Unit 2 - British Raj Flashcards
The ways in which trade with India contributed to British economic prosperity and how Britain developed Indian agriculture and industry to foster this prosperity
The way in which trade with India contributed to British economic prosperity:
- the East India company was a stable, but spectacular, part of the British economic scene. It handles about 13% of British important and 5 per cent of britain’s exports
- India became the single largest market for British goods
How did Britain develop Indian agriculture and industry to foster this prosperity;
- India did not undergo industrialisation in the nineteenth century in the way Britain did
- India was a relatively urbanised and commercialised nation with buoyant trade, devoted largely to cotton textiles, but also including silk, spices and rice
- the colonial government made institutional changes in agriculture by transforming traditionally circumscribed property rights into something more closely resembling the ‘unencumbered’ private property characteristic western capitalism
- they created tariffs: in this way imported goods became more expensive than home produced ones, thus allowing domestic industries to grow and develop
- helped protect India and helped protect Britain from competitors
- queen Victoria’s title helped increase capital investment into agriculture and industry
- by the beginning of the 20th century, India received about one tenth of British overseas investment - about £250 million. By 1910, this had risen to 365 million
The importance of the Indian empire to Britain and to the British economy
- the British first became seriously involved in India because of trade. India had cotton, calico, Muslims, chintzes, pepper, indigo and spices.
- all British trade was with the East Indian company
- in the early days, spices dominated the Indian european trader and by the end of the eighteenth century, Indian textiles had overtaken spices as the must have commodity back in Europe.
How did India influence Britain?
It was the Indian people, finance, products and circumstances that dictated how trade and commerce developed. They created the framework within which trade was possible. India had well established trading links and patterns with India, Asia and beyond
- India had a huge population which Britain used in order to form the back bone of britain’s military power
- India provided a central location for the British to conduct their trade with various other colonies
- indian were also used for cheap labour by the British
The significance of making queen Victoria empress of India and the jewel of the crown concept
The significance of queen v:
- this title was a gesture to link the monarchy with the empire further and bind India more closely to Britain
- helped give Britain better and easier control over India
- it showed her interest and great Britain’s interest in world colonisation, throughout the 19th century
Jewel in crown concept
- India was the most populous and valuable economy to Britain
- India was abundant with valuable natural resources like gems, cotton, tea etc
- due to its high population, Britain made a lot of money through taxation
- on average Britain made £12m per year from India alone
- india’s jewels gave the British access to other parts of Asia
- natural mineral wealth provided
- much of the early empire was built around India, areas conquered or influenced in order to provide routes to India, or protections for India. A framework like the metalwork for the crown
The structure of British rule (the raj) in India at the beginning of the 20th century and the impact this on relationships between India and British living in India and the attitudes held towards each other
Structure:
- The caste system was basic to the Hindus, who made up over two thirds of Indian society
How they operated:
The majority of Indians were born into the hierarchical system of caste
No one could leave caste
System was one of selection, it was also one of interdependence
Attitudes of Indians towards British raj
- when tab was at height, It was difficult for ordinary Indian people to be openly critical of those who ruled them
- raj how did however, employ a great number of Indians, this providing roof over their heads and food to eat. Also an occupation
- it was an alien rule, not one from culture unlike the Mughal empire
- english language: they could pass examinations; Better understanding of democracy and imperialism
Indians and British living in India and the attitudes they held towards each other
- the impact of the Indian mutiny of 1857 meant that the level of racial mistrust raised between the British and Indian. As a result of this the British response was to be separate themselves from the Indian people. This also created a separate caste, a ruling elite
- wealthy raj officials lived in the great eighteenth century houses. They were also looked after by Indian servants
- poorer raj officials lived in bungalows but still had Indians as their servants despite this
- after Indian mutiny, far fewer British men took Indian wives or mistresses
- the British lived lavishly in Calcutta and Simla
- Anglo Indians not respected. Relations hostile between cultures
- Lord curzons views towards Indians; the princes are unruly and ignorant and rather undisciplined school kid
- White mans burden ideology
-‘Can these thieves really be our rulers?’ - growing discontent and resentment amongst Indians towards alien rule
- Indians had no influence in decisions
- the Indian economy was made for the needs of the British only
- Curzon was seen as having little interest in indian opinion:
He believed that the Bengal province was too large and wanted it to be split into East and West Bengal. Hindus were angry and they though East Bengal would be dominated my Muslims
The details of the Morley minto reforms and the impact on British administrators in India and on Indians on inc, British and Indians
Reforms:
- sixty Indian representatives were to be elected to serve on the viceroy’s executive council; 27 of which would be from special interest for groups. However, officials remained the majority
- the provincial councils were to be enlarged sufficiently to create non official majorities
- separate electorates were provided for Muslims and Hindus in order to allow the majority Muslims to have a voice in the various councils
