India in the Age of British

Imperialism
AUGUST 30, 2014 FREDERICK STEPHENS
1. For my semester-long Digital History Project, I will be researching European
Imperialism. The expansion of the British, French and Russian empires took place at the
1800s and 1900s and involved India, Africa, and Central Asia. These were the lands
that the Europeans wished to conquer and make their own for economic and political
reasons, mainly for the use of the many raw materials available. Queen Victoria liked all
of the jewels and gold in Africa and wanted to gain as much as possible from the
area.(Peter Marshall. History Today. May 91, Vol. 41 Issue 5, p32-362.) 2.

I chose this image of a fat man portrayed as a

globe because it shows the hunger for power and wealth that sparked European
Imperialism. It also shows the man with his hand over Africa, the land England was
pursuing. The whole idea of this is relevant to my topic because it shows a white male
with the intentions to take other parts of the globe in his possession.(Peter Marshall.
History Today. May 91, Vol. 41 Issue 5, p32-362.) 3. Question #1: Did the native
people of these lands do anything to stop the Europeans from occupying and using the
resources of their homeland? Question #2: Was there any benefit to the native
countries from the expansion of the European countries? 4. This topic relates to our
shrinking world because of the expansion to less developed areas. It made the world
a smaller place due to the movement of europeans into areas where people of different
culture lived, while increasing the population. European Imperialism also relates to
inequality because of the way the land was taken. It wasnt fair to the people who had
lived there because they lacked the technology to stop the takeover of their land. It
shows that the higher power gets what they want and doesnt give the lesser power a
chance stand up for themselves.(Peter Marshall. History Today. May 91, Vol. 41 Issue
5, p32-362.) News Article: The West needs a closer dialogue with China The article that
I chose to write about included the disconnection between Chinese and western beliefs.
The author didnt report a specific event, but he wanted to explain a widespread
problem that is taking place in China involving education and the way the west is
perceived. One of the first things he touched on was the fact that China blames western
imperialism and ideas for China losing its greatness. In China, middle school students
are taught in a social science class about how capitalist powers derailed the Chinese
success. Imperialism, capitalist ideas and invasions are blamed for China lacking global
power and millions of students will be exposed to these ideas in school. The author
suggests at the end that the west should try and communicate with China to try and
sort out the differences and stop the spread of these ideas. New research question:
How could China and the western leaders come together, discuss the misunderstanding

and eventually solve the problem?

Revision 2 After reading a few sections of my book Europe in the Age of Imperialism, it
is obvious that the author wrote this book to explain in good detail the events leading
up to, during and after the years of 1880-1914, when Europe was all about imperialism.
The author is German, so it is likely to have a lot of info about German imperialism and
its relation with the other European countries. In the book, it is said that the Second
Industrial Revolution played a part in Imperialism. Transportation was improving and
this sparked a need to travel and expand. Chemistry also played a large role due to the
spark of new textiles and synthetics. (Gollwitzer 28). The author really gets into detail
about what sparked the age of imperialism and when it happened. One very important
aspect of imperialism that is mentioned is alliances between different countries and
powers. One of the political powers that is first mentioned is the alliance between
Germany, Hungary, and Austria. This group was originally just two countries, Germany
and Austria, but Hungary joined the movement in 1879 and Italy joined later in 1882.
This global power was known as the Triple Alliance. On the other hand, France and
Russia formed the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894. These two groups had somewhat of
a rivalry due to the Mediterranean Treaty of 1887. As more and more groups come
together, the fight for foreign power begins (Gollwitzer 28-38). What are the possible
outcomes of these alliances and the desire for foreign power and resources? Revision 3
Revised question: What were key events during the age of European imperialism that
sparked WWI? The late 1800s and early 1900s were a time of expansion, both
technological and geographical for Europe. This was due to the Second Industrial
Revolution, it increased the need for natural resources and land for European
expansion. Since this revolution was much more scientific, the demand for chemicals,
oil, and metals were much higher than in the First Industrial Revolution and foreign
land was the target for european powers. With many different countries with their eye
on specific land areas, conflict is inevitable. Soon, the desire for attractive land sparks a
rivalry between different alliances and groups of countries. As the conflicts developed,
building of armies and spread of political cartoons and propaganda involving opposing
countries encouraged a world war. Revision 4 When looking for a historical article on
JSTOR, White Mans Burden: India and Britain in the 19th Century really caught my
eye. The author writes about the impact of British colonies in India and how they
benefited economically. In this writing, the author really emphasizes how the British
took advantage of the natural resources, land and people of India. Although this article
mainly talks about the late 1800s to early 1900s, there is also some information
regarding the origin of this imperialism that took place in the mid to late 1700s. Having
some background can help understand why and how the British started to look to India
to expand their economy. After reading more and more of this article, I began to realize
that the author's main point of writing this article was to explain how the imperialistic
power of Britain impacted India. As the empire in India expanded, a large railway was
built to make transportation of goods more efficient. The British took control of the
land, gained access to their natural resources, and built many miles of railroad on their
land. The author makes these actions sound wrong in the way he writes this article.
One of the last things that is written in this article on British power in India is the Act of
Better Government in India that took place in 1858. At first, the British rule was very
unorganized and change was needed, This act included more laws, regulation of
finances, and organization but didnt have anything to do with the welfare of the Indian
people. Draft Thesis: When Britain
was looking for land overseas to expand their empire, India provided a perfect location.
There was much land to cultivate, trade, and native workers that could help build the
local economy. Although the British were benefiting from this amazing opportunity, the
natives of India were not. There was much forced labor, harsh conditions, and little or
no reward for work as well as very limited food supply. The way the British handled the
use of Indian resources and native workers was only beneficial to the Imperial country
and could have been more successful if it was fair on both sides. Revision 6 The author
of this source was Stuart Ball. This particular source includes a collection of letters from
the years between 1926-31 that was compiled and published in 2014. The letters wrote
back and forth to the viceroy of India and a British government official regarding issues
between the two countries. Since there were many different letters, there were many
arguments. The letters were written during the time where British Imperialism was
dieing in India. Since the letters were published in a book, many people still read them
today. The letters that were written were composed by most likely an upper class white
man in Britain and a dark skinned upper class male in India. Both authors of the letters
were both government officials so Im assuming that they are both wealthy and high in
the social ranking. Some assumptions the the reader has to make when reading the
letters is the context in what the letters are actually about. After reading a few of the
letters, I definitely had some questions. 1.What role did the letters play in British
Imperialism 2.Did the letters help resolve any issues? Revision 7 Thesis revision: Ever
since the beginning of British colonialism in India, the idea was to exploit the native
Indian people by using them for labor, taking their natural resources without trade or
payment, and abused Indian woman on plantations run by British imperial guards. The
reason they chose to do this was to gain an economical advantage and to expand their
empire overseas. Although this exploitation of the Indian natives was successful and
the British benefited for decades, all of the abuse would eventually go unnoticed. After
over a century of British colonialism in India, the idea was starting to be greatly
opposed by freedom and equality activists like Mohandas Gandhi who created protest
movements going against forced labor on plantations. Eventually the movement spread
and Indians were liberated and were allowed to format their own government apart
from Britain. If the British had been more fair and took less advantage of the native
Indian people, the British influence in India could have lasted longer and leaders of
liberation would have not objected to the British colonialism in India. Paragraph: The
first organization that played a role in the expansion of British Empire in India was The
East India Company in the mid to late 1700s. The first acts that the Company used
involved corruption in British business and monopoly of trade. These early acts of over
-seas exploitation would lead to the British being more comfortable with using the
Indian land as an economic booster. As time went on the use of Indian workers on
plantations increased but conditions were far from appropriate. As the company
expanded more and more indigenous Indians throughout the area were used in mines,
plantations and forced labor situations.