How Did The British Affect Indian Economy

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.

The British policies required India to produce raw materials for means of British production and to buy British merchandise. The British forbid competition between India and Britain. After the railroad network was set up, India became even more valuable to Britain. The railroads transported raw materials from the inner lands to the trading ports, in a rotating sequence.

Imperialism changed the society of the mother countries colonies. When British started establishing themselves in Southeast Asia in the 1800’s the people of Canton were not happy about their presence. They referred to the English “as nature's more greedy than anacondas or swine,” (The People of Canton, 3) and “Dogs, whose desires can never be satisfied.” (The People of Canton, 12) They thought that the only way to rebel against them, even if the gods are disappointed in them at the moment. Not all societies viewed the British as a “villainous,” and “beast-like.” The people of India thought the British helped their society for the better. The English helped them with the “destruction of dacoits, thugs, pindarees and other pests of Indian Society.”

When the Mughal empire declined in the 1700’s, Britain turned its focus on India. The recent decline left India weak and ideal to colonize. Britain already had influence in India with the British East India Company, but now their outlook on India became political. The people of India were very diverse, spoke different languages, and had contrasting cultures. This was a disadvantage as Britain used their inability to unite against them. The British helped stimulate competition between the various Indian people and their princes. The Indians also had inferior weapons that couldn’t uphold against British firearms. In addition, Britain aimed to socially change India with an attempt to get rid of the caste system and important religious traditions like sati. By the 1850’s, the British selected Indians to provide service in fighting. Those employed were called Sepoys and were treated unfairly

South India had many different opinions and beliefs when came to the politics and led to many rise in rebellion. Ultimately, the uprising led the British government to take complete political rule over South Asia. The British came to South Asia as merchants, but also had territorial desires. British slowly gained control over India by using numerous means like diplomacy and direct takeover. The rule had a major influence on the social and political life of South Asia society. The British raj ruined the established economy of India and affected India’s finances to Britain. The British dominated the deals of all types of raw resources and bought them at low costs; however, the people in India had to buy the same items at overpriced amounts. This

The British also had people inserted into local Indian affairs after the third Carnatic war this helped the British retain their power in India for years to come. It set the stage for the development of the British Raj in the nineteenth century. The Europeans also created a destabilized region and they created a new layer of authority in domestic politics at the same time. This was the long-term impacts of the European’s inserting themselves into

Economically, their situation was no better. Britain brought lots of money into India but it didn’t necessarily go to the Indians themselves. They created a new railway that was the largest employer in the world, meanwhile bringing down the textile industry (Lalvani). The Indian textile industry was so successful the British felt threatened by it and shut it down by raising taxes on raw materials and selling their own goods for cheaper (Doc 4). This put hundreds of people into poverty which soon lead to more

When the Mughal Dynasty began to collapse, the British East India Company took control of India after winning a “decisive victory” over Indian forces during a battle. But when the sepoys, Indian soldiers working for the British, decided to rebel, the British government took over India. India was highly treasured by the British because it had abundant raw materials, such as indigo and cotton, which were highly sought after by the British during the Industrial Revolution. India was considered the most valuable out of Britain’s colonies. Britain’s imperial rule over India was systematic, allowing them to establish the framework for India’s government and modernize the country while improving the lives of the preeminent Indians. Despite this, the

Throughout the age of discovery and exploration Britain established colonies and took control over India, Britain took control in the 17th century and extended their power over India into the 20th century where it ended[6]. British presence in India lasted centuries and took its toll on India. Although many positive outcomes came from British imperialism in India, the negative outcomes outweighed these. The negative effects had a greater impact on the lives of Indian people of all classes than any of the advantages. The disregard for the wellbeing of India and the exploitation of its people resulted in great tragedies.

“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.

India was part of the Imperialism act. It was being ruled by the British Europeans. One benefit experienced by India was a modern lifestyle. This was important to India because they got modern education, modern technology, and modern thought. This helped the people a lot because now the kids were getting a better and more advanced education. And according to the internet, education was much more popular after colonization because social groups were less powerful. The new technologies that were being produced such as goods, guns, steel, etc. are helping to modify the new colony. It states in the excerpt from “The Economic History of India Under Early British Rule” by Romesh Dutt, “This has brought an ancient civilized nation in touch with modern

This is especially shown in the detriment to rural economies. Nevertheless, the effects that Britain left on India during its colonization of it are still being used

The British East India Company gained trading rights on the Mughal empire. The company expanded its influence; it controlled three fifths of India by the mid 1800s, as the Mughal power declined. India was not able to unite because there were too many languages and cultures. Even though many effects of the East India Company were negative, many positive effects came out of it too. “The East India Company’s main goal in India was to make money, and leading officials often got very rich. At the same time, the company did work to improve roads, preserve peace, and reduce banditry.” (Esler, pg. 633) British officials introduced western education, pressed for social change, missionaries tried to convert Indians to Christianity, tried to end slavery, the caste system, and improve the position of women within the family.

India’s economy and agriculture grew drastically during the 19th century as a result of plantations in India to grow commercially attractive supplies for example tea and cotton trades. Transportation was non-existent before the British influence, as trading grew larger leading to need to faster transportation and the development of postal services improved the communication in India. The East Indian company later imparted Western education among the Indians. As the strong need for a higher education, this allowed children to attend school from primary to University. But there were many negative influences/traditions that the British brought which caused a lot of controversy between the two

Also, British sold some of the India products to another country without giving India any profit. For example, British sold some India material to China without giving money to India. That lead to destroying India economy and India cannot support themselves because British control trade and businesses (Acharya,