India

Question 1

What is a Nawab?

Answer 1

A native governor during the time of the Mughal empire

Question 2

What is a sepoy?

Answer 2

An Indian soldier serving under British or European command

Question 3

What was Thagi?

Answer 3

Groups of Thagi carried out a form of highway robbery and ritual murder by strangling in the service of a Hindu goddess

Question 4

What was Talukdar?

Answer 4

An Indian landholder in Mughal and British times with responsibility for tax collection

Question 5

What was Sati?

Answer 5

The tradition of self-immolation by Hindu widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands

Question 6

What were the castes?

Answer 6

Each of the hereditary religious groups of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity and social status

Question 7

What does Nawob mean?

Answer 7

The name for an official under the Mughal empire and some under British rule - they owned large tracts of land - the princes of India

Question 8

What was the board of control and where was it on the hierarchy of the EIC in India?

Answer 8

A group who were in charge of goings on in India - chancellor of exchequer, Secretary of State for India and 4 privy counsellors - answered to the British Government but were above the presidencies

Question 9

What were the presidencies in India? Where were they?

Answer 9

Individual governing bodies in each of the strong holds in India - they could not make war or accept a peace from Indian prince without the approval of the governor (Bengal)
Madras
Bombay
Bengal - Governor General - had preeminence over other two company presidencies
Each had their own military and civil service

Question 10

Why was there a civil service in the Indian presidencies?

Answer 10

To oversee the collection of taxes, supported by the companies armies when necessary

Question 11

What were the company armies like in India by 1857?

Answer 11

3 private armies
Troops numbered 277,746
White regiments and sepoy regiments under the command of European officers
Native regiments recruited en masse
45,522 European soldiers of all races in India

Question 12

Why did the presidencies emerge where they did?

Answer 12

They grew out of territorial expansion from the company’s original trading posts or factories

Question 13

Who appointed the individual governor generals (presidencies) in India?

Answer 13

The British crown

Question 14

What did the regulating act do and when was it passed?

Answer 14

1773 - created a governing council of 5 with 2 company members and 3 from parliament

Question 15

What did the 1784 act do?

Answer 15

Made EIC subordinate to crown in all political functions and Board of Control was set up to enforce this

Question 16

What did the 1786 act do?

Answer 16

Enabled the Governor General in special causes to orderride the council

Question 17

What did the charter act do and when was it passed?

Answer 17

1813 - made the EIC accept missionaries - ended the EIC monopoly on trade except for tea and china

Question 18

What did the 1833 act do?

Answer 18

Completely ended the EIC commercial monopoly?

Question 19

Why did the princes ally themselves with the British?

Answer 19

It made sense to ensure protection from other rulers and to ensure the smooth collection of taxes from their subjects

Question 20

How did the change of function from commerce to administration affect the British representatives?

Answer 20

It made them see themselves as ruling the territories, rather than simply engaging in and protecting their commercial interests - increased their power through the company armies and expanded their business of tax collection

Question 21

What is utalitarianism?

Answer 21

The philosophy that the governing principle of rulers should be the efforts to secure the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people - was the basis for significant social reform in the 19th century in Britain including education, poor law reform, the employment of children and women and reform in prisons

Question 22

What was the importance of the Bengal presidency?

Answer 22

The first location to be annexed after the battle of plassey
The army of the Bengal army was twice that of the two presidencies - largely recruited from warrior castes
Played a pivotal role in the annexation of the Punjab and the resulting Emnity

Question 23

By 1800 what was British territory in India like (size) and why?

Answer 23

243.000km squared because successive governors sought to increase company territory and extradite any pockets of remaining French influence in the subcontinent

Question 24

How well did the first Afghan war go?

Answer 24

Not well - between 1838 and 1842 it cost British India 20,000 lives and more than £15 million

Question 25

Between 1823 and 1826 where did the company successfully Annex?

Answer 25

Assam, Manipur and Cachar

Question 26

What were the economic reasons for the increasing territorial presence of the Company in India in the late 18th and 19th century?

Answer 26

Taxation was much more important than trade to Britain - India wasn’t actually that valuable a trading partner - was the principle source of Company’s income (along with subventions, indemnities and tributes)

Question 27

What were the imperial reasons for the increasing territorial presence of the Company in India?

