British Imperial Writing 

LTC Ticen; VMI; English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies; Spring 2015

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A Timeline of Key Events in the British Empire

             My purpose in organizing this timeline is to create a comprehensive background for what I have studied in ERH-321WX British Empire Writing. The events I have chosen for this timeline were selected in efforts to frame the works that I read for this course with what was happening in India and the British Empire when the works were written. I elected to start with the founding of the British East India Company, because it marks the origins of British involvement in India. From the founding of the East India Company in 1600 to India becoming a Federal Republic in 1950 the British ruled as Imperial masters over India, and inspired all of the works and materials that we covered in this course. Each of the ten headline events that I have selected aim to exhibit the progression of British rule in India, from its corporate beginnings, through the rise and fall of imperial rule, and finishing with India gaining its sovereignty at long last in 1950.

• 1600 – The British East India Company is founded.

     The British East India Company was founded on the last day of 1600 under the name Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies. Over the course of the next 257 years, the British East India Company would prove to be an essential element in the expansion of the British Empire into India and Asia. The British East India Company began as an importer of spices from South Asia but would later grow to encompass a variety of luxury items to include tea and opium. The British East India Company provided its own militia to protect against foreign competition from the Dutch and Portuguese.

     In 1708, the Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies merged with its one of its English competitors to become the United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies. In 1813, the British government took over the company’s monopoly on trade to the East Indies, and in 1834 the British East India Company worked as a government agency until the Indian Mutiny in 1857 after which the Colonial Office took complete control of imperial affairs in East Asia. In short, the British East India Company was in many ways the cornerstone of British governance in East Asia for the greater portion of the Empire’s reign.

Sources:

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/eic.html

• 1829 – The practice of Sati becomes prohibited.

     The Hindu practice of Sati was an ancient religious practice that would occur following the death of a Hindu man. In Sati, the widow of the deceased would throw herself onto his burning funeral pyre as an act of devotion to her husband and family. Sati was practiced across the many castes in Hinduism and was considered an honor and was believed to purge all of the widow’s sins. It was outlawed first during the Mogul period because the Islamic Mogul Emperors found the practice to be barbaric.

     The practice of Sati came again under fire when the British Empire came into power in India in the 19th century. Again the practice was regarded as barbaric by British standards, and in 1829 it became prohibited to practice Sati throughout the Empire. Sati persisted however, as most things did, in other parts of India that were not directly under the rule of the British Empire. The few accounts of Sati that were written about condemn the practice but describe it as being “courageous, pious, and voluntary”. The abolition of Sati during the 19th century proves the dominance of the British Empire over India in more than simple economic fashion. The prohibition of Sati also highlights the extent of British encroachment into everyday Indian life which would eventually prove volatile in the early 20th century as the independence movement grew.

Sources:

http://www.kashgar.com.au/articles/life-in-india-the-practice-of-sati-or-widow-burning

• 1857 – The Indian Rebellion occurs.

     The Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny occurred in May of 1857 when soldiers of the Army of Bengal shot their British officers and began a march on Delhi that gained quite a following. The Indian Rebellion send shock waves through the Empire and led to much bloodshed on both the British and Indian sides. The revolt was in response to British disregard for Indian cultures and traditions. The Rebellion sparked massacres of both Indians and Europeans in a sort of back and forth revenge complex. The Indian soldiers massacred a group of captured Europeans that included women and children, and in response the British massacred Indian soldiers and civilians for revenge.

     Though the rebellion was incredibly bloody and costly on both sides, the aftershock of this major event led to some reforms within the British colonial system. The rebellion taught the British to respect Indian cultures and traditions, and led to a greater understanding and respect for the Indian people as a whole. Additionally, the British learned not to alienate the people they relied on for their security in a region. Though the Rebellion did not gain enough support to bring independence to India, it was certainly a step in the right direction. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 helped to lay the ground work for a unified Indian independence movement.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/indian_rebellion_01.shtml

• 1858 – The Government of India Act is passed.

 

     In 1858, the Government of India Act was passed and effectively disbanded the British East India Company and put India under British rule. The act put all of Indian political affairs under the British Parliament. The act also allowed Indians to become members of the House of Commons and take part in the discourse over India. The Government of India Act of 1858 was also passed in response to the Sepoy Mutiny that had occurred the year before, and had been blamed on the independence of the East India Company to rule over India. The transfer of control from the East India Company to the Crown was in efforts to prevent any further bloodshed in India.

     The Government of India Act of 1858 was part of a new British policy to support local figures of authority and to practice a non-intervention campaign in matters of Indian religion and beliefs. This was in response to the rise of orthodox Hindu and Muslim resistance to British rule and Christianity. The act also led to the reorganization  of British resources in India such as military and political assets as well as infrastructure to support these entities. Additionally, the act led to a stark separation between cultures as to reduce the likelihood of another mutiny, and for the safety of the British administrators. The Government of India Act helped provide a medium through which the subject of Indian independence could be discussed, and helped lead to that very decision in 1947.

Sources:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/parliamentary-archives/archives-highlights/indian-independence/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285248/India/273209/Government-of-India-Act-of-1858

• 1885 – The Indian National Congress if formed.

