Migration c790 to the present day, Part3: Expansion and empire Flashcards
What resources does India have?
Iron ore, silk, copper, gold, silver, gemstones, tea, timber and spices.
Who discovered how to get to India by sea?
Vasco de Gama
From what country was Vasco de Gama?
Portugal
What were trading stations?
Permanent, well-protected bases European traders set up along the Indian coast.
What was the lifestyle of a trader?
- He lived with his family in the trading station.
When was the East India Company set up?
1600
What does EIC stand for?
East India Company
What is meant by a monopoly?
A majority control of a certain resource or trade.
When did the EIC’s monopoly on British trade in India end?
1694
When was the trading post in Surat established?
1612
When was the trading post in Madras established?
1638
When was the trading post in Bombay established?
1668
How did the East India Company make money?
They brought silk, coffee, spices and other luxuries back to England.
Who were the Mughals?
Muslims who invaded India and took control of areas mostly run by Hindo princes.
When do the Mughals start to lose control of India?
In the war 1698-1707
How did European nations take advantage of the Mughal war?
They expanded their control over India.
What did European nations do to take control of India?
They started supporting particular Indian princes with weapons in exchange for land and goods.
When did the EIC start expanding and gaining land?
In the 1700s
When was the battle of Plassey?
1757
How many EIC troops fought at the Battle of Plassey?
3000, 2200 of which were local Indians.
Who led the EIC army at the Battle of Plassey?
Robert Clive
Who do the English beat at the Battle of Plassey?
An Indian army led by a local prince.
How many troops did the local prince who fought the English at the Battle of Plassey have?
40,000
What territory did the English gain after their victory at the Battle of Plassey?
They took over Bengal
Why was Bengal valuable to the English?
It was one of the richest parts of India.
Who was the local prince the English defeated at the Battle of Plassey?
Siraj-ud-Daula
Who was Siraj-ud-Daula aided by?
The French
Who else did the EIC fight?
The Dutch, whom they defeated, and from whom they took trading posts.
Why does the EIC have money problems?
They had huge profits in India but were losing money elsewhere, in America mainly.
Why does the British Government get involved in the EIC?
It doesn’t want it to go bankrupt, as it pays a fortune to the Government in taxes.
What act is passed in 1773?
(Not the Stamp Act)
the Government of India Act
What did the Government of India Act do?
It states that both the British government and the East India Company control the territory in India jointly.
Who is appointed the first Governor General of India?
Warren Hastings
What is the effect of the loss of the American colonies on the British involvement in India?
They get more involved and the government gradually takes over the EIC’s affairs.
When did Warren Hastings become Governor General of India?
1773
Why was Warren Hastings important in India?
He strengthened British control in India, helping to establish it as a part of the British Empire.
What are some negative things about Warren Hastings?
He faced accusations of corruption, mismanagement and poor military judgement from political rivals. He faced trial in 1787 and was found not guilty in 1795.
Who as Robert Clive?
He was Governor of Bengal and won the Battle of Plassey, making a personal fortune after plundering the region.
Why was Robert Clive criticized?
He was criticized in Parliament for corruption.
By what time was most of India under British control?
By the mid 1850s, most of India was under British control.
What was the lifestyle of an employee of the East India Company?
Employees of the EIC made huge fortunes and lived in luxury.
How did the British influence India culturally?
They ignored or replaced long-standing Indian traditions, rights and customs.
How were the Indian aristocracy affected by the British?
Some of them were replaced and stripped of their wealth.
What were Indian soldiers who fought for the EIC known as?
Sepoys
What factors contributed to widespread Sepoy discontentment?
- They weren’t treated well
- Little hope of promotion
- They were first to be sent in the most dangerous places to fight
- They were pressured into converting to Christianity
- Cartridge grease controversy
When was the Enfield rifle introduced to the Sepoys?
1857
What was controversial about the new rifle introduced?
- The Sepoys had to bite of the end of the cartridges to load it.
- The cartridges were greased with animal fat, which was offensive to both the Hindu and Muslim Sepoys.
When was the Indian Rebellion?
1857
How did the Indian Rebellion start?
On the 9th May 1857, 85 Sepoys refused to use the cartridges and were sent to jail for ten years.
What happened on the 10th of May 1857?
More Sepoys rose up in support of the prisoners and broke them out of jail. Army barracks and homes of British civilians were set on fire.
When was the Cawnpore massacre?
July 1857
What was the Cawnpore massacre?
The massacre of 200 British women and children at Cawnpore.
What was Britain’s reaction to the Cawnpore massacre?
