Indian Imperialism Essay

Britain had a desire to have a more economic, political, and social influence over India. Even though the British never preserved a notable military existence in India, they were able to maintain political control. Many changes were made, which benefitted India, but there were also some changes, which contributed to its deterioration. Despite the negative impacts Britain left on India, imperialism is best understood as a strong country extending its authority, in order to increase its wealth, by bringing more of the world under its control, because Britain helped in the development of India from a nation-state, to a unified country, which is modernly the world’s largest democracy.

“Englishmen.. have given the people of India the greatest human blessing - peace.” (Dutt). Merely coming to India in the 1600s to trade, the British East India Company established trading outposts. After ridding of French influence in India during the Seven Years’ War and having Indians mutiny against British rule, Britain gained full control of India. India has been under the imperialist control of the British until their independence in 1947. British imperialism caused some negative effects on India through poverty and persecution, but retained more of a positive impact due to its massive improvements in the modernization of India and the overall improvement of Indian civilization.

The imperialism had many effects which were good and bad for India's economy. Like the advancement of transportation and communications with trains and telephones. This helped bring up the economy of standard living. Education and technology was also a benefit from this such as

Did you know in the 17th century India was one of the richest countries in the world? British imperialism began with the fall of the Mughal Dynasty in 1757. The East India Company noticed the Mughal Dynasty collapsing and took advantage of it. Robert Clive led his troops to victory, taking over India. Although many Indians were killed, British imperialism led India on the right path to success. The British developed a government and brought the nation together. They developed railways and infrastructure throughout India and provided jobs to those who searched for them. The idea of national parks came along and protected wildlife from going extinct.

Many positive things happened during, and as a result of, the British colonization of India. When the East India Company took control of India in 1612, they began modernizing, westernizing, and industrializing India. This westernization included giving women more rights, an attempt to eliminate the caste system and the loss of many of the more backward Hindu religious beliefs such as the domination of women by men and denying an entire class of people any rights. British occupation also did things long term for India. The modern technology and western customs allowed India to become a burgeoning regional superpower. The colonization of India was helpful for India because it went a long way to modernize India, westernized India in

Imperialism is the domination of one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country. Imperialism is more often than not fueled by two major schools of thought known as nationalism and Social Darwinism. Nationalism is a feeling of pride and devotion to one’s country. This can drive a person to think that their country is the most powerful, and in essence drives that person mad with power and a hunger to conquer, which not ironically is exactly what many countries did. Social Darwinism is the very idea that a more powerful country conquer the smaller countries. “Survival of the fittest,” as the well renowned Charles Darwin used to say. Imperialism is also sometimes sparked by military motives, such as when USA set up

India is a great example about how they were too weak. India is probably in the best position for trade, due to its central location between Africa and Asia. India was a great area for trade.Before the West’s power overtook India, it was small not unified. In document 5 a person can be seen weaving on their own. This is before they were introduced to industrial textile production. The British wanted to take control of India and combine with them to become bigger and stronger. Britain saw India as a market and is a source of raw materials they built roads and impressive railroads to transport factory made goods across the subcontinent. These roads and railroads are used to carry materials such as coal and cotton to coastal ports to transfer the factories in England. This description of India can relate to Document 6, in this document a railroad is seen being built under British control. Railroads are an example of modernization taking over this country.

Imperialism has been a big factor in the world’s economy for a fairly long time now. So, it must be a good thing right? …Right? Well… yes and no. It really just depends on who you’re asking, really. If you ask someone from England, they might say yes. If you ask someone from India, however, that’s a different story. The reason for this is because the true answer is not so black and white. There are several factors that tie into this overarching discussion. What good has it done? What bad has come out of it? These are all factors to consider. In India’s case - in my opinion - it’s not such a good thing. Why? While Britain did do some good during their time controlling India, they ended up crippling the country in the long run.

Britain became the vast and mighty Empire upon which the sun never set through the development and use of what is, in modern terms, referred to as Imperialism. The British approach to the colonization of India came out of: the European, specifically British, superiority mindset; the practical approach of attaining resources in return for modernization and “guardianship”; and the solidification of Britain as the world’s dominating force. Britain’s use of Imperialism, as a necessity to maintain its Empire, acted as the catalyst of the Indian Rebellion.

On the 31st of December in the year 1600, ‘The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies’ received a Royal Charter to be England’s trading representative in India. By they early part of the 17th Century, Britain had already eclipsed Portuguese interests in India. The company bought in cotton, silk, indigo, opium, saltpeter and tea mainly in exchange for silver bullion. These were valuable commodities in Britain at that time. By 1720, 15% of British imports were from India.

Imperialism had several diverse impacts on Asia, Africa, and Europe. The pros about imperialism, was that new roads and railroads that were built connected many parts of India. The introduction of the telegraph and postal systems united many people. Discovering new agricultural methods improved farming in the west and in Africa and Asia. Schools that were built by the British educated many people. Human rights were recognized, by ending customs that threatened many humans.

Although imperialism had several negative impacts on certain regions, it lead to the introduction of a better government system and improvement in technology. The efforts put in by Europe to colonize weak countries resulted in improvement of education and sanitation in the colonized countries. Africa specially gained a lot from Imperialism. Schools and hospitals were built,

British Imperialism had a negative impact on the politics of India because the British took away control of the country for their benefit and enforced laws that discriminated against Indians. Lavani claims the British “established the framework for India’s justice system, civil service, loyal army, and efficient police force.” However, this framework was not intended for the Indians, but for the British. For example, 94% of government positions were held by Englishman (Doc. #2). These people had “no permanent interest in their well-being” and returned to England after “forty-five or fifty-five years of age with large pensions (Doc. #2).” This shows the British government used India as a source of wealth and controlled the people without

One of the key countries that was affected by imperialism would be India, as illustrated in the film “Gandhi”, british troops would take over poor countries. One scene that illustrates this point would be when Gandhi is traveling through his own country and gets stopped by officers while getting off of the train, these men threaten to arrest him, and Gandhi uses his knowledge of the law to get out of it. In the next scene, Gandhi is visiting a poor village. The

Colonization is a controversial matter. This is especially true when it comes to the British, who have colonized nearly every country (only 22 countries have not been settled by Britain). The British presence in India was one of the most controversial of all of their colonizations. Many believe it was positive for the country, others believe it was not. However, the positives far outweigh the negatives: Better infrastructure, Western education, and the British bringing political peace and order.