     The Indian National Congress became the physical embodiment of the Indian independence movement that had existed starting in the 1850’s. The Indian National Congress initially met in Bombay in 1885 and consisted of 72 delegates who all shared desire for reform. The Congress passed some moderate reforms towards Indian independence, and had a very broad political base. The initial object of the National Congress was simply to get the ball rolling for the Indian independence movement. The Indian National Congress led the charge for Indian independence under Mohandas Ghandi with his non-violent noncooperation movement in the early 20th century. The Indian National Congress continued to search for innovative ways to oppose British rule in India until Indian independence was won in 1947. In modern times, the Indian National Congress has played a large role in the formation of India’s Government. Though it started small, the Indian National Congress has survived into modern day.

Sources:

http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/indian-national-congress

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285841/Indian-National-Congress

• 1919 – The Amritsar Massacre occurs.

 

     The Amritsar Massacre occured on April 13, 1919,on the day of the Sikh Baisakhi festival. Prior to the festival, the Indian city of Amritsar had been placed under martial law. Brigadier General Reginald Dyer was placed in charge of Amritsar and had placed a ban on all public assemblies. Thousands of people, unaware of the ban on public assembly convened as Jallianwala Bagh for a nationalist demonstration. Dyer’s troops surrounded the demonstration, and opened fire without warning into the crowd. The ensuing carnage left more than 350 unarmed demonstrators dead.

     The massacre at Amritsar sent shock waves through India. There was a rise in Indian nationalism throughout the subcontinent. The event had a heavy impact on Mohandas Ghandi. Ghandi had been a supporter of the British in hopes for at least partial independence until that point. Following the Amritsar Massacre, Ghandi decided to actively pursue full Indian independence and nothing less. The Amritsar Massacre was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The intense rise of nationalism throughout India would converge to create the first civil disobedience campaign of the Indian independence movement.

Source:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-amritsar-massacre

• 1930 – The Salt March occurs in India.

 

      The Salt march of 1930 was the first coordinated non-violent protest embraced by the Indian National Congress. It was lead by Mahatma Ghandi, who proposed the march to defy the Salt Act of 1882. The Salt Act of 1882 made it illegal for anyone except certain British citizens to make salt, therefore the purpose of the Salt March was to non-violently defy the act by making salt. On its way to the Indian Ocean, 240 mile the Salt March, which started with roughly 80 men grew quickly in numbers.  When Ghandi finally made it to the Indian Ocean the Salt March had gathered nearly 12,000 followers. They began making salt on the 10 year anniversary of the national resistance movement. Initially the British did not really react to the Salt March, but as the salt making spread throughout the coast, retaliation was swift and brutal. The British reaction ruined the facade of civility, and brought the Indians together in their culture and resistance to the uncivil rule of the British. The Salt March effectively blurred religious and cultural lines in India and formed one unified mass against British rule in India.

Source:

http://beautifultrouble.org/case/the-salt-march/

• 1947 – India gains independence.

     On August 15, 1947 India and Pakistan won their independence from the British Empire. The nearly 200 year struggle for sovereignty came to an end. The actions of Mohandas Ghandi and the members of the Indian National Congress convinced British Parliament to grant them independence after multiple Anti-British demonstrations to include the “Quit India” campaign. Though the initial British response was to jail Ghandi and  many of his supporters, the Indian uproar convinced them not only to set Ghandi free, but to exit India entirely. Following India’s independence on August 15, 1947 Ghandi remarked that it was the “noblest act of the British nation.”

     Peace was not to last however, following Ghandi’s assassination in 1948, the Muslim and Hindu populations in India went to war with one another for control. The result was the separation of Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. The Muslim-Hindu violence nullified Ghandi’s efforts for non-violent interactions. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in the turmoil leading up to the separation of Pakistan from India, to Include Ghandi himself.

Source:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/india-and-pakistan-win-independence

• 1948 – Ghandi is assassinated.

 

     On January 30, 1948, the leader of the newly independent India, Mahatma Ghandi was assassinated by a Hindu radical in New Delhi during a Hindu prayer demonstration. Ghandi was shot 4 times by a Hindu radical angered by Ghandi’s policy of appeasement towards the Muslims, and for advocating for the separation of the Muslim state of Pakistan. His violent death was but one of many taken in unrest over independent Pakistan. He died saddened by the realization that his dream of a sovereign India though achieved was then mired in violence and controversy over Pakistan. He had been a symbol of non-violent action, and an inspiration to many around the globe. His death deeply impacted many inside and outside of India. Though he had been assassinated, his influence still lingered around the world. He became a martyr for the cause of civil disobedience and non-violent protesting, and as such his memory was perserved, perhaps more so than it would have been had he died of natural causes.

Source:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gandhi-assassinated

• 1950 – India becomes a Federal Republic.

 

     Although India had achieved its independence three years before, the violence and turmoil within India between Muslims and Hindus  had to be dealt with before any political  changes could be made. On January 26, 1950, India became a Federal Republic under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. The negotiations over the India-Pakistan borders took precedence over the process of setting up a formal government in India. Though India became sovereign in 1947, it retained the British monarchy as its head of state until Nehru was elected as Prime Minister in 1950, and the Indian National Congress under his leadership set up India’s federal system.

Source: