British India
Overview of Southeast
Asia/Pacific
• The first players from Europe were
the Portuguese and the Dutch,
however as seen in other parts of the
world the French and then
eventually the British controlled the
seas
• The three main companies were the
Dutch East India Company, British
East India Company, and French
India Company
Overview of Southeast
Asia/Pacific
• Imperialism in the region had various
motives. Colonies provided markets to
serve the Industrial Revolution
• Tropical crops were in high demand like:
Overview of Southeast
Asia/Pacific
• Motives for the countries were
typically the same as in Africa,
except for France
• After the loss of the FrancoPrussian War in 1871, the French
were trying to regain some
national pride through their
colonies and imperialism
Dutch East India
Company
• Also known as the VOC
• Company granted a monopoly in
1602 for all trade between the Cape
of Good Hope and Straits of Magellan
• The goal and purpose was to first
organize Dutch trade in the East
Indies, and second to raise funds for
current war against the Spanish
Dutch East India
Company
• The VOC lasted until 1799
• It’s holdings were beyond
India, typically found in
the area of Jakarta and
Java
• Unlike the French and
Portuguese, the Dutch
were more interested in
commerce than conversion
to Christianity
French East India Company
• French felt need to push their
commercial interests because of the
Dutch and British
• The French entered the area (1664)
much later than the Dutch (1602),
and British (1600)
• The French never really became a
dominant part of the region, they
eventually focused on an area which
is now Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
British East India
Company
• The combination of sea experience,
territory, and stable government
made expansion into India easy for
the British
• Conflict with European rivals
made the decision to arm the East
India Company helped the British
conquer India
Mughal Contact
• The weakened Mughal
Emperor in 1765 made
a deal with the British
making them the
diwan of Bengal and
other territories
• This deal made the
British go from
trading partners
within the region to
rulers of the region
• Prior to this moment,
it was the Battle of
Plassey in 1757 which
made it happen
Robert Clive (1725-1774)
• Clive was able to
hire Indian agents
to collect taxes
and in turn they
kept judicial
authority
• By 1767 this
system led to
greed and in 1774
the Regulation
Act was passed
British Rule
• The British slowly gained more
and more control of India, the
India Act of 1784 brought more
power to the crown
• The current governor of India
resigned in disgust citing his loss
of power from London
• The next leader was Lord
Cornwallis (1738-1805)
Lord Cornwallis (1738-1805)
• Lord Cornwallis
lost to George
Washington in the
Americas
• In India Cornwallis
enacted the Code of
Forty-Eight
Regulation in 1793
• This set standards
for administration,
tax collection, and
courts
• The Cornwallis Code was the
standard of rule in India until
1856
• Slowly the British collected more
authority in India
• The British always had difficulty
understanding the tribal areas and
customs of the region
The Indian Mutiny
• The Indian
Mutiny occurred
in 1857-58 by
Indian soldiers
referred to as
Sepoys who
served in the
Bengal army
Sepoy Rebellion
• The goal of the
event was to end
the British
dominance over
India
• Many factors led
to this sporadic,
disorganized
rebellion
Sepoy Rebellion Causes
• Permanent Settlement Act of 1793
destroyed flourishing Indian
cotton industry
• India was a captive market to the
British
• The Act also increased the tax
burden and collection techniques
Sepoy Rebellion Causes
• Indians were
forced to plant
new crops
Sepoy Rebellion Causes
• All the while the
British collected
more land and
power
• A general
dissatisfaction
and unease was
growing within
the Indian
population
Sepoy Rebellion
• By 1856 the
British had 43,000
troops to the
Indian 223,000
• Soldiers were
poorly paid and
little chance for
promotion
• The flashpoint
was the 1857 Lee
Enfield Rifle
Sepoy Rebellion
• Cartridges which
needed to be
bitten before
loaded was
greased from pigs
and cows
• The Bengal
infantry refused
to use the rifle
Sepoy Rebellion
• Soldiers protested and eventually
it became a full blown revolt and
they marched to the key city of
Delhi
• The soldiers proclaimed the
Mughal ruler the new leader of
India
• Most of India did not know or
support the rebellion
Sepoy Rebellion
• The Sepoy held
onto their
location as long as
they could
• However, British
military might
retook every city
and punished the
rebels
Results of the Sepoy
Rebellion
• The British East India Company was
removed from power of India
• The Doctrine of Lapse was renounced
• The Bengal Army was disbanded
• New relations were created with
prince states
• Mughal rule was eliminated
• A reorganization of administration,
tax collection, and education was
administered
British Occupied India