E&M booklet 3

• Early European trade with India:

  • Trading stations were forts on the sea where they could settle and trade from
  • Some families even lived in these trading stations, or the owners lived in them by themselves
  • Led to the growth of European settlements in India
  • Protected these with armed guards
  • On the coast near the sea
  • Made it attractive to countries who wanted to trade with/takeover India
  • India is rich in natural resources e.g iron ore, silk, copper, gold, silver, gemstones, tea and timber
• • India became a base for some Britain’s growing global trading and became increasingly important
  • The businessmen in charge of the company and Kings and Queens to whom they paid taxes, made a fortune from this trade
  • Had a monopoly in British trade in India but this ended in 1694
• • Any country that made strong trade links with India could potentially become very rich and powerful
  • 1497: Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama successfully sailed to India – this opened up a new route for trade
  • Initially, traders arrived simply with goods and exchanged them for Indian goods to sell at home
  • Britian, France, Portugal, Spain and Holland all had a presence in India before 1700
  • The East India Company had its own army and navy (very powerful)
  • The company’s ships carried cheap British goods and exchanged them for goods in countries as far away as Japan and China
• • 1773: The Government of India Act – shares control of India between the UK government and the EIC which had started to face financial problems
  • 1776: After losing the American colonies, the British government begins to focus heavily on India as a source of wealth/trade. India becomes the focus of the Britian Empire
• How British control over India was established:

  • 1600: The EIC was founded with a charter awarded by Queen Elizabeth
  • 1612: First British trading station was established in India at Surat
  • 1707: The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb dies, leading to a period of conflict and instability in India
  • 1757: Robert Clive and the EIC with a key battle called the Battle of Plassey. The EIC becomes the most powerful force in India
  • 1763: Robert Clive becomes ‘Governor and commander in chief’ of the EIC
• 1857 Indian Rebellion:

  • Causes:
  • Inequalities and racism
  • Religious tensions
  • British misrule
  • Impact of the Sepoy rebellion on India:
  • The new royal government of India distanced itself from Christian missionaries
  • Majority of the British army in India was made up of volunteers
  • A great railway system was constructed
  • Major canal schemes were instituted
  • Universities, colleges and schools also sprung up in towns and cities
  • Some industries developed, notably Indian-owned textile manufacturing in Western India
• Impact of British rule on India:

  • Positive:
  • Many areas in India became industrialised
  • Large infrastructure projects were undertaken
  • Introduction of coal mining, vaccines, treatments against smallpox and malaria, and improved sewer systems
  • Negative:
  • Poor working conditions and pay for Indians
  • Forced to buy expensive manufactured goods made in Britain
  • Regular famines in India
  • Indians treated as second-class citizens
• Impact of British rule on Britain:

  • Positive:
  • Huge trade benefits
  • Creation of jobs in British ports and factories
  • Negative:
  • Nothing
• The Berlin Conference (1884):

  • Called by the Chancellor of Germany – Otto Van Bismark
  • Agreed to divide Africa between European countries
  • No African representation present at the conference
• The Scramble for Africa:

  • Definition: A period of rapid European colonisation of Africa from the 1880s to the 1910s
  • Impact on African societies:
  • Creation of divisions between groups to ensure more control, leading to tension and violence
  • Colonisation led to displacement of people and death
  • Impact on African culture:
  • Many African countries have English as their main language today
  • Loss of many African languages
  • British stole priceless pieces of art from Benin
• Economic impact of British exploitation:

  • British exploited colonies for resources like gold, rubber, and oil
  • Many countries still recovering from British exploitation
• Cecil Rhodes:

  • Imperialist
  • Social Darwinism
  • Biography:
  • Had land in Africa named after him
  • Became one of the richest men on Earth
  • Led military expeditions to expand British land in Africa
  • Gained power in areas of Africa
  • Died in the middle of a war he started to gain land
• The Suez Canal:

  • Benefits:
  • More trade due to shortcuts in the route
  • British troops could sail faster to their colonies
  • Dangers:
  • Didn’t help to build it
  • Could be made to pay to use it or blocked from using it
  • Colonising Egypt:
  • 1882 rebellion led to British occupation of major towns and cities
• Sudan:

  • 1886-1888: British, under Lord Kitchener, regained control of Sudan
• The Boer War:

  • British wanted to unite with the Boer states
  • British troops were defeated at the Battle of Majuba Hill in 1881
  • Cecil Rhodes set up gold mines in Boer territories
  • Second Boer war broke out in 1899
• Second Boer War broke out in 1899
• British forces were stunned by a series of shocking Boer victories
• British government responded to early losses by sending half a million troops to fight the approximately 50,000 Boer troops in January 1900
• British army used modern, ‘hi-tech’ weapons, including Maxim machine guns, modern rifles, and high explosive shells
• Boer forces refused to surrender and launched a constant series of small scale ambushes and raids on British settlements and military outposts (Guerrilla warfare)
• Boer forces had no military uniform, were armed with the latest German-made military rifles and artillery, and were all mobile on horseback
• Boer forces mainly fought in small groups (12-15 soldiers) and 'lived off the land' by foraging for food or capturing enemy supplies
• British used the Scorched Earth Approach led by General Kitchener to destroy anything useful to the enemy
• Boer citizens and others were moved to concentration camps where 25% died from mistreatment, starvation, and disease
• Boer surrender in 1902 led to the formation of the South African Union in 1910
• Consequences of the Boer War:

  • Development of the British Empire
  • Boer poverty accelerated
  • Significant development in military tactics with Maxim guns
  • British military casualties and societal changes
• Push factors of Irish migration:

  • Irish economy collapse
  • Potato famine in 1845
  • Ireland ruled as a British colony with little effort to improve the situation
• Pull factors of Irish migration:

  • Better paid work as navvies
  • Food and crops availability in Britain
  • Familiar Irish communities in Britain
• Evidence of acceptance and discrimination towards Irish migrants in British society
• Jewish migration:

  • Wave of migration in the 1880s due to extreme persecution
  • New arrivals were treated poorly but attracted by better pay and jobs in Britain
• Treatment of Jews in British society:

  • Accepted and assimilated
  • Discriminated against with the Alien's Act of 1905
• People on the move:

  • Over 22 million people left Britain between 1815 and 1914 for better opportunities
  • Forced migration of criminals to Australia
  • Urbanization and industrial revolution led to population growth and migration within Britain and overseas