Imperial and Colonial Policy 1857-90 Flashcards

1
Q

What is liberalism?

A

A political doctrine based on liberty, consent of the governed and equality.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is a cabinet minister?

A

One of a committee of senior ministers responsible for controlling government policy.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What were settler colonies?

A

Colonies characterised by white settlers and the violent removal and exploitation of indigenous peoples. These later became known as dominions.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What were the 6 departments of the Colonial Office in 1870?

A

1) North America.
2) Australia.
3) West Indies.
4) Africa.
5) Mediterranean.
6) General.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What was democracy like in Britain in 1884?

A

Around two thirds of British men over the age of 21 could vote.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What was the title for the head of the Colonial Office?

A

Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What was the role of the Colonial Office?

A

Deal with territorial acquisitions and its consequences. They did not have to deal with all overseas colonies, as some were under the Foreign Office (e.g. Egypt).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What was the role of the India Office?

A

To deal with all Indian and East Asian affairs (est. 1858).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What was a Crown Colony?

A

A colony ruled directly by an appointee of the British Crown and accountable to the Colonial Office. They were often deemed as incapable of ruling themselves due to their indigenous-majority population.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What was ‘responsible government’?

A

A system of government similar to that in Britain, with areas having their own government ministers answering to individual elected parliaments. This was seen mainly in settler colonies, such as Canada, Cape Colony, New Zealand, etc.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What was the British East India Company?

A

A company who had been granted with a monopoly over English trade in Asia in 1600. It ruled India until 1857, and was aggressively expansionist, increasing British influence in India through annexations and conquest.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is a monopoly?

A

An exclusive right to control trade.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What were sepoys?

A

Indian soldiers serving in the East India Company Army.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

How many Indians were under British rule in 1871?

A

The first Indian census of 1871 indicated at least 236 million Indians were under British rule.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What were the 3 main consequences of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858)?

A

1) The brutal and violent retaliation by the British.
2) Thousands of deaths.
3) The British government took control of India from the East India Company through the Government of India Act 1858.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What were the 5 main features of the Government of India Act (1858)?

A

1) The East India Company’s territories were passed to the Queen and the Company ceased to exist.
2) The creation of the position of Secretary of State for India, with the powers of the former East India Company directors.
3) A council of 15 members (the India Council), with experience of Indian affairs, were appointed to assist the Secretary of State for India and act as as advisory body.
4) The Crown appointed a Viceroy to replace the EIC’s Governor-General.
5) The Indian Civil Service was placed under the Secretary of State for India.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is a viceroy?

A

A ruler exercising direct authority on behalf of the sovereign.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

When was Queen Victoria made Empress of India?

A

1 January 1877.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What was the British Raj and how long did it last?

A

Formal British rule in India, lasting from 1858-1947.

20
Q

What were the Princely States?

A

Large parts of India bound to the British Crown through treaties, and were ‘protected’ in return.

21
Q

How was India governed 1858-90 (6)?

A

1) The Viceroy ruled India.
2) The Indian Civil Service consisting of around 1000 British men supported the Viceroy.
3) The Legislative Council held responsibility for law, finance, the army, economy and home affairs.
4) In provinces, the Viceroy was represented by provincial governors with their own legislative councils.
5) District officers oversaw local councils and reported on day-to-day issues.
6) The Viceroy relied on the cooperation Indian rulers (princes) of the Princely States to ensure support for the Raj.

22
Q

Where in India did the Viceroy reside (2)?

A

1) Usually in Calcutta.
2) In the hot summers, the Viceroy ,and his entourage, went to Shimla, on the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.

23
Q

How did the British regard Indian culture after the Mutiny and why?

A

Although the British legal system was imposed on India, the British no longer attempted to impose their own culture on India, instead paying attention to traditional Indian cultures on practices. Christian missionaries were actively discouraged.

24
Q

What was the Indian National Congress and when was it formed?

A

An Indian nationalist movement formed in 1885, its members met to discuss public affairs, offering a forum of debate and criticism, leading to a demand of a greater role for Indians in government.

25
Q

What reforms were made to the British Indian Army post Mutiny (7)?

