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Line 13: + − + + + + + − The British expanded their influence from these footholds until, by the 1850s, they controlled most of present-day India, [[Pakistan]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Bangladesh]]. In 1857, an unsuccessful rebellion in north India led by Indian soldiers seeking the restoration of the Mughal Emperor caused the British [[Parliament]] to transfer political power from the East India Company to the Crown. Great Britain began administering most of India directly, while controlling the rest through treaties with local rulers. + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Line 67:
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The people of [[India]] have had a continuous civilization since 2500 B.C., when the inhabitants of the [[Indus River]] valley developed an urban [[culture]] based on commerce and sustained by [[agricultural]] [[trade]]. This civilization declined around 1500 B.C., probably due to ecological changes.
The people of [[India]] have had a continuous civilization for 4500 years.
==Ancient History==
==Ancient History==
About 2500 B.C. the inhabitants of the [[Indus River]] valley developed an urban culture based on commerce and sustained by agriculture. This civilization declined around 1500 B.C., probably due to environmental changes.
During the second millennium B.C., pastoral, Aryan-speaking tribes migrated from the northwest into the subcontinent, settled in the middle [[Ganges River]] valley, and adapted to antecedent cultures.
During the second millennium B.C., pastoral, Aryan-speaking tribes migrated from the northwest into the subcontinent, settled in the middle [[Ganges River]] valley, and adapted to antecedent cultures.
==British Period==
==British Period==
In 1608, a ship owned by the British East India Company dropped anchor off Surat, marking the start of British colonization. The British presence would remain discreet for 150 years. India offered a sphere of trade activity for merchants and a field for troop maneuvers.
The first [[British]] outpost in South Asia was established by the [[English East India Company]] in 1619 at Surat on the northwestern coast. Later in the century, the Company opened permanent trading stations at Madras (now Chennai), Bombay (now Mumbai), and Calcutta (now Kolkata), each under the protection of native rulers.
The first British outpost in South Asia was established by the [[East India Company]]--informally called the "John Company"--in 1619 at Surat on the northwestern coast. Later in the century, the Company opened permanent trading stations at Madras (now [[Chennai]]), Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]), and Calcutta (now [[Kolkata]]), each under the protection of native rulers.
===French failure===
Despite initial commercial successes, the French East India Company lost out to the John Company, its British rival. The French company was too closely tied to the government in Paris and lacked the independence and flexibility of the British counterpart. The French never understood that prosperous trade depended on control of the land. Numerous mistakes and setbacks were suffered because the colonial governor Joseph Dupleix (1697-1763) chose his allies poorly by not daring to abandon the Moguls for the Marathi. Dupleix became governor in 1742 and was recalled by Paris in 1754. French India was reduced to several trading posts, undergoing long death throes. Pondicherry saw new prosperity during the Second Empire, but the Third Republic's policy of assimilation had perverse effects by encouraging a nationalist oligarchy that was hostile to any modernization of the small remaining colony.
===Late Mughal era===
Formerly labeled as the dark century of Mughal decadence, the 18th century in India has been an object of rehabilitation by historians in recent decades. Scholars now better appreciate the dynamic economy and the flourishing, brilliant culture. In the political and military spheres, the Indian subcontinent developed into regional states with varying configurations, some constituting original models of a state for the time, like those based on ethnic or religious groupings of Marathas, Jats, and Sikhs. Although Mughal power was on the decline, the new states still sought official investiture, which remained important from a symbolic point of view. Another important feature of the political landscape was the conquering thrust of the Afghans into northern India, which was halted by the Marathas and Sikhs. Starting in the second half of the century developments were played out against the background of the powerful rise of the East India Company which, given the situation during that troubled period, wound up becoming the referee for the entire subcontinent. Literature, music, and the visual arts, however, glittered in princely courts despite military and political difficulties.
In 1757, the battle of Plassey confirmed British supremacy, although the British avoided exercising direct political power in India even as senior civil servants began to play an ever-increasing role.
In the late 1800s, the first steps were taken toward self-government in British India with the appointment of Indian councilors to advise the British Viceroy and the establishment of Provincial Councils with Indian members; the British subsequently widened participation in Legislative Councils. Beginning in 1920, Indian leader [[Mohandas K. Gandhi]] transformed the Indian National Congress political party into a mass movement to campaign against British colonial rule. The party used both parliamentary and nonviolent resistance and non-cooperation to agitate for independence. During this period, however, millions of Indians served with honor and distinction in the British armed forces, including service in both World Wars and countless other overseas actions in service of the Empire.
==19th century==
The British expanded their influence from these footholds until, by the 1850s, they controlled most of South Asia, including present-day India, [[Pakistan]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Bangladesh]]. The Victorian era brought new values and led to greater Westernization.
===Missionaries===
The inclusion of a clause within the 1813 charter of the East India Company, obliging the company to assist efforts to introduce Christianity to India was called the "pious clause". Many historians have emphasized it marked the beginnings of an aggressive proselytizing imperialism. However the evangelicals' victory was more rhetorical than real, for the John Company and its officials in India continued to view missionary activity with alarm and even in some cases distaste.
===Sepoy Rebellion===
The Sepoy rebellion (1857-58) meant the end of Mughal power and reduced India to a complete British colony - the jewel of the empire. The British Raj reached its apogee between 1885 and 1918.
In 1857, an unsuccessful rebellion in north India led by Indian soldiers seeking the restoration of the Mughal Emperor caused the British Parliament to transfer political power from the East India Company to the Crown. Britain began administering most of India directly, while controlling the rest through treaties with local rulers.
In the late 1800s, the first steps were taken toward self-government in British India with the appointment of Indian councilors to advise the British Viceroy and the establishment of Provincial Councils with Indian members; the British subsequently widened participation in Legislative Councils.
==Expelling the British==
The Amritsar massacre of 1919 sounded the death knell of the British colonial adventure.
Beginning in 1920, Indian leader [[Mohandas K. Gandhi]] transformed the Indian National Congress political party into a mass movement to campaign against British colonial rule. The party used both parliamentary and nonviolent resistance and non-cooperation to agitate for independence. During this period, however, millions of Indians served with honor and distinction in the British armed forces, including service in both World Wars and countless other overseas actions in service of the Empire.
==Independence==
==Independence==
for recent history see [[India]]
for recent history see [[India]]
==Historiography==
The discovery and elucidation of India's past owes much to European scholars. William Jones's (1746-94) identification of "Sandrocottus" of Greek history with Chandragupta Mauriya (ruled 321-297 B.C.) established a fixed point in ancient Indian chronology. James Prinsep's (1793-1878) deciphering of Asoka's (ruled 268-231 B.C.) inscriptions and the identification of the "Piyyadasi" mentioned in Asoka's edicts as Asoka himself was another major contribution.
==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==