It sent another 70,000 troops to India.
When did the Indian Mutiny end?
8th of July 1858
What was the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny?
- The British Government took over India from the EIC.
- They were more wary of religious issues in colonies
- They were more careful about how they goverened.
What was the Indian Universities Act?
It created universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras
Why was the Indian Universities Act significant?
It helped raise the literacy rate of India to make it more civilised.
How much railway did the British build in India?
30,000 kilometres
How many bridges did the British build in India?
130,000
How much did the British spend on building key districts?
By 1914, the British had spend £400 million on canals, roads, factories, mines and farms.
What did the British do to increase India’s life expectancy?
- They introduced vaccines and treatment to fight malaria and smallpox.
- They improved sewage systems and water supplies.
When were there large famines in India?
Late 1800s
Why were the British blamed for the famines that struck India?
They had forced Indian farmers to replace food crops such as rice and wheat with high value crops like cotton and tea they could sell back in Britain.
What economic opportunities did the British introduce to India?
- The farming of India’s raw materials created jobs
- British introduced an irrigation programme in the Indian countryside, which increased land available for farming.
- They introduced coal mining.
How did India become industrialised?
The British built many factories in which Indian workers manufactured goods.
How did Britain influence the Indian judicial system?
They created a legal system in India, based on the one in Britain. High courts were set up in Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
How influential were the British for education in India?
They opened thousands of schools and colleges where English language learning spread.
What was the impact of the British Raj on Britain?
- India fought on Britain’s side in the first and second World Wars.
- It created many jobs
- Indian tea became a popular drink in Britain and Indian food become more common in people’s homes.
Difference in European control of Africa.
In 1870, only 10% of Africa was controlled by European nations.
By 1900, 90% of Africa was controlled by European nations.
How many colonies were added to the British Empire 1870-1900?
Between 1870 and 1900, 16 new colonies were added to the BE.
Why were European nations interested in Africa?
- Rich in natural resources.
- They could sell goods to local populations
- Christian missionaries felt it was their duty to convert people to Christianity.
- For the glory of the empire.
Why did the Europeans only start conquering Africa in 1870?
They now had better medicine and vaccines which meant they could fight malaria and other jungle diseases.
How did the European nations prevent war between them?
They held a conference in Berlin in 1884-85 to decide which nation could take which areas.
How much of Africa did the British claim by 1900?
By 1900, Britain occupied 32% of Africa.
Why did the African nations not defend their lands?
They did, but the Europeans had the Maxim gun which gave them a major advantage.
What was the Maxim gun?
A new type of machine gun that gave the Europeans a major advantage in the scramble for Africa.
Who was Cecil Rhodes?
Britain’s most well-known Empire-builder.
What did Cecil Rhodes believe in?
- Imperialism
- Social Darwinism
What is imperialism?
The belief that the British Empire should expand to acquire new lands.
What was Social Darwinism?
Social Darwinism misapplies the concept of “survival of the fittest”. It believes that certain groups are inherently superior and should dominate over others.
What was named after Cecil Rhodes?
Schools, streets and two countries, Rhodesia, now Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Cecil Rhodes timeline.
1870 - Rhodes moves to Cape Colony to work in gold and diamond mines
1881 - Elected to Cape Colony parliament
1888 - Forms De Beerss, a company which owns most of the gold and diamond fields in sourther Africa
1890 - Elected Prime Minister of Cape Colony
How much of the diamond market did De Beers control?
At one point, it controlled 90% of the world’s diamond market.
What was Cecil Rhodes’ legacy?
- Statues of him were erected everywhere
- Many institutions were named after him
- He gave large sums of money to institutions such as Rhodes Univeristy in South Africa
- He was a racist though
What percentage of ships using the Suez Canal were British?
When it was built?
80% of the ships using the Suez Canal were British.
When was the Suez Canal built?
1869
Who built the Suez Canal?
The French and the British
When do the Egyptians rebel against the French and the British?
1882
How do the British respond to the Egyptian rebellion?
They send 30,000 soldiers to take over the country. The city of Alexandria is bombed and its defences destroyed.
Who were the Boers?
Descendants of Dutch settlers, who were farmers in southern Africa.
When the British invaded Cape Colony, where did the Boers go?
They moved north and founded the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, both Boer states.
When were diamonds discovered in the Boer states?
1867
What did the British do when diamonds were discovered in the Boer states?
They asked to unite their two colonies.
Did the Boers accept the British proposition made in 1867?
No, they refused.
What did the British do when the Boers had refused their proposition?
They declared war on the Boer states.
