Imperialism in India Flashcards
What company started imperialism in Asia?
East India Company
English East India Company
Private ownership; Traded with India → Expanded land through doctrine of lapse
Indian National Congress
Reform group → Educated Indians tell British officials about problems caused by British; Indian self-rule; Joined All-India Muslim League
Doctrine of Lapse
If an Indian ruler didn’t have a male biological heir, his territory would belong to the East India Company
Sepoys
Indian soldiers employed by the East India Company
Ram Mohan Roy
Bengali (India) intellectual; Support social reform → combine European values with Hinduism
What monopoly did the East India Company hold?
Monopoly on British trade with India
What Indians goods did Europeans trade for?
Pepper + cotton
How did the East India Company make its conquest of India
Through diplomacy and military force
Cause of Indian Rebellion
British rule - insulted Hindu + Muslim religions
Indian Rebellion
Sepoys rebelled → War for Independence (sepoys, Indian princes + followers, discontent citizens); British won
British government
Abolished EIC → Direct rule of India
Queen Victoria
Created secretary of state for India - Administrated India through Indian civil service staffed by Englishmen
Transformation of India
Cleared forests; Restructured landholdings; Encouraged crops(tea, coffee, opium); Built railroad + telegraph network → Connected India to global economy; Built canals, harbors, irrigation for trade + agriculture; Didn’t try to promote Christianity; Suppressed Indian customs → English-style schools for Indian elite; Suppressed sati + infanticide + slavery
Sati
Practice of widows burning themselves on their husbands’ funeral pyres
