Chapter 8 - Imperial And Colonial Policy Flashcards
Who continued to have overall responsibility of the empire?
The Colonial Office
Why was decision making difficult sometimes?
Treasury, War Office and other departments could conflict
What was a similarity about rule in India + Egypt?
Both denied self-rule
Who was the head in India?
The Viceroy backed by Indian Civil Service
(All white from Oxford or Cambridge)
What was their job?
Make sure regime was secure
Natives didn’t rebel
India was profitable
Why was there a limit on administrators?
They were expensive with large pensions
What did that mean rule relied more on?
The collaboration of natives
How did India modernise?
Extension of railways
Spread of education
(More could read English)
How did the B create a ‘Anglo-Indian’ elite?
Acknowledged some educated Indians and in provincial councils made them more representative
How did this work?
The people who were capable of starting nationalist risings saw B rule as best road to the future
Who was active in Indian reforms?
Viceroy Curzon
What was he aware of?
Critisms of B rule from ‘middle class’ Indians
Indian National Congress
(1885 est to campaign for home rule)
What did the Congress do?
Opened proceedings with B national anthem
Criticised B trading arrangements + restraints on Indian industry + heavy taxes
Where else did pressure come from?
Social + Humanitarian groups
‘The servants of Indian Society’ active with ‘Untouchable’ community that wanted to see reform with old laws + practices
What did Curzon create?
The Imperial Cadet Corps 1901
Gave native princes + elite figures military training + ‘special’ officer commissions
What else did he reform?
Universities
Police
Lowered taxes
Adopted Gold standard - ensured stable currency
Set up new Commerce + Industry + Agricultural department
Sponsored research
Irrigation
What did Curzon decide in 1905?
Bengal should be seperated
Who was in the East and West?
East - Muslim majority
West - Hindu majority
Why was it not popular?
Hindu elite had land in East that they leased to Muslim peasants
What did the Hindus see this as?
Pay-back for their criticisms of B rule
What was done in retaliation?
Strikes
Protests
Boycotts of B goods
Who led the campaigns?
Surendranath Banerjee
(Had been president 2 times of INC)
Who supported the partition?
The Muslim elite
What did they create?
The All Indian Muslim League
(Safeguarded the rights of Indian Muslims)
What was the division used to justify?
B control - ‘only way to reduce religious conflict’
What happened in 1911?
Bengal was reunited after political protests
What was the All Indian Muslim League’s goal in 1913?
To have a self governing India
Who came after Curzon?
Minto
What reforms did he create with John Morley?
The Morley-Minto Reforms
“The reforms included the admission of Indians to the Secretary of State’s council, to the viceroy’s executive council, and to the executive councils of Bombay and Madras, and the introduction of an elected element into legislative councils with provision for separate electorates for Muslims.”
What did the Indian Councils Act of 1909 allow?
27 Indians to be elected from provincial constituencies to Viceroy’s Council - advise Viceroy + make laws
What did further democratic reforms in 1910 do?
135 Indians could secure seats in subcontinent - greater part in govt
What Viceroy came after Minto?
Hardinge
What event did he use to reunite Bengal in 1911?
King-Emperor George V visit to India
Where did Harding’s move the capital of India to?
From Calcutta to Delhi
To a Muslim majority to undermine Hindu activists
What was held to celebrate George V being the Emperor?
A Durbar 1911
What did Hardinge sign India up for without the populations permission?
1914 WW1
What was the response?
Mostly supported + accepted it
Raised hopes for ‘new deal’ once war was over
How much did George V Durbar cost?
£2 million in todays money
When did B assume direct rule and turn Egypt into a Protectorate?
1914
What was it before this?
A ‘veiled protectorate’ B ruled all affairs
Technically still belonged to Turkey with Sultan above the Khedive
What were hinderances to B rule?
Capitulations
Caisse de la Dette
Mixed courts
What were Capitulations?
Any new Egyptian law affecting Europeans had to be approved by govts of all countries represented in Egypt - slowed down law making
What was the Caisse de la Dette?
Group of countries that controlled E finances
50% of revenue went to pay bond-holders
Members of the Caisse could stop E money being spent of things they disapproved of
What are the Mixed Courts?
Set up to to deal with cases involving both Egyptians + British
Egyptian judges not always in favour of B
What did B + France sign in 1904?
Entente Cordiale
Agreed B rights to Egypt
Agreed French rights to Morocco
What did this eliminate?
Caisse de la Dette
Others couldnt control decisions
Still paid bond-holders
Who acted as an ‘adviser’ to the Khedive between 1883+1907?
Evelyn Baring
What was in the Egyptian parliament?
Advisory Council of Laws + General Assembly
All had ‘support’ of a British adviser
What happened if they resisted B advise?
They were dismissed
How many B were working in Egyptian govt?
1885 = 100
1905 = 1,000
What was Baring’s main task?
To regularise Egyptian financial affairs
How much debt had Khedive Isma’il got into?
£70 million debt
To European bond-holders
What did he do to help this?
Cutback military + bureaucracy
Improved communications
Invested in irrigation schemes
Improved conditions for labourers
Better sanitation + health services in towns
What had happened in 10 years?
Exports of cotton + sugar trebled
Population rose from 7 - 10 million
What was created under Sir John Aird?
The Aswan Dam - 1902
18 metres high
Built to hold back waters of the Nile
Took 6 years to build + £2 million
Allowed half mil acres of desert to be irrigated for year round cultivation
What reforms were in the army?
6,000 B troops put there to stop disturbances
Under control of Kitchener
Where were other changes made?
Law courts
Police
Education - wary of this from effects in India
When was the first university founded?
Not until 1909
Who became Egypt’s largest employer with the rise in tourism?
Thomas Cook & Son
Jobs in hotels, houseboats, excursions
What had become popular?
Wealthy Britons ‘winter’ in Egypt
They liked the pyramids + Nile
Guidebooks discouraged people from talking to the locals
What started in the 1890s?
A growing middle-class nationalist movement attacking B for the Khedive’s govt doing little to help the poor
What mostly fuelled this?
Newspapers
What did they complain about?
B only interested in cotton production to help Lancashire trade when those jobs would’ve provided for the unemployed
Lack of opportunities for the educated
Who did a National Party include?
Egyptian professionals
What did they want?
To end B rule + have representative govt
What did Cromer do with these demands?
Largely ignored them
Did appoint a nationalist as Minister for Education
What was the Deshawai incident?
1906 B officers angered residents for pigeon shooting for sport near their village
Pigeons were bred for food by villagers
Officers gun went off and wounded wife of Muslim prayer leader
Officer fleeing collapsed + died in heat
Other soldiers saw body + killed villager that they accused as the assassin
What were the other punishments?
52 arrested
4 sentenced to death
1 life sentence
26 hard labour
Who came after Baring?
Gorst
What did he do?
Brought more Egyptians into govt positions
imposed tighter censorship of the press in 1909
Put more restrictions on rights to stop nationalism
Who provided funds to fuel anti-B sentiment?
The Germans
Who increased B dominance in his consulship?
Kitchener
What replaced the Advisory Council of Laws and General Assembly in 1913?
A new Legislative Assembly
66 elected members
Represented rich land owners rather than ordinary Egyptians
What was Egypt in the coming of WW1?
Made a protectorate
Khedive was deposed
Hussein Kamel = Independent Sultan under B protection
What was control mostly in the Dominions?
Symbolic as didn’t cost them anything
What did B rely on these countries for?
Status and power
Who were used usually to uphold B rule?
Local Elites
Princes
Rich landowners
Chiefs
Why was it difficult for Indians to be part of their administration?
Technically open to all
Had to take an exam in B to qualify
What was a strategy used to uphold native policy?
Putting one group against each other
What’s an example of this?
In East Africa Masai rewarded with cattle and badges in preference to Kikuyu
What was B policy since the Napoleonic wars?
To have ‘splendid isolation’
What did the B primarily rely on for protection?
Navy
What event made the B think more about their army?
The Boer War
Who made alliances with who in the late 19th century?
Germany + Austria-Hungary + Italy
France + Russia
Why was B then in an uneasy position?
If didn’t choose a side could be vulnerable
Had dispute with all before
Made up with France
Scared of Russian ambitions in Afghanistan
Why was B worried about Russia?
Known as the ‘Great Game’ - they threatened Suez + India
Industry increasing + becoming more of a threat
Why was Germany becoming a threat?
Supported Boers in Jameson Raid by sending a telegraph + weapons
Had better relations with Ottoman Empire to not rely on B controlled Suez
Financed Railway from Constantinople to Baghdad
Increased B costs with naval race
What did the B sign to be out of splendid isolation?
Entente Cordiale 1904
With French
What were negatives of this?
Didn’t provide security
Relationship with Russia was open
What made Russia less of a threat?
R had a defeat with Japan
Internal troubles effected Tsarist powers
B + R + F came together in ‘Triple Entente’ 1907
Made Persian zone neutral + Afghanistan B influence
What was evidence for B support of F?
Moroccan crises
Kaiser threatened interests in Morocco
B stood with F in Algeciras Conference
Moroccan rebels attacked Fez
Kaiser send warship
Ordered it back when B prepared its navy for war
What was held after a concern of G ambitions?
The Imperial Conference 1911
What was agreed?
There should be closer ties with the Dominions?
What was more important to B when all agreements failed with G?
Defence of B in Europe
Not as much defence of empire
What lead to the war in 1914?
Other nations ambitions of Empire