- 6 muslim representatives
- Morley appointees two Indians to the council in London
- minto appointed Indians to key posts in India
Impact
For British
- British administrators were disappointment and disheartened by the changes, which diluted their power. They were no longer in the majority on provincial councils and had to contend with a substantial Indian minority on the viceroy’s executive council
- administrators also believed that dispassionate judgement, on the Indians parts, could not be achieved. They also believed that they have weak influence
Impact for Indians
They had no real influence in admin
They tended to divide Hindus and Muslims by treating them like separate communities
Very few Indians could actually vote. The franchise was restricted to the very wealthy and privileges, who were likely to continue to support British rule
Impact on Indian national congress
The inc claimed to represent all Indians although most members were Hindu
It objected the principle of communism which they thought would divide india
It protested that the qualification to vote was lower for Muslims than for Hindus
The economic effects of the war on India and its political repercussions in that country
- India had poured men and materials into the war effort and in doing so had become a critical source of supple for the allied cause
- by the end of 1919, some 1.5 million Indians had been recruited into combatant and nom combatant roles and nearly all of them has been sent overseas including 184,350 animals
- by the end of ww1, Indian revenues had contributed over 146 million to the allied war effort
- revenues demand in India were raised by 16> in 1916-19, 14% 1917-18, 10% 1918-19 -> ordinary people felt the effects of the war through increased taxation. Prices of food grain rose by 93%
Political repercussions: - British v India
- broad nationalist shifts created
- Indian soldiers had increased self esteem
- relationship between them strengthened
- Indians were beginning to apply their own situation of democracy
How was India governed at the beginning of the 20th century?
They were first controlled by the East Indian company
They lost power and then they were governed by Westminster:
Secretary of State was responsible for policy
The Secretary of State was advised by the council of India - who were 15 non Indians
India was run by the indian civil service (British) 70,000 of them
India was defended by the indian army
The viceroy put British policies into practice. This was Curzon
Britain only rules two thirds of India, the rest was by Indian princes
Indian princes were loyal to the British and relied on their support. The British could intervene and dispose rulers and they had limited control on their own affairs alie though they were independent
All decisions counter to British interest were disposed off
Caste
It is determined by birth and determined which occupations may be followed, to whom one may marry and even the extent to which one may appear in public
The Aligarh Movement 1875
Leading Indians also took steps to regenerate society through education and modernisation. the aim was to create a westernised intellectual class and increase both Indian self-respect and British confidence by the adoption of corporative and forward-looking ideas amongst Indians
Partition of Bengal 1905
Western Bengal and eastern Bengal
Hindus left outraged as they saw it an attempt to divide and rule
Too many Muslims in eastern Bengal otherwise Muslims were delighted with this
Resulted in the swadeshi movement.
The Ilbert bill
The Ilbert Bill was a bill introduced in 1883 for British India by Viceroy Ripon that proposed an amendment for existing laws in the country at the time
to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level, something that was disallowed at the time.
The Simla delegation
The fury of Hindus over the creation of a muslim majority province in the partition of Bengal had convinced Muslims that, as and when Indians were permitted to take part in the government, they would be overwhelmed by the general Hindu majority.
New viceroy Lord minto delegated 70 muslim leaders to the British summer capital of Simla to present their plan for separate electorates for Muslims.
The 1909 Indian councils act
The Morley minto reforms became law in the Indian councils act 1909.
There were moderate changed to the provincial central and executive councils
Most councils retained a majority of officials rather than elected members. Moreover, the Indian members were to be elected indirectly. The variations organisations and social groups were permitted to choose a specified number of representatives who were recommended to the council in question
Did it satisfy Indians?
Congress who had once supported the reforms protested whilst the Muslims who had once complained were satisfied. This was because council seats were reserved for them
British?
It placed the elected Indian members in the position of being able to complain all the time without having to do anything about the matters in question. The Indian groups became the official opposition to the British government
Bengal reunification 1911
The partition had created a muslim majority. However the reunification meant that Muslims were disappointed
The Lucknow pact
Muslims had pre existing resentment:
The 1911 reunification of Bengal was meant to benefit muslim politicians
So …
The heart of the scheme was to set out the proportions of seats in the provincial legislative councils reserved for the Muslims
Agreements
No Muslims would contest a seat outside the reserved quota
No bill or clause could proceed if 75% of effective community opposed it
The central legislative Council would increased to 150 members of whom 80% would be elected and one third of them would be muslim in the proportions set out for the provinces, thus giving Muslims additional weightage at both of provincial and central levels
Provincial counsellors will serve for five years
Councils would have powers over revenue collection, loans and expen denture
More simply:
It was an agreement between congress and the Muslim league whereby it was agreed that Muslims would have a fixed proportion of seats in an Indian Parliament and extra seats in areas where they were in a minority
