The British Empire in India

[Graham]

The caste system was in place thousands of years before the british stepped foot on indian soil..

Using and creating are two different things. We know that.

[Fortis in Arduis]

Yes, "goodbye" Nawabs and "hello" Maharajahs.

It was relatively popular.

[Hierarchalist]

Because Indians were feminised long time ago. Feminization of the European man happened not long ago.

[zhaoyun]

First of all, India as a national entity is a British creation. India unlike China was never a completely unified state. Yes, there were large empires in India such as the Mughals which dominated a large territory, but the state of India as we know it is an inheritance from the colony of British India.

Also, while historically India did have a more technologically advanced civilization than Western Europe, by the time the British were a seafaring empire, it had already started to enter the industrial revolution, thus it was able to greatly magnify its military power and increasingly came to dominate the sub-continent. It was not an immediate process, but rather over the course of a century and a half, the British came to increase their dominance through a complex series of conquests, alliances and delegation.

[curupira]

The East India company:

[curupira]

In the 1590s, the Dutch trade in the East Indies was seen as a threat to the English trade to the area. English merchants had to protect their interests, so in 1600, formed the Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies. It had control of all English trade in the East Indies.

The first East India Company voyage left London in 1601. The four ships on this trip returned home by 1603, with lots of pepper. Other successful voyages followed. One voyage in 1612 was so profitable that the investors in the venture got back the money they had invested in the voyage plus 220% profit.

The East India Company was trading from 1600 until 1833. It was a major commercial enterprise. The company also had a lot of political influence in the East Indies. The East India Company slowly took over India and governed it on behalf of the British government.

The East India Company started by establishing a few trading bases in India (at Madras, Calcutta and Bombay) with permission from India’s ruler, the Mughal Emperor. The Emperors could order the Europeans out if they wanted to. But by the mid 18th century, the map of India was changing. The great Mughal Empire, which had ruled over much of India, was split into smaller states and European trading companies sided with the smaller, weaker states. Gradually, the East India Company took over, setting up and removing kings and taking control of much of the continent of India.

http://discoveringbristol.org.uk/sla.../colonisation/

[LouisFerdinand]

In March 1947 Louis Mountbatten became Viceroy of India with a mandate to oversee the British withdrawal.

[Bobby Martnen]

Thank God for the British Raj!