What did Cecil Rhodes do when gold was discovered in the Boer states?
He opened mines there and British workers flooded in.
When was gold found in the Boer states?
1886
Who was the leader of the Boers in 1886?
Paul Kruger
Why was Rhodes angry with Kruger?
Kruger refused to give the British workers any political rights.
When did the first Boer War start and end?
1867-1881
When did the second Boer War start and end?
1899-1902
How did the Boers fight the British?
They attacked in groups of 5-12. They used guerrilla tactics.
Why did the Boers have the advantage in fighting?
They were on horseback, they were skilled fighters and knew the terrain much better than the British.
How did the Boers live during the war?
They ‘lived off the land’, foraging for food or capturing enemy supplies.
How many troops did the British send?
In January 1900, Britain sent half a million troops.
How many Boer soldiers were the British fighting?
50,000
Who introduced the Scorched Earth policy?
General Kitchener
What was the Scorched Earth policy?
The destruction of everything that could be useful to the Boers. They burnt crops and houses and killed livestock.
How many people did the British put in concentration camps?
116,000 Boers were put in concentration camps, and 130,000 black civilians, workers on the farms, were too.
How many people died in the concentration camps?
28,000 Boers (mostly children) died, 20,000 black civilians died.
When did the Boers surrender?
1902
What was agreed at the peace talks?
That the Boer states would become British colonies, but that the Boers could make many key decisions.
What happened in 1910?
The Boer States combined with Cape Colony and Natal to form the Union of South Africa, part of the British Empire.
After 1910, what type of state was South Africa?
It was a dominion, rather than a colony.
What is a dominion?
A kind of colony that ran its own affairs.
How many British troops fought in the war in total?
450,000
How many British casualties were there at the end of the Boer war?
6000 KIA, another 16,000 died from illness or wounds sustained in battles.
How many Boers fought in total?
90,000
How did the Boer war affect healthcare in Britain?
- One third of British army volunteers were physically unfit for service.
- This led to the government introducing free meals and medical checks in schools.
How many Boer casualties were there?
7000 soldiers, and 28,000 civilians died
What was jingoism?
Nationalism, especially where one thinks his nation is superior to all others.
What was Imperial Propaganda?
The spreading of positive ideas and jingoism in relation to the empire.
Why was Imperial Propaganda introduced?
To win public opinion and get support for the empire’s invasions.
Give examples of Imperial Propaganda.
Boy’s Own Paper, soap and chocolate advertisement.
What are the two largest migrations to Britain in the last few hundred years?
Jewish and Irish migration
How many Irish people were there by the 1860s?
By 1861, there were around 600,000 Irish-born people in Britain.
When and why did the Irish immigration increase?
In 1846, because of the ‘potato blight’.
How much of the Irish population died because of the famine?
Around one eighth
What was Typhus nicknamed?
‘Irish fever’
What percentage of the British army were Irish?
In the early 1800s, as many as 40% were Irish.
Irish population in Britain in the present day?
According to 2001 census, six million people (10% of British population) had Irish parents or grandparents.
When are Jews expelled from England?
1290
Who expels all Jews from England?
Edward I
When are Jews let back into England?
1656
Jewish population in 1850?
The number of Jews grows to 40,000 out of a population of 18 million.
When does Benjamin Disraeli become PM?
1874
Who was the first Jewish Prime Minister?
Benjamin Disraeli
What events caused an increase in Jewish population in the 1870s?
Jews in Russia are blamed for the assassination of the Tsar and face persecution through restrictions and pogroms.
How many Jews come to England at the end of the 19th century?
Between 1881 and 1914, 120,000 Jews arrive in Britain.
What are the main Jewish trades?
Making clothes, shoemaking or furniture-making.
How many people emigrated from Britain in the 19th century?
22 million people emigrated from Britain 1815-1914
When did urbanisation happen?
1750-1900, during the industrial revolution.
How effective was the indenture system to move people around the Empire?
Around half the immigrants to the American colonies in the 16th/17th centuries were under this system.
How many Indians were moved to Kenya and Uganda?
Over 30,000
Why were the Indians moved to Kenya and Ugand?
To build railways and bridges.
How many Kenyan Asians and Ugandan Asians were there?
By the late 1960s, there were about 180,000 Kenyan Asians and around 60,000 Ugandan Asians.
How many people moved around the Empire every decade?
Between 1841 and 1910, 150,000 people per decade moved around the Empire.
How many convicts had been sent to the American colonies before 1775?
50,000
When did the British government start sending convicts to Austrailia?
1787
