British Empire

Question 1

What was the name of the trading company set up in 1600 that gradually took control of India?

Answer 1

East India Company

Question 2

What can the story of Lord Liverpool tell us about the relationship between Indians and British?

Answer 2

Mixed freely – his grandmother was Indian – intermarriage between Indians and British was common

Question 3

Why did the East India Company initially encourage close relations between British traders and local Indians?

Answer 3

Good for trade!

Question 4

What was the name of the group of people who ruled India before (and during) the British rule?

Answer 4

Mughals

Question 5

How many are estimated to have died in the 1770 famine in Bengal while the East India Company were partial rulers?

Answer 5

At the time it was estimated that 10 million died. More recent research suggests it is closer to 3 million.

Question 6

How did the East India Company react when people in Bengal were dying of starvation?

Answer 6

They continued to force people to pay taxes to them and provided little / no food for the starving.

Question 7

Which religious Hindu custom did the British ban?

Answer 7

Sati – burning of widows

Question 8

When did the British ban the custom of Sati?

Answer 8

1829

Question 9

What other examples of the British interfering in Indian customs were there from early c19th?

Answer 9

Passed a law saying English should be the main language of lessons in universities and law courts

Question 10

What was the name of the evangelical British ruler in India at the time Sati was banned?

Answer 10

William Bentinck

Question 11

Why did the banning of Sati mark a turning point in relations?

Answer 11

First time British interfered in local custom

Question 12

What was the name of the Christians who travelled overseas to spread Christianity?

Answer 12

Missionaries

Question 13

What essential product did the British force Indians to pay a high tax on in the c19th?

Answer 13

Salt

Question 14

What is the name of the Indian soldiers that served under British order?

Answer 14

Sepoy

Question 15

What was the short-term trigger reason for the Indian Rebellion / Mutiny of 1857?

Answer 15

Rumour among Hindu and Muslim sepoys that bullets coated with pig and cow fat.

Question 16

How many Indians were killed following the Rebellion / Mutiny of 1857?

Answer 16

Between 100,000-150,000

Question 17

How did 1857 change British-Indian relations?

Answer 17

Mutual suspicion. British adopted policy of divide and rule

Question 18

Who took control of India following 1857?

Answer 18

British Government / Queen Victoria took control from East India Company

Question 19

How did Gandhi help the British in the First World War?

Answer 19

Recruited Indian soldiers to fight for the British

Question 20

What is the name of the Act passed by the British in 1919 that restricted the rights of Indians?

Answer 20

Rowlatt Act

Question 21

Name two rights this Act took away from Indians.

Answer 21

• Right to fair trial
• Right to free speech

Question 22

Which violent event led by the British turned many Indians against the British in 1919?

Answer 22

Amritsar Massacre

Question 23

What is the name of the man who ordered the killing of the peaceful protesters in Amritsar?

Answer 23

General Dyer

Question 24

Roughly how many Indians were killed at the Amritsar Massacre (Jallianwala Bagh) in 1919?

Answer 24

379

Question 25

Name one non-violent action Gandhi took that undermined British rule.

Answer 25

* Salt March – thousands arrested * Encouraged Indians to sew their own cloth and boycott British-made cloth * Hunger strike

Question 26

Who replaced Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of Britain in 1945?

Answer 26

Clement Attlee

Question 27

Which political party did Clement Attlee belong to?

Answer 27

Labour Party

Question 28

Why might this new Prime Minister make Indian independence more likely?

Answer 28

Attlee was a socialist – less pro-Empire than Conservative Churchill.

Question 29

Which anti-imperialist country did this new government turn to for money to rebuild Britain?

Answer 29

America

Question 30

When did India gain independence from Britain?

Answer 30

1947

Question 31

What is the name of Britain's first African colony to reach independence in 1957?

Answer 31

Ghana

Question 32

When did the handover of Hong Kong to China take place?

Answer 32

1997

Question 33

What does the term 'Abolition' mean?

Answer 33

To end or put a stop to something

Question 34

What does the term 'Boycott' mean?

Answer 34

To refuse to buy (a product) as a form of protest against the people who make or sell the product

Question 35

What is a 'Colony'?

Answer 35

A country, state or territory ruled over by another country, state or territory.

Question 36

What does 'Empire' refer to?

Answer 36

A number of individual countries that are all controlled by the government or ruler of one particular country.

Question 37

Who are 'Indigenous people'?

Answer 37

The people who originate in a particular area, rather than those who migrated there.

Question 38

What is a 'Merchant'?

Answer 38

A person involved in buying and selling items, usually between different countries.

Question 39

What does 'Profit' mean?

Answer 39

The money that is made from buying and selling goods after costs have been taken into account.

Question 40

What does 'Revolt' mean?

Answer 40

To rebel against or refuse to accept the authority of a group or person.

Question 41

What is a 'Sepoy'?

Answer 41

An Indian soldier who fought in the East India Company’s army, but had previously been part of the Mughal army.

Question 42

What does 'Trade' refer to?

Answer 42

The business of buying and selling (or swapping) items, usually between different countries.