkas served in the British military.•Ceylon (Sri Lanka)The British conquer all of it and make it a separate crown colony, rather than making it a part of India. (They were able to do what the Portuguese and the Dutch couldn’t do. They defeated the mid-island kingdom of Kandy.)

The Technological Edge

• When did the West catch up with and then surpass the Asian powers? It caught up with India in the 18th century, and with China in the 19th. (p. 182)

• Why did the Industrial Revolution take place in Europe? Small populations stimulated a search for labour-saving machinery.

• In addition, Europe has more capital to invest (because of its colonies), more efficient institutions for channeling that investment, and more convenient access to sources of power for the new technology.

• The West did not have an intrinsic cultural advantage. Instead, it got lucky. (The colonies provided capital and food, allowing the West to feed urban workers and concentrate on building modern industry.)

Industrial Revolution• the transformation of how non-food items are produced:

through an increasing reliance on inanimate forms of energy;

• with the use of machinery rather than artisans to produce goods faster, cheaper, and in much greater quantity and in standardized form,

• and through the increasing use of inanimate (such as plastics) rather than animate material (such as leather) to make those goods.

• The industrial revolution is based on a radical new assumption: that it is possible to dramatically increase production at a rate much faster than an accompanying increase in human labour input.

The impact of the British presence

•Caste and jati divisions (defined by hereditary occupations ranked according to ritual purity) harden.

•Religious divisions harden as well --different family laws for Muslims and Hindus (p. 180)

In the 19th century:

The British favoured Sikhs and Hindus over Muslims.

•Western Orientalism led to a Hindu Renaissance, and a new definition of Hinduism

•Proto-nationalism appears as the British begin to make India one nation (thanks to railroads, the penny post, and the telegraph). (p. 180)

British rule and modernization

• British promoted commercial agriculture, and as a result some peasants became farmers. (Opium production grew under British rule!)

• Some, however, worked on plantations. notion of private property was solidified

• The British built railroad lines, created a postal service, and erected telegraph lines.

• public health measures led to a growing population, which strained agriculture.

• But Indians also began their own industrialization. (p.182)

Pre-Nationalist Resistance

•Mysore

•The Maratha Confederacy

•Sikhs

•Why is this resistance not nationalistic? None of it is fuelled by calls for India to be ruled by Indians.

India in 1857

•Direct and Indirect rule

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Sepoy Mutiny-1857• What is a “sepoy”? (p. 174)

• British angered many in 1856 by annexing Oudh, ordering soldiers to accept overseas assignments, and allowing widows to remarry.

• But the ultimate insult was the new rifle, which required soldiers to bit off the casing for cartridges, and those cartridges were believed to have animal fat (pig or cow) on them. This offended both Muslims (who couldn’t eat pork) and Hindus (who couldn’t eat beef).

A limited rebellion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_revolt_of_1857_states_map.svg

A partial rebellion• The Sepoy mutiny was not a nation-wide rebellion. Many,

including the Sikhs, helped the British suppress it.

• It is now called the “India’s First War of Independence” but that is anachronistic, since no one was fighting for a united India under Indian control.

• It lead to the Crown assuming control of India from the British East India Company. And it led to more racial tension between Brits and South Asians.

• 1857 marks a break between a century of control by the British East India company and a century of control by the British Crown. (p. 171)