Empire Topic 5 - India Flashcards
1
Q
How much did EIC pay to government each year?
A
£40,000 to maintain monopoly.
2
Q
When was the Regulating Act?
A
1773
3
Q
Why did Government pass Regulating Act?
A
- EIC were failing to pay annual payments.
- EIC owed money to Bank and Government, 15million pounds of tea rotting in warehouses.
- Government needed to exert control over EIC to protect investment and trade in India
4
Q
What did the Regulating Act do?
A
Limited company dividends to 6% until it had paid £1.5million loan.
5
Q
When was the Tea Act?
A
1773
6
Q
What did the Tea Act do?
A
EIC had no tariffs when selling tea in America.
7
Q
What changes to EIC management of India happened in 1773?
A
Created a council of 5 (2 from EIC and 3 from parliament) in Calcutta. All governors had to be appointed by a council of 4 (nominated by the crown).
8
Q
When was Pitt’s India Act?
A
1784
9
Q
What did Pitt’s India Act do?
A
Made the EIC subordinate to the crown and set up a regulatory Board of Control to help control the EIC.
10
Q
Who sat on the Board of Control?
A
The Chancellor of the exchequer, secretary of state for India and 4 privy councillors.
11
Q
What other change happened in India in 1786?
A
The governor had executive power only at discretion of the crown.
12
Q
How much money per year did war cost during the AWOI?
A
£12 million
13
Q
How much debt was Britain in when the AWOI ended?
A
£243 million
14
Q
How much money went to paying off interest each year?
A
1/3 of the budget of £24 million
15
Q
How did Pitt reduce debt?
A
- Instituted a sinking fund in 1786 so that £1 million a year was added to the fund to accumulate interest.
- Lowered tariffs on easily smuggled items like tea, wine, spirits and tobacco so more paid them, raised customs revenues by £2 million a year.
16
Q
What was debt at by 1792?
A
£170 million
17
Q
What was the Global Context of Pitt’s India Act?
A
The previous monetary issues meant the UK needed to exert increased control over endeavours in India in order to make more money.
18
Q
How many presidencies did the EIC govern from and what were they?
A
3, Bengal, Madras and Bombay.
19
Q
Context of the Presidencies
A
Each had it’s own army, but following the 1786 Amendment Act Bengal was seen as most important and superceeded other presidencies.
20
Q
When was the Charter Act?
A
1813
21
Q
What did the Charter Act do?
A
- Extended EIC charter for 20 more years but removed it’s monopoly in India.
- Led to acquisition of Singapore in 1819
- Asserted Crown’s sovereignty over India and allotted 100,000 rupees annualy for improvement of literary and scientific knowledge.
- Opened up India to missionaries.😉
22
Q
What was the Role of the Governor in administering India.
A
- Governor controlled other presidents.
- After 1833 Act Lord Bentick became new governor general who had full foreign policy powers and admin over all company areas.
- Slow communication meant governors had more power as London couldm’t exercise power from a distance.
- From 1833 took on complete authority over all British territories.
23
Q
State of Army in India 1820s?
A
3 private armies with 20,000 men each, divided into white and sepoy regiments.
24
Q
Composition of Army by 1857?
A
Out of 277,746 soldiers only 45,552 were British.
25
When was the Cornwallis Code?
1793
26
What did the Cornwallis Code do?
- Divided EIC personnel into revenue, judicial and commercial branches.
- Company employees no longer allowed to trade independently, salaries raised in compensation.
- Lands divided into districts under collectors and landholders overseen by EIC board.
- Reformed court system, law rooted in Muslim and Hindu teachings but British law applied to British people in India.
27
Impact of Cornwallis Code?
Created class of Indian people who served the British and therefore saw themselves as superior to the rest of the population, they owed status to the British and helped maintain it.
28
4 principal reasons why British presence in India increased in the 19th century.
- Protect British economic interests after EIC bankrupcy became threat.
- Needed increase British political control over EIC and local princely states to protect interests.
- More army power needed to protect British interest, collect taxes and oversee local admin, as well as acquire more land for profit.
- Religious/social interests for betterment of local Indians.
29
Who were the Nabobs?
