Colonial History

of India

Julie Swantek FYE Presentation

3/6/13

The Mughal EmpireA young prince named

Babur took control over India in 1526 and established the Mughal Empire

Babur called his dynasty "Timurid," but it is better known as the Mughal Dynasty - a Persian translation of the word "Mongol."

Babar’s Reign • Died in 1530• Muslim, but with

flexible religious views

• Established military base in Kabul and went South to conquer the Indian subcontinent

• Subcontinent: A large, distinguishable part of a continent

Religious Issues with the Invasion of the Mughals

• India- Hinduism – Polytheistic – Do not hurt/kill cows

(Believe cows are sacred)

– Vegetarians – Reincarnation – Very stable religion

• Muslim- Islam – Monotheistic – Eat meat – Heaven after death

The Mughal Empire: Akbar the Great

• (1526-1605)• Akbar and the scholars came

up with the Divine Faith in hopes to unify the empire – a mix of religions such as

Islam, Hinduism, and other traditions

• Conquests for a decade, then centralizes the empire

• Well liked because of his religious tolerance and the expansion of the empire

The Mughal Empire: Jahangir

• (1605-1627)• “world seizer” or

“conqueror”• Returns religion to Islam• Tries to conquer south

India• Spends all of Hindu

taxes on luxury items & wastes a lot of money

The Mughal Empire: Shah Jahan• (1627-1658)• Better ruler than Jahangir.

– Restored the efficiency of government.

– Recovered territories.– Maintained peace – Foreign traders were

allowed into India & trade grew

• The empire expanded greatly

• Built the Taj Mahal in honor of his wife who died during childbirth. Took over a decade to build and it nearly bankrupted the empire.

The Decline of the Empire

• Shah Jahan's third son, Aurangzeb, died in 1707.

• Mughal state began a long, slow process of crumbling from within

• Increasing peasant revolts• All around the borders, powerful new

kingdoms sprang up and began to chip away at Mughal land holdings.

The Mughal Legacy in India

• Mughal Dynasty left a large and visible mark on India– The mixing of Persian and Indian styles created

some of the world's best-known monuments.• Buildings such as the Taj Mahal, the Red fort in Delhi,

and Humayun’s Tomb

– This combination of influences can also be seen in the arts, cuisine, gardens and even in the language.

Taj Mahal

Red Fort

Humayun’s

Tomb

Conquest of India • In the 16th century, European powers began

to conquer small outposts along the Indian coast.

• The British colonialists managed to control most parts of India while ruling the key cities Calcutta, Madras and Bombay as the main British bases.

• Portugal, the Netherlands and France ruled different regions in India – Vasco De Gama In 1498 successfully

discovered a new sea route from Europe to India, which paved the way for direct Indo-European commerce.

British East India Company

• Founded in the 1600s, while Akbar was still on the throne

• Initially it was only interested in trade– In 1617 the British East India Company was given permission by

Mughal Emperor Jahangir to trade in India.

• As the Mughal Empire began to lose power, the British East India Company grew increasingly powerful.

• With the invention of this company the British could stake a claim to the weakened Indian subcontinent

British Colonization• In 1757, the British East India

Company had defeated the Nawab of Bengal and the French Company in the Battle of Plassey

• British took control of most of the subcontinent

• Set up the British Raj in India

• Mughal rulers held on the throne, but were powerless to the British

Consequences of the Raj• Famines contributed to failed

government policies– Some of the worst ever

recorded – The Great Famine of 1876-

1878• 6.1 million to 10.3 million

people died

– Indian Famine of 1899-1900 • 1.25 to 10 million people died

• Plague Pandemic– 19th Century – Killed 10 million people in

India alone

Sepov Rebellion (Indian Mutiny)

• 1857, occurred in the North of India • Half of India Army rises up against British East

India Company• First time Indians rebelled in massive numbers

against the presence and the rule of the British in South Asia

• British home government intervened to protect itself financially and put down the rebellion

• This ended the Mughal Dynasty

National Indian Congress

• In 1885, the “National Indian Congress” was founded.

• Demanded that the Indians should have their proper legitimate share in the government.

• Congress developed into the main body of opposition against British colonial rule.

The Independence Movement• India was forced to fight for the British in WWI and the division of

the Ottoman empire after led the movement• Non-violent resistance against British was initiated in 1920 by Gandhi

– 1920-22: non-cooperation movement against the British– 1930-31: campaign of civil disobedience – 1942 he issued the call to the British to “Quit India”

• Said they wanted independence immediately• Theodore Roosevelt pressured the Prime Minister to grant independence• Independence was promised to be after WWII ended

• Others adopted a militant approach and sought to overthrow British rule

• These movements succeeded in bringing independence to India and Pakistan in 1947

Bibliography

• http://asianhistory.about.com/od/india/p/mughalempireprof.htm

• http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/British/BrIndia.html

• http://indiaheritage.org/history/history_the_colonial_period.htm

• http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/themes/indiagandhi.html

• http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-history/akbar.html • http://www.nilsole.net/referate/post-colonialism-defini

tion-development-and-examples-from-india/