India Chapter 1, Part 1, Context Indian to 1914 Flashcards
(9 cards)
What was British control over the Indian Subcontinent likes before the Indian Mutiny in 1857?
British Raj Rule and British territorial control was at its greatest.
Treaties were negotiated with Indian rulers and hundreds of independent states forcing them to acknowledge Britain’s supreme authority.
What was the Indian Mutiny in 1857?
A mutiny of Indian soldiers (sepoys) serving in the East Indian company’s army, also Known as the ‘Great Rebellion’ or the ‘First War of Independence’.
What was the most significant region in India and why?
The Indo-Gangetic River plain, an arc up to the Ganges from Bengal across the Punjab and down the Indus
Both Calcutta – the former British capital and, Delhi – the medieval and modern capital lie within the arc.
How did the company begin English Contact WIth India?
English Contact with India began in the reign of Elizabeth I, who granted a royal charter to the East Indian Company.
The Company created and put into the field its own substantial private army defending and expelling the French from India in the 18th century
Aggressive expansion resulted in British control of the entire Gangetic Plain.
What was the East Indian Company?
A British company formed to trade with India in 1600. It grew powerful enough to control thousands of square kilometres of territory in the subcontinent.
What were the 3 main religions in Indian Society
1) Hindus - The most prominent Indian religious group
2) Muslims
3) Sikhs - a fusion between Hinduism and Islm
What was the caste system, what were the 4 main castes
The caste system divided Hindu’s into categories largely determind by birth:
1) Brahmins, the priests
2) Kshatriyas, the warriors
3) Vaishyas, the traders
4) Shrudas, the cultivatos and peasents
Who were the Untouchables?
- They were the lowest oppressed group not even permitted a caste system
- Sometimes referred to as Depressed or Scheduled Classes
