Impact of Empire on Britain & India

• Positive:

  • By 1900s, thousands of kilometres of roads as well as schools, factories and hospitals had been built.
  • Introduced a new legal system in India, settled ancient rivalries.
• Negative:

  • Roads + railways only built for British benefit
  • British customs forced on Indians. Local traditions, religion etc. ignored frequently.
  • Indian workers were exploited, country's raw materials stolen and native lands were seized.
• Economic:

  • British became extremely rich from raw materials such as tea, silk, spices and gemstones.
  • Increased trade created jobs for British + Indian people.
  • British introduced an irrigation program for the Indian countryside, improving land availability for farming.
  • Coal mining introduced.
• Building Factories:

  • Many areas in India were industrialised.
  • Local Indians worked in factories + mills owned by British businessmen.
  • British made goods could also be sold in India.
• Improved Health:

  • British introduced a vaccine programme to fight killer diseases such as malaria and smallpox.
  • Improved sewage and water systems so life expectancy increased.
  • Devastating famines in late 1800s, killing millions.
  • Many blames British for famines as they forced Indians to replace food crops [eg. rice + wheat] with cash crops [tobacco, cotton etc.]
• Communication + Transport:

  • British build over 30,000 km of railways & 130,000 bridges.
  • Canals, roads, factories, mines + farms [estimated 400 million investment by 1914] were introduced.
• Culture + Society:

  • Legal system created, based on British one.
  • High courts set up in Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
  • Hindu + Muslim judges ensured British did not ignore Indian traditions in law.
  • Thousands of schools opened and English language learning spread.
  • English language learning benefited traders, and Indians had more knowledge in science, humanities and literature.