Introduction
The Britain Empire established its rule in India from 1858 until it gained its independence in 1947 the regions ruled included British India and the princely states which signed treaties with the Britons to enjoy their protection and some local autonomy in exchange for their acceptance for Britain representation in all affairs. Though the Indians resisted Britain’s rule they were unable to overcome the British soldiers’ tactics and weapons hence the British East India Company took the region as its colony for trading and governance purposes.
The Indian rebellion originated from three groups of people who felt discontented with British rule. This included feudal aristocrats who had lost their titles and domains under the new rule. Britain never recognized the adoption of the princes as the inheritors of the rule hence they felt short-changed. Secondly, the landlords had lost their land and large estates to peasant farmers hence they were annoyed with the Britons and were ready to fight.
The peasant farmers were too annoyed due to imposed large taxes meant to collect revenue for the Britain Empire, many local inhabitants such as money lenders suffered large losses hence, they felt unhappy with the British rule hence the rebellion. However, despite their efforts to force the Britons out of their land, they could not march their weapons and the army tactics. This marked the complete establishment of British rule in India.
Analysis
Before the British invasion and rule, India practiced barter where goods were exchanged for goods. Many of the locals were agricultural farmers growing both crops and rearing animals. The craftsmen used to carve and make the goods for the synagogues to be used as instruments of worship. In addition, only the local religion was recognized in the region i.e. Buddhism, other religions were rarely unheard of. The Indians organized themselves in villages where they practiced their economic activities.
However, there were ruled by princes who lived in town. Most of the economic activities were labor-intensive or done by hand, where lands were hand-tilled, weaving and spinning were also done by hands. The benefits of the trade were utilized locally for developments however, their primitive technology would not allow for complex developments such as the construction of the infrastructure.
With the coming of British rule, many changes were put into place. This includes the establishment of the money trade where goods were exchanged for money. This opened for international trade something unheard of before as many depended on the local trade. In addition, the form of the government was altered to favor the Britons where the local rulers were supposed to be under the British governor who was autonomous and supreme. The British rule established the freedom of religion and movement. This allowed protestant missionaries in the area to preach Christianity as well as Muslims; hence some got converted into these new religions. More so, the Britons introduced capital-intensive forms of production where a spinner was introduced in Lancashire and a weaver in Bengal, this replaced the Hindoo weaver and spinner.
In addition, factories were introduced where spinning and weaving were done full time. In ancient India, most of these activities were spare time and at home. The craftsmen were made to produce carvings and other products for sale in the international market. Whereas land was owned freely, title deeds were introduced as proof of ownership and utilization. Therefore, the British rule had a great impact on India’s way of life both economically, socially, and politically. As in most cases, new and complicated ideologies were introduced to replace their simpler means and forms of doing things.
References
Bose, Sugata & Ayesha Jalal, Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy, Rout ledge, London and New York, 2003.
Brown, Judith M, Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy, Oxford University Press. Oxford and New York, 1994.
Judd, Dennis, the Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and fall of the British Raj, 1600-1947, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, (2004).
Ludden, David, India and South Asia: A Short History, One world Publications, Oxford, 2002.