Great+Britain+and+Central+Asia

=﻿ Great Britain and Central Asia =

By Dakota, Cindy, Dan, & Aliyah
===Being one of the leading imperial nations, the British relied on a system of indirect rule. To govern their colonies, they used sultans, chiefs, and other local rulers. They then encouraged the children of those local rulers to get an education in Britain. This was their "westernized" generation. Their main goal was to spread British civilization. ===

﻿**Imperialism﻿**- "the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination."

= 1. **Why did Great Britain begin its policy of Imperialism on** **Central Asia?**= By the mid 1800's, Britain controlled 3/5 of India. The reasoning for this was because Mughal power declined. Indians with many different languages and traditions couldn't unite against Great Britain. The British at this time were starting to introduce western education. The British wanted social changes, and missionaries worked for the spread of Christianity. They also worked to end slavery and additionally outlawed Sati which was a hindu custom practiced by mainly the upper class. While the East India Co was making some good changes in the 1850's they made several unpopular moves. They required sepoys which were Indian soldiers who had to serve anywhere they were told. This could even mean serving overseas. Then, in 1857 the British issued new rifles to the sepoys. They were told to bite off the tips of the cartridges. These cartridges were greased with animal fats such as cows which the Hindus considered to be sacred, or greased with fats from pigs. The pigs were forbidden by Muslims. When they refused to do what they were told, they were sent home without pay. After all this excitement that had been going on, Parliament set up a viceroy. British made India the "Brightest Jewel in the crown of their empire". The British thought they were helping Indians modernize to western technology and culture which was exactly what they had planned to do. The main reason why Great Britain began its policy of Imperialism on India was because Britain saw India as a market and as a source of raw materials. Due to the Suez Canal, British trade with India soared.

=﻿2.  What countries/ civilizations/city-states are being taken over? = Britain was taking over India. A British viceroy in India was the form of government. The British officials held the top jobs in the civil service and army. The British and Indians had different views, but Great Britain was in control. Even within the Britains themselves, there was arguments. The benefits ruled over the arguments since British rule actually brought peace within the country. When the Mughhal crumbled, India fragmented sending the British in to take control. Their main goal was to make money, improve the roads, and preserve peace. They wanted to spread their ideas of Western Education to the Indians. Missionaries were sent out across the country to spread Catholisism. The angry sepoys rose in India and they tried to massacre the British. India was being developed for Britain's own economic benefit.

= 3. ﻿Why is this territory being targeted for takeover? (what are the benefits and goals) = Britain targeted India for takeover for many reasons. The British set up restrictions that prevented India's economy to operate on its own. For example, India had to produce raw materials for the British and had to buy British goods. The industrial revolution made Britain the world's workshop and most of the raw materials came from India for that workshop. Also India's population which consisted of about 300 million people was a large potential market for British-made goods. In addition, Indian competition with British goods was not allowed. That way the British could put out the textile industry out of business in India. India became very important to the British when it established a railroad network there. Railroads transported raw materials from the interior to the ports and manufactured goods back again. Lastly, the British wanted to convert the Indians into Christianity. Britain considered India the brightest "jewel in the crown," which meant it was the most valuable of all Britain's colonies. India provided many things to make Britain into a richer and powerful country. =  4. What type of rule is being exercised?= From Great Britain onto Central Asia, direct rule was being used. The British sent officials; chiefs, sultans, local rules, and other smaller rulers. These leaders were placed in foreign British colonies, where they stayed and governed by Great Britain's laws. These laws, such as trade and government, kept the people within these colonies helpless and relying on Britain. However, despite this rule, many of the people within these colonies were given an education. Seemingly good, the hidden goal of this was to get more people to follow in the way of the British, their laws.

= 5. ﻿ What are obstacles to control? = There were many obstacles Britain had to control over India. In 1857, gossip spread through the sepoys, or Indian soldiers, that the cartridges of their new Enfield rifles were greased with beef and pork fat. The soldiers had to bite off the ends to use these cartridges. The Hindus, who considered the cow sacred, and the Muslims, who did not eat pork, were outraged by this news. When many of the sepoys refused to accept these cartridges, they were sent to jail for disobeying. On May 10, 1857, the sepoys rebelled and marched to Delhi where there were Indian soldiers stationed there. They captured Delhi and a rebellion spread to northern and central India. This outbreak is called the Sepoy Mutiny. Fierce fighting took place when the British and Sepoys tried to slaughter each other's armies. However, the Indians could not unite against the British because of weak leadership and the differences between the Hindus and Muslims. Another thing the British had to control was the nationalism that began in India in the early 1800s.Ram Mohun Roy, a modern-thinking, well educated Indian, started a campaign to move India away from traditional practices and ideas. He believed that is the practices were not changed, then India would continue to be controlled by outsiders. Nationalist feelings started to arise because Indians did not like a system that made them second-class citizens in their own country. Indians who had middle-level jobs were paid less than Europeans. For example, a British engineer on the East India Runway made about 20 times as much money as an Indian engineer. This growing nationalism eventually led to the start of two nationalist groups called the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. They began concentrating on specific concerns for Indians, and by the 1900s, they were calling for self-government. In 1905, nationalists were inflamed by the partition on Bengal. The British divided it into a Hindu section and a Muslim section because the province was too large for administrative purposes. However, terrorism broke out. The British later divided the province in a different way. There was mostly conflict over the control of India between the Indians and the British.

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** 6. What were the end results of imperialism with regards to the ones being taken over and the country taking over? (Are there any present day effects?)** ===== After Britain gained control, Europeans were granted an extremely high status in India. They were very much like whites in the south of the United States during the period of segregation. The British improved transportation in order to protect their interests in British trade. European culture was strictly imposed. There were many modern day effects, the most prominent being the eventual break off of Pakistan. After Britain gave up control, Hindus and Muslims violently reacted to one-another which led to their eventually separating. The two states are still at bitter war with one-another. Another modern day effect is the us e of English as a main language. This is one of the main economic factors as it has led to outsourcing of jobs in the United States to India.

Sources of Information:

 * // Indian Imperialsm //. El Dorado Hills: Oak Ridge High School. < //http://orhs.eduhsd.k12.ca.us/staff/uploads/76_Imperialism%20&%20India.doc>//
 * //Johnston, R. J.// The Dictionary of Human Geography //. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2000. Print.//
 * //Ambrose Burnside. Digital image. // History Place //. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. .//
 * India 1858 //. Digital image. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. .//
 * //"British Imperialism in India." // Classzone.com //. Web.//