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| | === British India === | | === British India === |
| | [[Image:British India 1800s.jpg|right|300px|thumb|British India in the 1800s]] | | [[Image:British India 1800s.jpg|right|300px|thumb|British India in the 1800s]] |
| − | In India, the story is of British imperialism followed by Indian nationalism and independence. Beginning as early as the 1600s, the British established trading posts in India. When the Mughal empire weakened in the 1700s, British influence (especially the East India Company) became more influential. By the early 1800s British dominance over the subcontinent was immense. The British imposed rules that limited the internal operations of the Indian economy, and the British decimated the local Indian industry in handmade textiles by flooding the market with cheap manufactured clothing from Britain. A famine resulted when the British displaced many farmers in India through economic changes similar to what happened in Africa, with cash-crop and big business plantation techniques destroying small farms. | + | In India, the story is British imperialism followed by Indian nationalism and independence. Beginning as early as the 1600s, the British established trading posts in India. When the Mughal empire (founded in 1526) weakened in the early 1700s, British influence (especially the East India Company) became more influential. By the early 1800s British dominance over the subcontinent was immense. The British imposed rules that limited the internal operations of the Indian economy, and the British decimated the local Indian industry in handmade textiles by flooding the market with cheap manufactured clothing from Britain. A famine resulted when the British displaced many farmers in India through economic changes similar to what happened in Africa, with cash-crop and big business plantation techniques destroying small farms. |
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| | When the Civil War broke out in America, and the South expected Britain to intervene on its side in order to protect the production of cotton, Britain turned to Indian cotton instead. Britain also benefited from many other forms of agriculture or raw materials from India: indigo, coffee, tea, jute and even opium (now an illegal drug). The British would profit by selling the opium to the Chinese, which caused addiction and severe problems for China. | | When the Civil War broke out in America, and the South expected Britain to intervene on its side in order to protect the production of cotton, Britain turned to Indian cotton instead. Britain also benefited from many other forms of agriculture or raw materials from India: indigo, coffee, tea, jute and even opium (now an illegal drug). The British would profit by selling the opium to the Chinese, which caused addiction and severe problems for China. |
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| − | To be fair, the British also brought immense improvements in India, building roads, railroads, hospitals, schools, and improving the overall infrastructure and sanitation. The British also encouraged Christian missionaries in India, although they had only limited success in converting Indians from Hinduism and Islam, both of which remain more popular than Christianity there. The British also brought the English language to India, where it is spoken widely today. Certainly the British conferred enormous benefits on India, and there is a friendly relationship between the two countries to this day. The two nations have a rivalry in cricket, which is the British counterpart of American baseball. | + | To be fair, the British also brought immense improvements in India, building roads, railroads, hospitals, schools, and improving the overall infrastructure and sanitation. The British also encouraged Christian missionaries in India, although they had only limited success in converting Indians from Hinduism and Islam, both of which remain more popular than Christianity there. The British also brought the English language to India, where it is spoken widely today. Certainly the British conferred enormous benefits on India, and there is a friendly relationship between the two countries to this day, which includes competitions in cricket (the British counterpart of baseball). |
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| − | In fact, Christianity predates the British Empire in India by a long way. The [[Oriental Orthodox]] religion was established in Kerala, a state in southwest India, very early in the history of Christianity, reputedly by Thomas the Apostle ("Doubting Thomas"). The Portuguese, who established trading posts in western India in the 15th Century, introduced Roman Catholicism. Nowadays, about 5% of Indians are Christian, mostly in the southern states, and the majority of these are Catholic. Christianity continues to be the most common religion in Kerala. Outside Kerala, most Christians belong to the poorest, most downtrodden [[caste]]s, but some have achieved distinction as politicians, academics and sportsmen. The Christian churches - Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant - have an important role in running charities such as hospitals and schools in India, especially the South, second only to the [[Gandhi]]an movement.
| + | Christianity predates the British Empire in India by a long way. The [[Oriental Orthodox]] religion was established in Kerala, a state in southwest India, very early in the history of Christianity, by Thomas the Apostle ("Doubting Thomas"). The Portuguese, who established trading posts in western India in the 15th Century, introduced Roman Catholicism. Nowadays, about 5% of Indians are Christian, mostly in the southern states, and the majority of these are Catholic. Christianity continues to be the most common religion in Kerala. Outside Kerala, most Christians belong to the poorest, most downtrodden [[caste]]s, but some have achieved distinction as politicians, academics and sportsmen. The Christian churches - Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant - have an important role in running charities such as hospitals and schools in India, especially the South, second only to the [[Gandhi]]an movement. |
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| − | British rule in India lasted for a 200-year period known as the Raj (1757-1947). Inevitable demands for independence in India began as early as 1857, when Indian soldiers (“sepoys”) acquired new cartridge-based rifles. Soldiers were instructed to bite off the cartridge seals before loading the cartridges into the rifles and firing them. But then a rumor spread that the cartridges were sealed with beef fat (prohibited by Hinduism) and pork fat (prohibited by Islam). Many were angered by this rumor, and in the Sepoy Rebellion or Sepoy Mutiny, Indians revolted against the British in northern India. The British suppressed it and continued to rule India directly. | + | British rule in India lasted for a 200-year period known as the Raj (1757-1947). Inevitable demands for independence in India began as early as 1857, when Indian soldiers (“sepoys”) acquired new cartridge-based rifles. Soldiers were instructed to bite off the cartridge seals before loading the cartridges into the rifles and firing them. But then a rumor spread that the cartridges were sealed with beef fat (prohibited by Hinduism) and pork fat (prohibited by Islam). Many were angered by this rumor, and in the Sepoy Rebellion (or Sepoy Mutiny), Indians revolted against the British in northern India. The British suppressed it and continued to rule India directly. |
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| − | There were peaceful calls for independence for India dating back from the early 1800s. Educated leaders such as Ram Mohun Roy sought an end to the caste system and the practice of sati by widows who would throw themselves on the funeral pyres of their deceased husbands. The British did prohibit sati and it is debatable how widespread that practice really was. In the late 1800s, a nationalist group called the Indian National Congress formed to demand independence, and in the early 1900s the Muslim League made similar demands. | + | There were peaceful calls for independence for India dating back from the early 1800s. Educated leaders such as Ram Mohun Roy sought an end to the caste system and the practice of sati by widows who would throw themselves on the funeral pyres of their deceased husbands. The British did prohibit sati and it is debatable whether the practice was ever widespread. In the late 1800s, a nationalist group called the Indian National Congress formed to demand independence, and in the early 1900s the Muslim League made similar demands. |
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| − | But all attempts at independence for India failed throughout the 1800s because of religious divisions. The Hindus and Muslims could never agree, and the Sikhs, a military offshoot of the Hindus that resisted Islam, remained loyal to the British. Real independence for India would not occur until after World War II, in the middle of the 20th century. | + | But all attempts at independence for India failed throughout the 1800s because of religious divisions. The Hindus and Muslims could never agree, and the Sikhs, a military offshoot of the Hindus that used force to resist Islam, remained loyal to the British. Real independence for India would not occur until after World War II, in the middle of the 20th century. |
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| | === Southeast Asia === | | === Southeast Asia === |