Europe invading India
Europeans arrived in India in 1498 when the Portuguese voyager, Vasco de Gama, went off looking for wealth, and new land. Economic competition drew many other countries towards India
British Raj: the period of British rule on the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947
Great Britian Reasons for Imperialism
- Economic- Wanted a way to maximize profit. Expansion demanded cheap labor, access to or control of markets to sell or buy products, and natural resources such as precious metals and land
- Exploratory- Wanted to explore more territory mostly for scientific research.
- Ethnocentric- They believed that their cultural values and beliefs are more superior, with imperial conquest they believed that it would successful culture to inferior people.
- Political and Military- Patriotism and growing imperial power spurred countries to compete with others for supremacy. It’s a matter of national pride, prestige and security. Steam powered merchant ships and naval vessels needed bases around the world to get coal and supplies
- Religious- During imperial expansion, religious people sometimes set out to convert new members of their religion and, thus, their empire
Why did the British Invade India?
India had many natural materials and abilities that the British wanted including :
- cheap labor
- natural resources like coal and tea
- spices
- fine silks
- cotton for clothing
- good trading skills.
Pros to Britain taking over India:
A few things that were beneficial from Britain taking over India were:
- modernized India
- helped education system
- built roads
- brought a degree of peace and order to the countryside
- medical improvements
- increased food production.
British KEy players:
Queen Victoria was all for the takeover of India, and wanted to expand the empire as much as they could.
Prime Minister of England, Benjamin Disraeli, was influential in world affairs, He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the glory and power of the British Empire.
In comparison to the US Imperialism:
The US participated by allowing many of their overseas territories gain independence but they keep some under their control like Guam, the Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Puerto Rico.
- They wanted to spread their religious and cultural values.
- Wanted to expand their military
Citations :
Chicago Style Sources: Fisher-Byrne, Libby. "Why Did Britain want to take over India?" Prezi.com. November 12, 2013. Accessed February 23, 2017. https://prezi.com/cfeboccrffik/why-did-britain-want-to-take-over-india/
Cleary, Vern. "A Case Study of British Imperialism in India." A Case Study of British Imperialism in India. Accessed February 23, 2017. http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/modernworldhistorytextbook/imperialism/section_4/earlyindia.html.
Study.com. Accessed February 23, 2017. http://study.com/academy/lesson/european-imperialism-in-india-the-british-east-india-company.html
"Communicate with impact." Adobe Spark. Accessed February 23, 2017. https://spark.adobe.com/#design/page/64ab5e8d-c275-4515-b4f1-e4ac608e37af
Cleary, Vern. "Motives for Imperialism." Motives for Imperialism. Accessed February 23, 2017. http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/modernworldhistorytextbook/imperialism/section_2/motives.html
"Queen Victoria Quotes." BrainyQuote. Accessed February 23, 2017. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/q/queen_victoria.html.
"American imperialism." Wikipedia. February 19, 2017. Accessed February 23, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_imperialism.
"Benjamin Disraeli." Wikipedia. February 22, 2017. Accessed February 23, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Disraeli.
"Queen Victoria." Wikipedia. February 21, 2017. Accessed February 23, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria.