5e. The British in India
The first British in India came for trade and it was the East India Company rather than the British government which led the way in opening up India and gaining territory to aid trade.
However, increasingly the East India Company moved from trade to ruling India; by the mid 19th Century, the East India Company controlled nearly all of India.
The grievances created by the rule of the East India Company led to the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Following this shocking event, the British government took control of India which was then to become 'the jewel in the Crown' of the British Empire.
a. The rule of the East India Company
The first British influence in India came in the guise of the East India Company. Although trade was the initial aim of this company, it increasingly sought to control Indian rulers and to gain more land...
b. The Indian Mutiny, 1857
The rule of the East India Company under Dalhousie and Bentinck created grievances which became long-term causes of the rebellion that broke out against the British in 1857. However the trigger of the...