White men who became immersed in Indian culture
30
What fraction of colonisers married local women 1780?
1/3
31
What had this changed to by 1850?
A tiny proportion
32
What were Thugs?
A criminal group, partially hereditary in membership, who strangled travellers before robbing them.
- Worshipped Hindu Goddess of Death
33
How did Lord Bentick tackles Thugge?
- Thuggee and Dacoity Department formed 1835.
- 1400 Thagi hung/transported
- 3000 tried and prosecuted
- Abolition accepted by population
34
Context of the Abolition of Sate
- 1829 ban not accepted
- 600 deaths a year
- Higher caste Indians saw as attack on their culture
35
Example of Missionary
Charles Grant - Clapham Sect - worked for EIC
36
Impact of Missionaries
- 1830 onwards English taught in schools to attract hugher caste to Christianity
- Lived among local Indians and caused tension at community level
- By 1830 opposition everywhere at all caste levels
37
What was the Doctrine of Lapse?
- If an Indian prince dies with no heir the British annex his territory, against Hindu law.
- Misgovernment of state
- Redefinition of rulers titles
38
What happened 7th February 1857?
Nawab Wajid Ali Shah deposed for maladministration - widely resented in Awadh where Bengal army was recruited
39
When was the first railway completed in India?
16th April 1853
40
When was the Ganges Canal constructed?
1842-54
41
When was the penny post introduced to India?
October 1854
42
When and what was the Educational Despatch?
1854 - introduced women's education
43
What reform occured in 1856?
A law was drafted allowing remarriage for widows.
44
How did the Crimean War impact the Indian Army?
- Dalhousie was asked to prolong tenure as Governor General during the war (1853-56).
- Many white soldiers in India were redeployed from India to Crimea as the war escalated.
45
What was the ratio of indigenous to white troops after the Crimean War?
9:1
46
When was the General Service Enlistment Act?
1856
47
What did the General Service Enlistment Act do?
It required every soldier enlisting in the Bengal army from that point forward to go overseas for deployment if required.
48
Why did the General Service Enlistment Act cause tension?
- Indian soliders believed travelling over water would pollute their souls.
- Under Bentick the governor of India had been allowed his own foreign policy.
49
What else during this time caused tension?
New rifle's cartridges rumoured to contain pig fat.
50
What happened in Meerut and when was it?
9th May 1857 - whilst British at church three sepoy regiments rose up and attacked local europeans.
51
Long term causes of Indian Mutiny?
Changes following Charter Act of 1813 (write more).
52
Short term causes of Indian mutiny?
- Growth of Indian missionaries moving to India.
- Move from trading to administrative rule
- Banning of Thagi and Sati
53
Spark causes of Indian mutiny?
- 1856 General Service Enlistment Act
- 1856 Annexation of Awadh by deposition of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
54
What happened 29th March 1857?
- Sepoy Mangal Pandey attacked his officers, his comrades refused to restrain him but did not join him in open revolt.
- Although only a handful of Sepoy's were involved the whole regiment was disbanded in disgrace, seen as harsh.
55
When and how did the Indian mutiny begin?
- 10th May 1857
- 85 members of 3rd Bengal Light avalry who had been jailed for refusing to use cartridges because of religion were broken out by comrades.
- Ransacked nearby military base and killed any European they found.
56
Events of the Mutiny in Delhi - May
- 11th May 1857 - Rebels kill Europeans and Indian Christians and take over city.
57
Events of Mutiny in Lucknow - May
- 30th May 1857 - Sepoys rebelled followed by riots in the city.
58
Events of Mutiny in Delhi - June
- 7th June - British arrive and take ridge overlooking city, too weak to retake
59
Events of Mutiny in Cawnpore - June
- June 1857 - Sepoys lay siege to British Garrison. Local ruler led mutineers and for 3 weeks 1000 Britons were besieged
- 25th June 1857 - Nana Sahib learns of relief force approaching and offers safe passage for troops and civilians down to Allahabad. Attacked whilst boarding then ambushed.
60
Events of Mutiny in Lucknow - June
- 30th June - British force defeated at Chinhat leading to them being besieged in residency, 1600 troops.
61
Events of Mutiny in Delhi - July
- July - 30,000 mutineers continuously try to take ridge above city.
