Yr 8 – History Knowledge Organiser: Unit 4 – India Depth Study
Key Words:
Mughal Empire
East Indian Trading
Company
Independence
Sepoy
Mutiny
Bias
L2 – Life in the Mughal Empire
Empire that ruled India 1530-1707
An English company, formed to trade with India to
make lots of money for England
Free from outside control – not subject to another’s
authority.
An Indian soldier serving under British orders
An open rebellion against the proper authorities,
especially by soldiers or sailors against their officers
Evidence that is heavily favouring one person or side
of the argument
L1 – Mughal Empire
Babur
– 1526 – South
1530. Asia, they
The Mughals were a powerful Muslim family who
conquered
He
was
the
first
Mughal
ruled for nearly 200 hundred years.
emperor. His reign began when
he defeated the most powerful
ruler of the smaller states of
India – Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi.
Akbar – 1556 – 1605.
Akbar became ruler of India at
13 years old but took complete
power in 1556 when he was
18. He was a brave soldier and
a good organiser, expanding
the empire to the size of
Europe. He also allowed the
people to follow the religion of
their choice.
Aurangzeb – 1658 – 1707
Aurangzeb was the last emperor of the Mughal Empire. He pushed the Empire
south into India. He was unlike by the people because he resented the Hindu
religion. He fought many wars to keep the empire together.
Life of the Poor – Majority of people in India were peasants, due to high taxes, droughts and
floods. Mughal tax collectors took between 33%- 50% of peasants crops, leading to many
peasants falling into debt. Few areas had irrigation, therefore farmland was either washed away
in floods or died in long droughts.
Life of the Rich – The Mughal Emperors spent a lot of money. The cost to run the court for one
day was 50,000 rupees (£6,250). Money was lavishly spent on the upkeep of animals, clothing
and food. Akbar had 1,000 suits made each year out of the most expensive materials available.
Towns and Cities – 15% of the population lived in towns and cities in India by the 17th Century (in
comparison 13% of the population of Britain were in towns). Trade helped these areas grow, due
to market towns and the expansion of the textile industry. Taxes were collected in cash, so
peasants had to travel to these towns, therefore making them important central areas.
L3 – Decline of the Mughal Empire
Short – Lived Emperors – After the death of Aurangzeb, there were 10 emperors over 13 years.
Weakness at the top meant that local rulers became more ambitious. They built up their power
and wealth, which was then passed on to their sons.
Invasion of Persians and Afghans – Afghans invaded India 4 times between 1748 - 1761. Persian
troops invaded in 1739. The combination of these invasions left India poor and destroyed.
Shortage of Money - Previous emperors had wasted so much money and with the local rulers
paying less taxes, India had a lot less wealth.
L4 – The British in India
Trade – New ports built by Indian emperors encouraged more trade through India, with the rise
of market towns built by the EIC, money could be easily made in India. This encouraged trade of
resources such as tin, slaves, silks and spices.
Empire – Queen Victoria wanted to make sure countries under her rule were modern countries,
to show Britain as a good Empire. Britain’s wanted to improve India’s railways, schools and
hospitals. They also wanted to bring Christianity to India.
Army – After the end of the Mughal Empire, India had gone through periods of violence and
rebellion. This has scared traders and made them worried, therefore Britain has sent in the Army
to help protect the markets. They have combined with the Indian Army and the Sepoys.
Yr 8 – History Knowledge Organiser: Unit 4 – India Depth Study
L5 – Sepoy Rebellion
L6 – Sepoy Rebellion Source Work
The British nearly lost control of India in 1857, when thousands of Indian
soldiers mutinied and killed their British officers. The rebelled for three key
reasons:
Time
Is the source a Primary
source (was it written at the
time of the event?)
Is the source a Secondary
source? (written after the
event)
Complaints in the Countryside – Farmers and landowners found it difficult to
pay the high taxes to the British. The British also challenged Indian customs
and beliefs, they wanted to introduce the Western style of education and
removed Hindu religious beliefs. English replaced the official language for
records and schools were set up using only English. Britain sent Christians over
to India, which made the people suspicious that Christianity was going to be
forced onto everyone.
Grievances of the Princes – Indian princes and nobles lost a lot of power when
the British took their land. This made them resent the British rulers. It made
them want to work together to get rid of the British.
Army Reforms – Some soldiers lost privileges when their land came under
British rule and they became part of the British Army. Their pay was reduced,
making it harder for them to pay the high British taxes. Sepoys’ also had to be
ready to serve overseas at any time. For strict Hindus, crossing the black seas
this went against their religious beliefs. A rumour spread that bullet cartridges
for the new rifles were greased with the fat of an unclean pig and sacred cow.
Soldiers had to bite these cartridges to set up their guns to shoot. Therefore
biting the end of this would be sinful for both Hindu and Muslim sepoys.
Test Topic
Mughal Empire
Life in the Mughal Empire
Decline of the Mughals
The British in India
The Sepoy Rebellion
Source Work
Indian Independence
Test Score (out of 10)
Primary = Could be more
accurate, but tends to have a
focus on one side of the story
Secondary = Could have a
better overall view of the
event but could be errors or
bias.
Author
Who has written the source?
Are they involved in the
historical event? Do they
have first hand experience of
the event? Will they have a
good overview or are they
Biasd?
Historian = will have
researched their facts before
publishing, so should be
reliable.
Soldier = will have a clear
Bias towards their side.
Won’t know much about the
other armies.
Purpose
What is the source? A book,
a newspaper, a film? Why
has this source been made,
to entertain, to inform, to
mock?
Film = made to entertain an
audience, therefore might
skip out key “boring” facts or
might change the story to
suit an audience.
Newspaper = balance
between entertaining people
and informing them. Should
be somewhat reliable.
L7 – How did India gain independence from Britain?
Sepoy Rebellion - The Sepoy Rebellion was the first armed defiance against the British Empire in
India. It showed that the British were out of touch with Indian custom and couldn’t control a
mass protest if this occurred.
World War 1 - 1.5 million India troops fought in World War One and many served with bravery.
They argued that independence should be their reward for service.
World War 2 - World War Two bankrupted Britain. They couldn’t afford to maintain their
empire. Furthermore, empires were seen as a bad thing by the public and there were calls at
home to grant Indian independence.
Mahatma Gandhi - Led a campaign of non-violent protest against the British government in
India. Encouraged protests and demonstration as well as defying certain laws. Made the British
look cruel.
The Indian Independence Act 1947 split British India into two new independent countries
of India and Pakistan. The king confirmed this on 18 July 1947 and India became an
independent country on August 15 1947.