A

1) The EIC armies were brought under the control of the Crown.
2) The proportion of British to Indian troops was raised tor roughly 1:2.
3) The regiments of Indian troops were trained and stationed in their own districts and cut off from one another to prevent a sense of unity.
4) Indian troops were deliberately mixed by caste (class) and religion.
5) The number of British officers increased.
6) All field artillery was placed in British hands.
7) Indians were placed under British commanders and denied officer ranking, although the British had to show greater respect to sepoy beliefs and traditions.

26
Q

How many miles of railway was added to India after the Mutiny?

A

3000 miles.

27
Q

When was Germany unified?

A

1871.

28
Q

Who were Britain’s 3 main rivals 1857-90?

A

1) France.
2) Germany.
3) Russia.

29
Q

How did Russia rival Britain 1857-90 (4)?

A

1) Started economic transformation near the end of the 19th century.
2) Extended their control in central Asia, and by 1884, had reached the borders of Afghanistan.
3) Naval building programmes in the 1880s.
4) Russia appeared set on expanding in northern China, with the work on the Trans-Siberian Railway beginning in 1891.

30
Q

How did France rival Britain 1857-90 (4)?

A

1) Transformed its armies after defeat to Germany in 1871.
2) Expansion in Indo-China in the 1860s.
3) Naval building programmes in the 1880s.
4) Active in Africa in the 1880s, expanding beyond their old coastal settlements.

31
Q

How did Germany rival Britain 1857-90 (3)?

A

1) Increasing appearance of German merchant ships on the High Seas.
2) Growth of the navy in the late 1890s.
3) Annexations in south-west and western regions of Africa from 1884.

32
Q

How did Britain respond to French expansion in Indo-China?

A

They further expanded in Asia, both through annexation and the growth of influence, leaving Thailand as a buffer zone between themselves and France.

33
Q

What are indigenous peoples?

A

People belonging to any of the first groups of people living in an area.

34
Q

What were the 4 main reasons for African expansion 1857-90?

A

1) The Long Depression.
2) Prestige of acquiring overseas territories.
3) European rivalry.
4) Access to new markets and raw materials.

35
Q

When was the Brussels Conference?

A

1876.

36
Q

When was the Berlin Conference?

A

1884-1885.

37
Q

What were the 3 main conclusions of the Brussels Conference (1876)?

A

1) Africans were incapable of developing the natural resources found in central Africa, and European intervention was necessary.
2) The routes to Africa’s great lakes needed to be developed through the building of roads and railways.
3) An International African Association should be established to coordinate European efforts.

38
Q

What is free trade?

A

A market system where good are imported and exported without restriction or imposition of tariffs.

39
Q

What is effective occupation?

A

If a power could demonstrate a local treaty agreement, an active administration, and could police the claimed territory, they were recognised by other European powers as the ruler of said territory.

40
Q

What were the 3 main agreements of the General Act of the Berlin Conference 1884-85?

A

1) A European power could lay claim to land if they could prove effective occupation.
2) European powers should support and protect religious, scientific or charitable undertakings in Africa.
3) Powers should protect the indigenous and suppress the slave trade in the areas they controlled.

41
Q

What did the Berlin and Brussels Conferences trigger?

A

The ‘Scramble for Africa’.

42
Q

What percentage of Africa was under European control in 1880 compared to 1900?

A

1880: 80% of Africa under local control.
1900: 90% of Africa under European control.

43
Q

What was the ‘Great Game’?

A

A political and diplomatic confrontation between the British and the Russians in Central Asia in the 19th century.

44
Q

What was the ‘informal empire’?

A

Areas which Britain had no legal claim, but were heavily influenced by British (particularly economic) power, sealed through free trade agreements or British investment in the country.

45
Q

What is gunboat diplomacy?

A

The use of force, often naval, to ensure British influence and/or profit.

46
Q

What are 7 examples of Britain’s informal empire 1857-90?

A

1) Chile.
2) Argentina.
3) Peru.
4) Siam (Thailand).
5) Mexico.
6) China.
7) Iran.