History

History Questions

Q.1) Explain why the British Empire grew at such an extraordinary rate in the nineteenth century

The British Empire comprised of colonies, dominions, mandates as well as other territories, whose administrator was the United Kingdom. The British Empire traces its origins to the trading posts and overseas possession that England established from 16th to 18th centuries. During the reign of the British Empire, it ranked as the largest colonial power in history and it held the status of the biggest global power for more over fifty years. In 1922, about one fifth of the world’s population was under the control of the British Empire, and was thus called “the empire on which the sun never sets.”

The expansion of the British Empire was necessitated by competition for markets and resources. Serious rivalries abounded between England and other European nations. The nature of the Empire was that it was mercantilist and the British sought markets as well as sources of raw materials. This was used to bring in wealth, which would be used to expand the Empire. Britain had been trading for a long time and therefore resources were available which would finance the expeditions and wars, which were necessary before establishing of British control over other territories. In the year 1815, the Napoleonic wars ended. These wars had preoccupied Britain for a long time. The defeat of the French forces left the British in a very powerful position.

British had lost 13 colonies in America between 1776 and 1783. However, the UK soon gained some new settlements in Australia from 1788 and the growth of Upper Canada. At the end of Napoleonic wars, the Empire gained some additional territories. Following the Treaty of Amiens which was signed in 1802, Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka) and Trinidad fell to the British Empire. Following the 1814 Treaty of Paris, Mauritius, the French ceded Saint Lucia, Malta, and Tobago to the British. Settlement by Canadians in Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia led to the expansion of the British Empire. The 19th Century marked the peak of the British Empire. Systems were erected to govern the overseas possessions following the setting up of the Colonial Office. The Colonial Office started as a department of the Home Office but later became autonomous and with increase in members of staff, discipline and pressure could be exerted on governments running colonial establishments.

Around this period, powers that traditionally rivaled Britain had their empire severely diminished in size while some had lost them altogether. Therefore, Britain found no power that would challenge its imperial position and it was able to expand without hindrances from other powers from Europe. Britain was one of the leading industrial powers in Europe. By being a leading power in industrialization, Britain dominated the world’s commercial sector. The domination in the world’s commerce also resulted in Britain being very wealthy, which helped finance its imperialist agenda. Additionally, Britain was a leader in shipbuilding. The British navy relied on the ships built in British shipyards. The strong naval ships ensured that Britain was able to transport its troops to far countries and this gave it a tight grip on its overseas possessions.

During the era of Queen Victoria, Britain continued to acquire more territory and trading concessions. This expansionism was a strategy used by Britain. The Brits promoted and defended their imperial agenda by pegging it on philanthropic work, which was going on. The British Empire reached its peak in 1876 when Queen Victoria was crowned as the Empress of India. Disraeli, the British Prime minister of this period, supported the imperialist agenda. Those people who supported the imperialists based their reasoning on a racist and paternalistic theory whose basis was Darwinian Theory of evolution that was misconstrued. This led to the argument about the existence of the Empire, some arguing that the empire existed not only for economic and strategic benefits, but also to rule over the people who were primitive and unable of governing themselves. Many people some of whom were naive accepted this doctrine but others were hypocrites. This legitimized the British acquisition of the central part of Africa and China.

Q.2) How was the Empire shaped by the Crimean War and the Indian rebellion?

The Crimean War

The Crimean War was fought between 1853 and 1856. This war pitted Russia on one side against an alliance of Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire, as well as Piedmont Sardinia, which played a minor role. Austria was neutral but did play a role in stopping the Russians. The issue at hand involved right of Christians to claim the Holy Land, which at the time was under the hold of the Ottoman Empire. The French advanced Catholics’ rights while the Russians backed the Orthodox Christians. The long-term cause of the war was because the Ottoman Empire was weakening and France and Britain did not want to have Russia gaining control of more territory. In the end, the Russians lost the war with Christians obtaining some amount of official equality. The Orthodox took charge of the Christian churches that were under dispute.

During the 19th Century, Russia and Britain were positioning themselves to fill in a vacuum that arose because of the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Britain got concerned that, Russia, by defeating Turkey and Persia showed hat it had imperialist ambitions. Britain feared that control of the Ottoman Empire by Russia would make it possible for Russia to invade India overland. Britain decided to invade Afghanistan to preempt India’s invasion but the ensuing Anglo-Afghan War resulted in disaster for Britain.

In 1853, Russian invaded the Turkish Balkans and the fear that Russian would dominate the Mediterranean and the Middle East were the reasons why France and Britain invaded the Crimean Peninsula seeking to destroy Russia’s naval capabilities. The resulting Crimean War ended in Russia’s defeat. For the next two decades, the situation in Central Asia persisted until an Anglo-Russian Entente was signed in 1907. The Japanese had destroyed the Russian Navy and this meant that Russia was not a major threat to the British. The British and other powers pledged to honor the independence of the Ottoman Empire, which appears to be a loss for a country with imperialist plans.

The Indian Rebellion

The Indian Rebellion took place in 1857. The rebellion began with a mutiny of sepoys of by an army owned by the East India Company. The mutiny spread to other areas with more mutinies and rebellions by civilians mostly in central India and the upper Gangetic plain. The rebellion threatened the authority of the East India Company’s power in the region. The mutiny was however contained when Gwalior fell on 20^th June1858. The Sikh princes in Punjab fought on the company’s side and provided soldiers for support. From the end of 1857, the British had made many gains and by 1858 a peace treaty was signed which saw the end of the rebellion and the rebel leaders fleeing or being killed.

Many British soldiers were seeking revenge as a resulted of reports that women, children as well as wounded British soldiers had been killed at Cawnpore. The British press advocated for ruthless action against the rebels. The Muslim population in New Delhi suffered since the economic and intellectual control of the city moved from the hand of Muslims to Hindus since the British thought the Muslims played a role in the mutiny. After the rebellion, the domination of the East India Company ended in India and the power was transferred to the British crown. A government department, the Indian Office, was formed in Britain to govern India. India. The Governor General of India was given a new title, which was Viceroy of India, and he was to implement policies, which were developed by the India Office.

Other territories previously owned by East India Company became colonies in their own right. The colonial administration tried to bring reforms, which would see those in higher castes joining the government. Indians were involved at the local levels of governance. The army also gained recognition. The Bengal army had dominated the Indian army before 1857 but after the revolt, there was need to reduce the size of the Bengali army. The presence of the Brahmins in the army was also reduced, as they were perceived to have taken part in the mutiny. The ratio of British to Indian soldiers was also increased and British units replaced the Indian artillery.