Imperialism in South Asia

Imperialism DefinitionThe takeover of another country for economic and political gain.

IndustrialRevolution

Source forRaw

Materials

Markets forFinishedGoods

EuropeanNationalism

MissionaryActivity

Military& NavalBases

EuropeanMotives

For Imperialism

Placesfor

Excess Population

Social & Economic

Opportunities

HumanitarianReasons

EuropeanRacism

“WhiteMan’s

Burden”

SocialDarwinism

What is Social Darwinism?

It is the racist belief that Europeans are naturally superior to others.

Social Darwinism

The White Man’s BurdenRudyard Kipling, 1899

The White Man’s BurdenA poem written to encourage US imperialism after the Spanish-American War

What is the “White Man’s Burden?”

It is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling that expresses the view that it is the duty of Europeans to civilize the rest of the world.

The White Man’s Burden

Take up the White Man's burden--Send forth the best ye breed--Go bind your sons to exileTo serve your captives' need;To wait in heavy harness,On fluttered folk and wild--Your new-caught, sullen peoples,Half-devil and half-child.

Take up the White Man's burden--In patience to abide,To veil the threat of terrorAnd check the show of pride;By open speech and simple,An hundred times made plainTo seek another's profit,And work another's gain.

Take up the White Man's burden--The savage wars of peace--Fill full the mouth of FamineAnd bid the sickness cease;And when your goal is nearestThe end for others sought,Watch sloth and heathen FollyBring all your hopes to nought.

Take up the White Man's burden--No tawdry rule of kings,But toil of serf and sweeper--The tale of common things.The ports ye shall not enter,The roads ye shall not tread,Go mark them with your living,And mark them with your dead.

Take up the White Man's burden--And reap his old reward:The blame of those ye better,The hate of those ye guard--The cry of hosts ye humour(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:--"Why brought he us from bondage,Our loved Egyptian night?"

Take up the White Man's burden--Ye dare not stoop to less--Nor call too loud on FreedomTo cloke your weariness;By all ye cry or whisper,By all ye leave or do,The silent, sullen peoplesShall weigh your gods and you.

Take up the White Man's burden--Have done with childish days--The lightly proferred laurel,The easy, ungrudged praise.Comes now, to search your manhoodThrough all the thankless yearsCold, edged with dear-bought wisdom,The judgment of your peers!

What was Pax Britannica?

It was the British Empire at its height of power in the late 1800s. Its name comes from Pax Romana (Peace of Rome).

The sun never sets on the British Empire!

India: the “Jewel in the Crown”

The British East India Company

Established by royal charter of Elizabeth I in 1600

Controlled British interests in India until 1858

Administered India directly and indirectly through local Rajas

Sati

The Sepoy Rebellion(AKA: Sepoy Mutiny, Indian Mutiny, Great Mutiny, etc.)

The growing Indian discontent with British rule erupted on May 10, 1857. The sepoys were Indians trained by the British as soldiers. They were upset because some were being sent to serve overseas. Then they heard rumors that the cartridges for their new Enfield rifles were greased with lard and beef fat. Since the cow is sacred to Hindus, and the pig is abhorrent to Muslims, all the sepoys were outraged, and they mutinied.

Enfield Rifle Musket (1853)

British service rifle 1857-1866. Muzzle-loading, percussion, .577 caliber. The Enfield's paper ammunition wrapper, said (inaccurately) to be greased with the fat of cows and pigs, was one of the causes for the Indian Mutiny.

Although initially the mutiny was spontaneous, it quickly became more organized and the sepoys even took over the cities of Delhi and Kanpur.

This mutiny was harshly crushed by the British. On September 20, 1857, the British recaptured Delhi, and in the following months, the British recaptured Kanpur and withstood a Sepoy siege of Lucknow. The British victories were accompanied by widespread recrimination, and in many cases, unarmed sepoys were bayoneted, sown up in the carcasses of pigs or cows, or fired from cannons.

What were the effects of rebellion?

British and Indian attitudes changed.The East India Company ended.

The British took direct control of India.

The Mughal Empire ended.

Indians became British citizens.

Indians were promised freedom of religion.