imperial and colonial policy 1890 - 1914

Question 1

colonial office

Answer 1

had overall responsibility for empire

africa, singapore

Question 2

foreign office

Answer 2

had increasing responsibility as egyptian protectorate came under its control

Question 3

treasury

Answer 3

controlled money and finances

Question 4

cabinet

Answer 4

had to be involved if departments had arguments

made decision making difficult at times

Question 5

settler colonies

Answer 5

australia, new zealand, canada and south africa had greater degrees of self government

Question 6

other colonies

Answer 6

ruled directly by britain

less self government

Question 7

the british raj

Answer 7

viceroy and executive + indian civil service - very powerful &
mostly independent administrative elite but very small (cost issues)

Question 8

egypt

Answer 8

egyptian governor was known as the consul - general.

veiled protectorate’ - egyptian government were firmly under british
control but officially epypt was in the ottoman empire

Question 9

curzon

Answer 9

made changes in indian civil service to make it run more efficiently

founded imperial cadet corps 1901

reformed universities and police force

lowered taxes

adopted gold standard

Question 10

where was criticism coming from in india about the british raj?

Answer 10

the raj had been divided by race, language, religion, caste, occupation and region

exploited the division between educated indians and illiterate rural masses to create an anglo administrative elite

Question 11

what is the indian national congress?

Answer 11

the representative body for middle class indians

established in 1885

campaigned for home rule

Question 12

why was the inc criticising the british raj?

Answer 12

criticised trading arrangements, restraint on indian industry and heavy taxation which indians were subjected in order to pay the high earning british civil servants of the raj

Question 13

who else was critical?

Answer 13

the servants of india society

active among the untouchable community

wanted to see the reform of old restrictive laws and practices

Question 14

how did curzon manage the defence of india?

Answer 14

founded imperial cadet corps to give native princes and elite figures military training and special officer commissions

north west frontier province created to protect the border from feared russian incursions

merged north westerly areas of the pashtun lands

an entente agreement established spheres of influence in persia and both countries agreed to respect the independence of tibet

Question 15

why did curzon partition bengal in 1905?

Answer 15

decided that bengal should be divided into two separate provinces - a muslim majority province of east bengal and a hindu majority province of west bengal

Question 16

what was the impact of the partition?

Answer 16

it caused uproar among the hindu elite of west bengal many of whom owned land in east bengal which they had to lease to muslim peasants

hindus saw the partition as payback for their criticisms of british rule, and there were strikes, protests and boycotts of british made goods

new strand of nationalism began to develop

curzon resigned

Question 17

viceroy minto

Answer 17

left to deal with the fall-out of curzon’s plans.

with the help of john morley, secretary of state for india, he introduced a limited programme of reforms in 1909 in an attempt to appease the bengalis

the indian councils act of 1909 enabled 27 Indians to be elected from
provincial constituencies to the viceroy’s council, which advised the viceroy and assisted in the making of laws.

although these elections were held on a very narrow franchise and, in some cases, representatives were chosen by the british, the reform provided for greater indian participation in government.

further democratic reform in 1910 meant that in elections for enlarged provincial councils, 135 indians were able to secure seats across the subcontinent and thus play a greater part in government at provincial level

Question 18

viceroy hardinge

Answer 18

used the visit of king- emperor george v to india in 1911 as an opportunity to reunite bengal in 1911

moved the Indian capital from calcutta to delhi (a muslim stronghold) as a means of undermining the revolutionary hindu groups, and the monarch laid the foundation stone of the capital, new delhi.

george v was the first and only british monarch to visit the raj -crowned emperor of india and a grand celebratory durbar was held in 1911 in a display of both power and pageantry designed to shore up the loyalty of indian princely rulers.

Question 19

why was british rule in egypt difficult?

Answer 19

it was a military occupation, not a colony - egypt still belonged to turkey - with the Sultan as the khedive’s overlord.

the capitulations - all foreigners in egypt came under regulations known as the capitulations - privileges once granted by the sultan to protect europeans from muslim laws against christians. for example, a foreigner could claim the right to be tried in his own country’s law courts and any new egyptian law affecting europeans had to be approved by the governments of all countries represented in Egypt, which slowed down law-making.

the caisse de la dette (austria - hungary, france, germany, russia, italy as well as britain) - controlled egypt’s finances. about half the country’s revenue went to paying european bond-holders. members of the caisse could prevent the british consul - general from spending egypt’s money on matters they disapproved of. (cromer’s plans to use egyptian money to finance the re-conquest of the sudan were, for example, thwarted by russia and france.)

the mixed courts - set up to deal with cases involving both egyptians and europeans and were presided over by european and egyptian judges who were not always supportive of the british. the french, with their strong interest in egypt, posed a particular challenge to british supremacy.

