task 3
Task 3 for GKE 1
March 25, 2014
Western Governors University
Page 2 In 1615 the East India Company acquired its first territory in Bombay, India. The East India Company was a British company that traded for goods, services, and raw materials with India. What initially started as a trading company became a company ruling a country with Brittan’s backing. The company established an army in India comprised mostly of local citizens called Sepoys. With help from the British army and navy, the East India Company fought other European countries also occupying India for control of the region. By 1715 the EIC and Brittan had beaten back the French in the Battle of Plassey. This secured their dominance in India and a trading monopoly (Luscombe, 2012). Imperialism is when one country takes control of another. This can be via influence, military force, or economic power (Stuchtey, 2011). The EIC used all three to control the people of India. They instructed farmers what crops to grow and taxed the food crops, they formed and army using the native people, exploited the labor market, used Indian raw materials to fuel the industrial revolution, they even replaced Persian with English as the national language used in school and government (Luscombe, 2012). The EIC made a significant profit for itself and Britain. However as they continued to exploit the indigenous people of India, they became increasingly intolerant. The working conditions in India were harsh, because the farmers were forced to grow cash crops there was a food shortage and the famine, and finally the Sepoy army was forced to used bullets greased with pork and cow fat. Most of India’s population was either Hindu or Muslim, so the use of these animals was deeply offensive to the soldiers (Luscombe, 2012). In 1757 the First Indian War for Independence erupted. The Sepoy soldiers led a military mutiny against the British soldiers. The battles were extremely merciless, there were many
March 25, 2014
Western Governors University
Page 2 In 1615 the East India Company acquired its first territory in Bombay, India. The East India Company was a British company that traded for goods, services, and raw materials with India. What initially started as a trading company became a company ruling a country with Brittan’s backing. The company established an army in India comprised mostly of local citizens called Sepoys. With help from the British army and navy, the East India Company fought other European countries also occupying India for control of the region. By 1715 the EIC and Brittan had beaten back the French in the Battle of Plassey. This secured their dominance in India and a trading monopoly (Luscombe, 2012). Imperialism is when one country takes control of another. This can be via influence, military force, or economic power (Stuchtey, 2011). The EIC used all three to control the people of India. They instructed farmers what crops to grow and taxed the food crops, they formed and army using the native people, exploited the labor market, used Indian raw materials to fuel the industrial revolution, they even replaced Persian with English as the national language used in school and government (Luscombe, 2012). The EIC made a significant profit for itself and Britain. However as they continued to exploit the indigenous people of India, they became increasingly intolerant. The working conditions in India were harsh, because the farmers were forced to grow cash crops there was a food shortage and the famine, and finally the Sepoy army was forced to used bullets greased with pork and cow fat. Most of India’s population was either Hindu or Muslim, so the use of these animals was deeply offensive to the soldiers (Luscombe, 2012). In 1757 the First Indian War for Independence erupted. The Sepoy soldiers led a military mutiny against the British soldiers. The battles were extremely merciless, there were many
Cited: History, S. (2009). American revolution history. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history History, S. (2010). Mahatma gandhi. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/mahatma-gandhi Luscombe, S. (2012, March 01). Timelines for the british empire. Retrieved from http://www.britishempire.co.uk/timeline/timeline.htm Stuchtey, Benedikt: Colonialism and Imperialism, 1450–1950, in: European History Online (EGO), published by the Institute of European History (IEG), Mainz 2011-01-24. URL: http://www.ieg-ego.eu/stuchteyb-2010-en