British India

Question 1

What was the ‘Great Game’?

Answer 1

A sort of Cold War relation between Britain and Russia (the 2 victors at trafalgar)

Question 2

What motivated the Great Game?

Answer 2

Britain held fears of Russian expansion from Central Asia to India - affected british policy in asia
Russia was also seen as the opposite of Britain’s liberal ideals - a backwards, autocratic serfdom

Question 3

British expansion in asia: Afghanistan

Answer 3

1st Afghan war (1839-42): conquest of Quandahar in 39 and retreat in 42 due to insurrections

Question 4

Conquest of Sindh (southern pakistan)

Answer 4

Under General Napier in 1842-43: compensation for loss of afghanistan
Allegedly it was carried out independentally w/o government support

Question 5

Sikhism in Punjab (state split between Pakistan and India)

Answer 5

Initially ruled by Sikhs in 16th c.
They then had to militarise against the Mughals in 17th c.
Succeeded in creating their own kingdom under Rajit Singh in 19th c.

Question 6

Punjab wars

Answer 6

1st and 2nd Punjab wars in 1840s: immediately integrated into the British Empire

Question 7

Indian insurrection (AKA ‘Great Mutiny’ or 1st war of independence)

Answer 7

1857-58
Largest insurrection ever waged against a European power
Punjabs fought on the British side
From ‘company rule’ to ‘crown rule’ in 1858

Question 8

Crimean war

Answer 8

1854-56
War between Russia and the Ottomans
Many European powers assisted the Ottomans (including Britain)
Ended in Ottoman victory

Question 9

Russian conquests from the 1860s

Answer 9

Far east in 58 and 60: Khabarovsk and Vladisvlostok
Central Asia in 60s and 70s: Chimkent & Tashkent, Samarkand, Khiva and Bukhara, Turkmenistan (1863-81)
Led to a revival of British Imperialism

Question 10

New British expansion

Britain, China and Afghanistan

Answer 10

Baluchistan in 1876
East Turkestan to China in 1877
2nd Afghan war in 1878-80 (failure)

Question 11

Case study: Tibet

Answer 11

Independent country ruled by the Dalai Lama, a religious leader
Pro Russia policy in 1895
British conquest of Lhasa in 1904 - creation of free trade and border treaty
Russia & Britain agree to transfer Tibet to China
Tibetan independence in 1911
Chinese reconquest in 1950s under Mao

Question 12

End of Great Game

Russia, Germany, alliance

Answer 12

Decline of Russia: defeated in russo-japanese war
Rise of Germany: unification, industrialisation and imperialisation
Triple Entente (1907): alliance between Britain and Russia (& France) in opposition to Germany
Partition of Iran: Russian north and British south

Question 13

Burma

From British to independence

Answer 13

British since 1824
3 wars that culminated in Burma being annexed into British India
Until 1930s when it received a seperate status
Independence in 1948

Question 14

Anglo-Burmese wars

3

Answer 14

Early to late 19th c
1st (1824-6): annexation of northern and southern coast
2nd (1852): annexation of rest of coast
3rd: (1885): annexation of entire country, came following Franco-Burmese collaboration