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Britain had so many colonies that it was said
that the “sun never set on the British Empire”

Among all of Britain’s

colonies, the most
valuable was India

India became known as

the “brightest jewel

in the crown”

After Vasco da Gama’s discovery of a water route to
India in 1498, European trade with India increased

In the 1600s, Europeans gained a
foothold in the Indian Ocean trade

The British East India

Company was formed to
trade exotic Asian goods

in Europe & America

The East India Company

set up trade posts in

major port cities in India
By 1700, India’s Mughal
Empire was in decline &
small states ruled by a
maharajah were formed

Conflicts between
Hindus & Muslims

further weakened India
The East India Co gained

more control of India

The East India Company made huge profits creating
plantations to harvest tea, coffee, cotton, & opium

Raw materials like cotton

helped fuel Britain’s
industrial revolution
Opium was refined in
India & smuggled into
China; Opium addition
helped the British gain
access to Chinese trade

The East India Company
sold cheap, British-made
textiles to Indian people

From 1750 to 1850, the

British East India Co ruled

most of India with little
interference from Britain
To protect their trade &
territories, British officials

hired Indian soldiers

called sepoys

By the 1850s, Indian
resentment for the
British was growing

In 1857, rumors spread
that sepoy gun cartridges

supplied by the British
by were greased with

pork & beef fat

Hindu & Muslim sepoys
were outraged & rebelled

against the British

The Sepoy Mutiny lasted
over 1 year; The British
gov’t had to send troops
to help the East India Co

Execution of sepoys

The Sepoy Mutiny was a

turning point in Indian history
In 1858, the British gov’t took

control from the East India

Company & ruled India

directly; British rule was called

the Raj & lasted until 1947

The British government made
important improvements in

India including railroads,

telegraph & telephone lines,
roads, canals, dams, bridges

British Queen Victoria
assumed the title of
“Empress of India”

Britain also built schools,

hospitals, irrigation projects,

& medical improvements

The British emphasis on
cash-crop plantations led

to food shortages &

famine in India

(7 million Indians died

due to starvation in 1876)

British rule hurt the

native Indian economy,
further divided social

classes, increased
hostility between
Muslims & Hindus

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