Answer 27

British expansion in the north-west frontier was out of fear of a Russian invasion - led to the annexation of Sind and Punjab - in 1843 and 1849
Governors such as Sir Richard Wellesley wanted to extradite any pockets of remaining French influence

Question 28

Outline the increased government interference leading to the increasing territorial presence of the Company in India in the late 18th and early 19th centuries

Answer 28

1833 charter act ended the company’s commercial activities completely and reorganised administrative system - they no longer had mass income from trade.

Question 29

How did British rule improve the social status of the untouchables and low-caste Indians?

Answer 29

they could obtain an education and wealth, meaning they could pass as members of higher castes. This made the strict restrictions on social contacts harder to enforce as members of different castes mingled increasingly.

Question 30

what were the consequenses of the actions of the missionaries?

Answer 30

Created tensions between the Indians and the British
Stimulated the Bengal Renaissance - made Bengal the centre for thought and learning.
Significant affects for education and disruption of the caste system

Question 31

What were the actions of the missionaries?

Answer 31

They convinced Bentinck to make the official language of government english
They spoke out about hindu practices, such as sati and thagi
They mastered the local language and were partially responsible for the education act of 1833
They insisted on living in close proximity to the Indians
They set up local churches, schools and colleges.

Question 32

What were the attitudes of the missionaries?

Answer 32

They wanted to persuade Hindus and other religions that christianity was superior
They were against many Hindu practices such as the caste system and Sati
They wanted people to write, read and teach the bible
Wanted the dissemination of western culture throughout India.

Question 33

What were the attitudes of the EIC to the missionaries?

Answer 33

they were against the actions of the missionaries as they thought they would cause unnecessary tensions and the awakening of the Indian Hindu and ultimately the Company’s interests would suffer.

Question 34

When was the thuggee and Dacoity department created?

Answer 34

1835, with Seeleman as the first superintendent

Question 35

Outline the campaign against Thagi in the 1830s

Answer 35

It was a vigorous and highly publicised campaign during which 1,000 thagi were transported or hanged for their crimes and around 3,000 tried and punished in total. Between 1836 and 1848 a number of legal acts were passed outlawing thagi and dacoity

Question 36

How did the British react to the success of the campaign against thagi?

Answer 36

It led to a significant amount of self-congratulation on the part of the British as the thagi only attacked other Indians, so the suppression of the cult was depicted as a wholly altruistic act

Question 37

Outline the campaign against Sati

Answer 37

Driven by Governor Bentinck and other evangelical christians such as Wilberforce. Estimated 600 deaths a year due to sati - Act of Abolition in 1829 against sati
Was very unpopular with the Indian people

Question 38

Outline Ram Mohan Roy’s actions with regards to sati

Answer 38

Began to campaign against it in 1818 after the death of his sister in law due to sati. He counselled Bentinck against the total ban, but supported him against efforts to reverse the law and the privy council upheld Bentick’s law in 1832. It was banned in the whole of india 1861.

Question 39

How effective was the campaign against sati?

Answer 39

The law only applied in territory under company control, though many princely states followed suit. Sati was still carried out, especially in the Punjab until it came under British control. there are still acts of sati carried out today

Question 40

What was female infanticide in India?

Answer 40

The practice of killing girl babies at birth was common in some areas of northern india (e.g. Maharashtra) because of the difficulty of providing dowries for female children and the shame attached to having unmarried daughters

Question 41

Outline the campaign against female infanticide

Answer 41

Bentinck enforced laws that had been passed in 1795 and 1802 - his efforts materially improved the lot so women in India and are worthy of celebration

Question 42

What were the three immediate causes of the revolt in India?

Answer 42

Annexation of Awadh
Animal fat lubricant
General service enlistment act 1856

Question 43

Why was the general service enlistment act a cause of the rebellion?

Answer 43

It broke the long held tradition by which soldiers did not sense where they were unable to march as travelling over water would pollute their caste status

Question 44

WHY WAS THE ANNEXATION OF AWADH A CAUSE OF THE REvolt?

Answer 44

It occurred under the doctrine of lapse and took land from all talukdars unable to prove legal title for their estates. The annexation was highly unpopular with the people

Question 45

Why were the rumours of the use of animal fat as lubrication for the cartridges a cause of the revolt?

Answer 45

It but both Muslims and Hindus at risk of defilement, as beef fat was repugnant to Hindus and pork to Muslims. 85 sepoys were court martialed for refusing to load the new rifles in Meerut on 9th May 1857, directly causing the rebellion.

Question 46

What were the weaknesses of the rebel forces? (that allowed Britain to retain power)

Answer 46

Not a cohesive force
The local leaders were unwilling to co-operate together to forge a national revolt - meant once the British had regrouped they only needed to eliminate one centre of resistance after another (e.g. Delhi, Lucknow and Cawnpore each had their own centres of power converged around rebel leaders)

Question 47

Outline how the loyalty of the other two presidencies allowed Britain to retain control

Answer 47

This meant the area around calcutta itself remained unaffected by the unrest. The Punjab sepoys proved key in suppressing the rebellion as they had a grudge against the
even at lucknow about half of the 7,000 soldiers who sought refuge in the residency were indian soldiers
when Delhi was retaken by the British, 82% of the soldiers killed were native sepoys

Question 48

How was the recruitment to the army changed after the Indian revolt?

Answer 48

proportion of sepoys in the army reduced 40% and British troops increased by 50% (ratio became 3:1 rather than 9:1)
Began recruiting from areas deemed loyal to britain, especially the sikh punjab and the Muslim north-west

Question 49

How was the recruitment to the army changed after the Indian revolt?

Answer 49

proportion of sepoys in the army reduced 40% and British troops increased by 50% (ratio became 3:1 rather than 9:1)
Began recruiting from areas deemed loyal to britain, especially the sikh punjab and the Muslim north-west

Question 50

What was changed in the army after the indian revolt apart from recruitment?

Answer 50

troops were allowed to use whatever grease they preferred
Army policy and planning made it so that adjacent regiments had different ethnic and religious backgrounds to prevent the spread of mutiny from regiment to regiment

Question 51

What were the economic effects of the Revolt in India?

Answer 51

the cost of ending the revolt was £50 million - the debt was transferred to the Raj after winding up the EIC
The taxation system was changed, with an income tax being placed on wealthier urban groups
, but a wary eye was kept on the impact of restructuring land ownership and taxation after events in Awadh

Question 52

When was the government of India act passed?

Answer 52

2nd August 1858

Question 53

What did the government of India act do?

Answer 53

It ended company rule in India and placed it under direct rule by Britain through the medium of a viceroy. The viceroy was accountable to parliament and there was a secretary of state for India and an Indian council.

Question 54

How did the rebellion impact on the British attitude towards India and indians?

Answer 54

Racial prejudice, segregation and racial hatred grew among the white imperialism. For the 2000 white men in India, governing 200-300 million meant withdrawing into a tight enclave, resistant to both growing nationalism among Indian and to more liberal policies from Britain

Question 55

What happened at the seige of Cawnpore?

Answer 55

Sir Hugh Wheeler had not been careful enough in his preparations and the British held out for only 18 days before surrendering on 27th June. During the evacuation, 400 soldiers were killed and the remaining 200 women and children were massacred on 15th July

Question 56

What happened at the siege of Lucknow?

Answer 56

Sir Henry Lawrence had put his Europeans into the fortified residency from the end of May, with enough food and ammunition that lucknow was able to hold out for five months. Relief came on 25th September, 87 days after the siege started
Because Campbell deemed the area to be so volitile, Lucknow was eventually evacuated and abandoned and not retaken until March 1857

Question 57

What were the social and cultural changes after the revolt in India?

Answer 57

End of utilitarian ideas - idea of moral improvement less focused on. Idea of improving India through educational aspects related to British values and greater good removed. Modernising agenda ended - less focus on education and moral improvement . Racial prejudice, segregation and racial hatred grew and scientific theories of Racism used to justify white rule

Question 58

What were some of Dalhousie’s successful policies?

Answer 58

He pacified the Punjab, which yielded a substantial revenue surplus for the Company, he built the first Indian railroads, the first telegraph line and the penny post.