How did India become a British colony?India became an English colony progressively. One of the most important events took place in 1857 There was a popular revolt (the Sepoys) in India because the East India company tried to impose reforms which questioned the Indian culture (For example :the remarriage of the widows). The Company managed the economy of the country at that time so the English brought soldiers to India to calm the revolt.Finally, the East India Company was eliminated in 1858 and the power was transferred to the British Crown.In 1876 Queen Victoria ( 1819 – 1901 ) proclaimed herself Empress of India, symbolizing the British political power.

Vasco da Gama of Portugal

1600 – British East India Company

Cotton

Silk

Tea

Seven Years’ War: British defeat French

East India Company rulebecame like a

foreign gov’t.took more landforced Indian rulers

to sign treaties granting it power

collected taxes from Indians

est. law code & courts

Robert Clive (1725-1774)

1857 – Sepoy Rebellion

1858-1947 – British colonial rule

Was British rule good or bad for India?The good stuff ..The British came to India for trade. While slowly expanding their trade, they expanded their empire as well, and this became possible solely because of the dirty wars that prevailed between the princely states of India then; there was not a whole united ‘India’, just a bunch of states governed by kings of different dynasties, or religions, who fought with each other and aimed only to expand their empires. The Britishers, in one or the other way, tracked them all down. They conquered India from all sides, therefore bringing it under a single rule – the British rule.Perhaps the only thing we can thank the Britishers for: cricket. The British Rule bought cricket to the country, and today, it is perhaps the only thing that has the power to bring almost the entire nation together.English language and educationThe language I am writing in, and you are reading in, is surely a gift of the British. Lord William Bentinck, who was the Governor-General from 1828-1835, saw the difficulty in administration of economy, law, justice and cooperation due to the lack of a uniform language. The language of princes and diplomacy was Persian; Sanskrit and Arabic were employed in the courts of law and in matters of religious disputation. English was supreme in commerce but in every other respect, it did not count. For a joint participation in administration, a single language was a must. And what language could that be other than English? Consequently, Lord Bentinck introduced English as the official language.The bad stuff..India was known as ‘sone ki chidiya’ (Golden Bird) once upon a time. Then, the British came and the bird flew away; or perhaps its gold turned into brass, whatever you prefer. India was extremely rich when Britishers arrived for trade. To put this into perspective, India accounted for 22% share of the world’s GDP when the Britishers’ arrived (the entire Europe accounted for only 23% at the time), and by the time Britishers’ left, India’s share in the global GDP was just 2%.A number of things the Britishers crushed the Indian economy.The British, in the true sense of the word, looted India. They took away various wealthy possessions that Indians possessed. At an estimate, a trillion dollars were roughly looted, not counting the gems and other jewels.The most famous jewel that the English took away from India was the ‘Kohinoor’ diamond, a 105 carat diamond – the largest diamond at the time. The Kohinoor now resides in the crown of the British queen.Playing the monkeyBritishers were responsible for a number of battles in India. They arrived with the policy of divide-and-rule, and went on to play significant roles in fuelling the wars between the Marathas, Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims. While the Brit did not take an active part in the wars wars, they were indirectly involved in each of these since their arrival. Remember that story of two cats fighting over a piece of bread, where a monkey, taking the advantage of the dispute, gets away with the bread? Yep.Decline of Indian languages

Source 1: Famine victims, 1877

Source 2: Lord Lytton, Viceroy of India

Information on Sources 1-2There was a devastating famine in India, 1876-1878. Lord Lytton, viceroy of India, opposed any efforts to intervene in the famine as violating the principles of laissez faire economics. In The Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam Smith had written that “famine has never arisen from any other cause but the violence of government attempting, by improper means, to remedy the inconvenience of death.” Lytton opposed government charity because it would diminish the work ethic of those receiving it. The only charity he allowed was given out in small amounts and included difficult requirements for those receiving it. Lytton appointed Sir Richard Temple a Famine Delegate to control government expenditures. He set up a government program where those in need could get work as manual labor for railroad and canal projects. However, the workers had to travel far away from their homes and live in camps in order to do this work. They were given food, but the prescribed ration was 1627 calories per day. By comparison, the ration provided to prisoners at Buchenwald, a Holocaust concentration camp, was 1750 calories.There were calls for a Famine Fund to counteract future famines. However, Lytton opposed financing it with an income tax, which would affect the rich, and instead supported a land tax on the peasantry. This was rejected, so Lytton pushed taxes on small traders and on salt. In the end, the Famine Fund wasn’t even spend on famine relief, but rather was used to reduce the tariff on cotton goods imported into India and on the war in Afghanistan.In 1876, at the beginning of the famine, the proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India was celebrated with a weak-long feast for 68,000 officials. Meanwhile, a British journalist estimated that 100,000 people died during the course of the festivities.The death toll of the famine is hard to calculate. One British demographer provides a figure of 7.1 million deaths.- Adapted from Mr. Carroll’s synopsis of Late Victorian Holocausts (2001) by Mike Davis

Source 3: British Railways in India

Source 4: “Christmas in India,” 1881

Source 5: “Inoculation against Plague, Bombay,” postcard, early 20th c.

Source 6: 1815 print showing Hindu religious custom of sati

British officer: “This Custom tho' shocking to humanity we still allow in consequence of the revenue it brings in, which is of importance. I have also private reasons for not suppressing the burning system immediately.”

British bishop: “Why my Lord, with a view to [O]economy under existing circumstances it might be imprudent to press the measure at present. Besides I think I feel also the private motives which actuates your Lordship.”

Source 7: Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, 1898-1905

“There has never been anything so great in the world’s history as the British empire, so great an instrument for the good of humanity.”

- Lord Curzon, British Viceroy of India, 1898-1905

Source 8.1: Trade that the British East India Co. was involved in, 1814-1835

Source 8.2: Trade that the British East India Co. was involved in, 1814-1835