Question 20

how successful was evelyn baring as consul general?

Answer 20

evelyn baring , acted as adviser’ to the khedive between 1883 and 1907. egypt had a partially elected parliament, consisting of an advisory council of laws and a general assembly - but all egyptian government ministers had the ‘support’ of a british adviser. if they resisted british advice or interference, they were dismissed

number of britons working in government in egypt increased - 1885 there were only about 100 - by 1905, there were over 1000

main task was to try to regularise egyptian financial affairs isma’il had accrued £70 million debt - mostly to european bondholders - made
cutbacks to egypt’s military and bureaucracy and revitalised
the economy by improving communications and investing in irrigation schemes

improved conditions for egyptian labourers and introduced better sanitation and health services in towns.

within ten years, exports of cotton and sugar had trebled and the population had risen from 7 to 10 million

reformed egypt’s army, not least by placing 6000 british troops within it to ensure that british interests were not jeopardised by either military or popular disturbances - placed under the command of kitchener. and could not risk a threat to its egypt-based investments or to the suez canal as the preferred passage to india.

changes made to the law courts, police and education, although baring was wary of extending educational opportunities to the egyptians, seen the effects of raised expectations in india, where they had led to a growth of nationalist protest - rarely offered more than a few years of elementary schooling and it was not until 1909 that a new university was founded (to supplement the university of cairo which only offered religious education) to teach modern subjects and train men for the professions.

Question 21

gorst and kitchener

Answer 21

gorst brought more egyptians into responsible government positions in an attempt to weaken the egyptian nationalist party

imposed tighter press censorship in 1909 - german government provided funds to fuel anti british sentiment

kitchener tried to curb nationalism and uncover groups who were causing trouble

1913 - new legislative assembly replaced the advisory council of laws and general assembly consisting of 66 elected member and 17 appointed nominees - represented rich landowners rather than ordinary people

Question 22

did britain really have a native policy?

Answer 22

dominions were the most successful form of rule because they had more self government - australia, new zealand, canada and south africa

elsewhere in the empire britain used divide and rule, such as muslims vs hindus and masai vs kikuyu in kenya - masai favoured and rewarded with cattle and tokens of office such as badges and caps

lugard pioneered indirect rule by collaborated with local elites - fulani emirs to exercise governance his chiefs were given land as a reward for loyalty - cheap to implement, supported existing power structures and helped legitimise british authority

Question 23

what is splendid isolation?

Answer 23

britain was diplomatically isolated, trusting its dominant navy to maintain its status and empire

britain could act alone without alliances

could leave britain vulnerable to other european alliances

Question 24

why did the boer war change britain’s colonial policy?

Answer 24

it showed britain’s vulnerability

led to an alliance with japan - japan defeated russian navy in 1905

concentrated military power in afghanistan which left india vulnerable

Question 25

what was the impact of the triple alliance on britain’s colonial policy?

Answer 25

naval race with germany and intesified in 1906

triple alliance - austria-hungary, germany in 1870, italy joined in 1882

triple entente - france, britain and russia in 1907

afghanistan declared part of british sphere of influence

persian gulf made a neutral zone

Question 26

what tensions had britain had with russia before 1907?

Answer 26

afghanistan provided a constant source of conflict, known as the great game

the expansion of a russian railway to tashkent caused concerns for the british - moved 300,000 troops near afghanistan in februaury 1900, at a time where britain had been stretched by war in south africa and had fewer than 100,000 soldiers in the indian army to defend north india

aggravated by russia’s presence in toulon, mediterranean following military agreements with france in 1892 - threat to the suez canal and india

Question 27

why was germany’s relations with the ottoman empire seen as a threat to the british empire?

Answer 27

germany would have better access to africa, the british trade market and the persian gulf without depending on the british controlled suez canal

german money had financed railway from berlin to baghdad and huge sums of money had been invested into the german navy in what appeared to the british as deliberately provocative move to counter britain’s dominance

Question 28

what was the impact of the moroccan crisis on british colonial policy?

Answer 28

brinkmanship

prepared to go to war after with germany after french presence in morocco

Question 29

what strategies did britain have for fighting a potential war?

Answer 29

imperial conference, 1909 - formation of a dominion fleet considered

britain abandoned 2 power standard, whereby it could match the next strongest naval powers, instead it settled for a 60% margin over germany

britain withdrew the navy from the mediterranean, ready to redeploy into the north sea

army remodelled for deployment on on european mainland

defending europe, not empire