relations with indigenous people 1857-90

• Indian Mutiny


  1857 event where Britain's relations with the local population in India transformed
• Causes of the Indian Mutiny

  • Grievances about pay and changes to the condition of service
  • Rumours about high-caste Hindus being sent by sea to Burma - offended caste laws about crossing water
  • Use of the Enfield rifle's cartridges, which were greased in animal fat (pork and beef fat) - countered both Hindu & Muslim religious beliefs
  • Hostility towards the Governor-General Dalhousie - he seized land from many noble families
• The sepoys were mainly Hindu or Muslim, despite Christian missionaries' attempts to convert the Indian population to Christianity
• Parliament took control of the East India Company and the British Raj (period of British government control of India) began


  1858
• The Indian Mutiny

  1. British had to spend over 12 months battling rebels

  2. British did not regain control of India until June 1858
• The Emperor's sons were executed (meaning there was no chance to restore the Mughal Empire to the throne)
• The British burned down Indian villages
• The Cawnpore massacre of British officers, wives, and children fuelled Social-Darwinist and racist theories that stated Indians were inferior to white British people
• The Indian Mutiny was a challenge to British rule
• Benefits and drawbacks of the British Raj

  • The British built railways, which were geared towards trade and military transport. Many of the goods were for British citizens living in India rather than the local population.
  • Cheap British exports flooded the Indian market. However, this prevented home industries from developing. The USA developed its own domestic industries by protecting its 'infant industries' behind tariffs. India suffered from the opposite experience, exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods.
• Education

  • A privileged few local people received schooling. However, poverty and famine were high and most Indians did not receive an education.
  • However, until the 1870 Education Act, neither did most British people.
  • Nevertheless, in 1870, 25% of the British population was illiterate (couldn't read or write). In 1872, 96.75% of the Indian population was illiterate.
• Bantu land


  Land set aside for black local people in South Africa and Namibia
• Diamonds were found near Kimberly

  The British South African Company, led by Cecil Rhodes, began to annex Bantu Land
• Diamond rush


  Triggered by the discovery of diamonds near Kimberley (West Griqualand) on the Orange River in 1867
• Cecil Rhodes


  • Moved to Kimberly in 1871
  • Purchased every diamond mining company in Kimberly by 1890
  • Monopolised South African diamonds
  • Formed the British South Africa Company in 1889
• In 1868, Britain annexed Basutoland, displacing the Khoikhoi and Sotho peoples and claiming them to be part of Cape Colony
• In 1869, Britain had a major territorial dispute with the Orange Free State (which was an independent Boer republic in South Africa)
• 1871-76

  • The British-controlled Cape Colony continued to push northwards up South Africa, annexing West Griqualand in 1871, and East Griqualand in 1874.
  • In 1875, Britain proposed a federation of British and Boer territories.
  • The Boers rejected this.
  • In 1876, the British paid the Boers £90,000 in order to settle the Orange Free State's claims to the diamonds in Kimberly.
• 1877-1878

  • Between 1877 and 1878, Britain fought the Xhosa War against the Xhosa (a Bantu ethnic group) in order to obtain their land.
  • The Boers were facing increased hostility from the local Zulus and Pedis.
  • In 1877, the Transvaal, which was an autonomous Boer community, was coming under threat from the local Zulu and Pedi tribes. The state was on the verge of bankruptcy and Britain took advantage of its military and financial weakness, annexing the Transvaal.
• The Boers reluctantly accepted British aid and Bartle Frere invaded Zululand in order to obtain more territory in South Africa and to use its inhabitants as diamond mining labour


  1879
• British troops defeated the Zulus and the Pedi at Ulundi (an area which is incorporated into Natal) and annexed Zulu territory after winning the Anglo-Zulu War
• After the British won the Anglo-Zulu War, the Boers (or Afrikaners) no longer needed British support. They resumed their demands for an independent Boer state.

  Boer independence of 1880

  • The Boers declared independence in 1880 and defeated British troops at Majuba Hill in the year 1881.
• Other causes of poor relations with the Boers

  • The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 banned slavery in British colonies.
  • Martin Kitchen (1996) claims that the Boers were angered by the abolition of slavery in 1833.
• Treatment of the Bantu

  • Little thought was given to local Bantu tribes whose land became a playground for European ambition.
  • The discovery of diamonds and gold increased the wealth of the region. However, profit remained in the hands of settlers and the chartered companies.
  • Laws were passed limiting the rights of black Africans - this was specifically requested by the Boers.
  • Black Africans were put into very low paid jobs, were forced to live in segregated neighbourhoods and lost their cultural and political autonomy.
• The relations between the British and the Boers were strained. They deteriorated after the discovery of gold on the Rand.
• 1880


  The Boers turned on the British and attacked the British garrisons across the Transvaal.
• Boers in the Transvaal

  Led by Paul Kruger
• The British were defeated by the Boers at Majuba Hill (over 150 Brits were killed).
• 1881


  The British were forced to sign the Convention of Pretoria
• 1884


  The British were forced to sign the Convention of London
• The British and Boers disputed the terms of the peace (thus why two different conventions were signed).
• As of 1881, the Transvaal was independent again, although the exact details were disputed.
• 1884-1885

  • In 1884, the Germans arrived in South West Africa.
  • Britain feared a Boer-German alliance and planned to prevent them from combining territories.
  • In 1885, the British annexed Bechuanaland (between Transvaal and German South West Africa), making the North a Protectorate and the South a Crown Colony.
  • In 1881, Cecil Rhodes was elected as a representative of Barkly West (which was a Boer constituency). But according to Kitchen (1996), "Rhodes was the driving force behind the annexation of Bechuanaland... a move designed to contain the Transvaal".
• 1886

  • In 1886, gold was discovered at Witwatersrand near Transvaal capital of Pretoria.
  • This triggered a second gold rush.
  • This increased the non-Boer European presence in the area (these are referred to as ‘Uitlanders’ or ‘outsiders’).
  • Suddenly, British interest in the Transvaal grew again, and the ambiguity over the status of the Transvaal grew again.
  • Paul Kruger, the leader of the Transvaal began discriminatory polices against the Uitlanders (including high taxes and civil rights abuses). The majority of the Uitlanders were British.
• 1889-1890

  • In 1889, Cecil Rhodes founded the British South Africa Company.
  • He was aiming to extend his wealth and the Empire from ‘the Cape to Cairo’.
  • Rhodes created the De Beers Mining Company, which had a monopoly on mining South African diamonds.
  • In 1890, the BSAC established a fort at Salisbury.