62
Events of Mutiny in Cawnpore - July
- 15th July - Surviving 120 women and children were murdered and bodies thrown down well as relief force approached.
- 16th July - Relief force arrives and carries out reprisals before turning on Lucknow but turned back after meeting heavy resistance.
63
Events of Mutiny in Lucknow - July
- 4th July - General Lawrence is killed, Command passes to Colonel Inglis of 32nd regiment (1/2 of defenders Sepoy).
64
Events of Mutiny in Delhi - August
- 14th August - Reinforcements arrive from Punjab, 32 guns and 2000 men.
65
Events of Mutiny in Delhi - September
- 14-21 September - Delhi recaptured after week of street fighting - major factor in ending revolt
66
Events of Mutiny in Lucknow - September
- 26th September - Relief force sent from Cawnpore is defeated
67
Events of Mutiny in Cawnpore - Early November
- Early November - General Colin Campbell leaves Cawnpore and marches most soldiers in Cawnpore to Lucknow
68
Events of Mutiny in Lucknow - Early November
- 16th November - Campbell's 4500 men arrive from Cawnpore. The secundra Bagh (fort) was breached and British were able to get inside residency.
69
Events of Mutiny in Cawnpore - Latter November
- 26th November - Nana Sahib's General Tantya Tope retake the city with British forced into countryside.
- Campbell then returns and with the help of Campbell Tantya Tope and Nana Sahib are defeated
70
Events of Mutiny in Lucknow - Latter November
- Campbell was able to evacuate the residency and returned to Cawnpore, Lucknow was left to rebels to retake.
71
Events of Mutiny in Lucknow - March
- 1st March - Campbell returns to Lucknow
- 5th March - Campbll attacks Lucknow and breaches walls.
- 14th March - the Nawab of Ouhds palace is captured and later the residency is reserved for the 2nd time.
72
What was the Devil's Wind?
- Destruction of body and scattering of remains over wide area had religious function as means of execution in India as it prevented neccesary funeral rites of Hindus and Muslims, punishment extended past death.
- 523 executed, 459 shot by musketry, 20 hanged, 44 blown from gun.
73
Why did Indian Mutiny fail? Indian weaknesses.
- Rebels not cohesive force, each centre of rebellion, Lucknow, Cawnpore and Delhi had different rulers as focal point.
- Easy for British to isolate forces and use ethnicities against each other.
- Awadh most unified across all classes but was extremely localised and not replicated in other areas.
- Other 2 presidencies used to put down Bengal Army, Punjab soldiers had grudge as Bengal army had been treated superior.
- In Lucknow half of Besieged loyalists were Indian, when Delhi was retaken 82% of British casualties were Sepoy.
74
Why did Indian Mutiny fail? British strengths.
- Local divisions and not all Indians joining rebels (3,500 is residency in Lucknow).
- Campbell able to take advantage of various culture divides.
- Many alliances with local rulers
- Civilian population preffered paying tax to EIC and not local Raj, cheaper.
- British rule had been acceptable to most Indians and remained that way
75
Results of the Rebellion?
- Government of India Act
- Changes to Indian Army
- Infrastructure modernised not society.
76
When was the Government of India Act?
1858
77
What was the Government of India Act?
- British India ot be ruled direct from Britain.
- Viceroy accountable to Parliament.
- Royal Proclomation issued promising equal protection under law, Indian religious toleration and rights of native Princes to their lands.
- Rather then annexation British cultivated relationships with local rulers, 560 princely states remained loyal to Britain until 1947.
78
Psychological Impact of Mutiny?
- Racial Prejudice, segregation and hatred grew as white imperialist lived in fear of indigenous populations.
- 2000 white men governed 300 million Indians from isolated enclave which was reactive to local nationalism and liberalism in Britain, became pattern of Empire.
79
Changes to Indian Army following Mutiny?
- Proportion of Sepoy's reduced to 40%.
- British soldier were increased by 50% bringing overall ratio to 3:1 from 9:1
- British mainly recruited troops from Muslim and Sikh areas
- In Brigades each regiment was from a different ethnic background.
- Cartridges removed from modern weapons.
80
