The Beginning of Imperialism
The East India Company, owned by the British, got permission from the emperors of India to build trading posts on the coasts of India in the 17th century. There, the company thrived off of the many goods that were traded, imported, and exported there, including spices, textiles, and cotton. The Mughal empire started to falter after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, and the East India Company began to expand their trading posts. The merchants moved further inland in the 1750s, she they gained official rights to rule the state. This was enforced by a small portion of the British army and a larger Indian army known as the sepoys. The sepoys revolted in the 1800s, and resulted in the British having to establish direct imperial rule. The sepoys continued to rebel against their unjust rules placed by the British, but the British eventually overcame them after many gruesome skirmishes.
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Imperialism
In 1858, Queen Victoria mandated that Indian policy be controlled by the Indian secretary of state, while a viceroy represented the British. Most of the council consisted of Englishmen, who also controlled foreign and domestic affairs, and only the lower bureaucracies were controlled by Indians. Their colony expanded to all of present-day India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
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Changes to India
The British industrialized India by building railroads, telegraph networks, canals, harbors, and irrigation systems throughout the land. The agriculture of cash crops was encouraged for export. Schools were built as they were in England, and many of the Indian laws were overridden with new European laws that sometimes conflicted with the culture.