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The East India Company (EIC) was formed
The EIC was a non-governmental organization of London businessmen made to make money importing spices from Asia. The Spanish had a monopoly of the East Indies spice trade until the Spanish Armada was destroyed, which allowed the British to take part in this mercantilism business. The EIC was the first British organization that the government wasn't apart of to introduce capitalism in India. -
East India Company's first colony *month and day unknown*
The Company acquires its first territory in Bombay, now Mumbai, India. The Bombay Presidency was created when the city of Bombay was leased to the EIC by a Royal Charter from the King of England, Charles the second. This was the major starting point of British imperialism within India. -
Anglo-French Wars (Carnatic Wars)
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India. The main conflict was between the French and the British and their companies. The British Company won and established its dominance in the European trading companies within India. The French were confined primarily to Pondichéry. The British EIC's dominance eventually led to the control of most of India and eventually to the establishment of the British Raj (British rule). -
Battle of Plassey
The British won against the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ad-daula, in the Battle of Plassey which confirmed the EIC's presence in Bengal, which later expanded to cover much of India over the next century. The British replaced the Nawab with Mir Jafar who was more compliant and trustworthy with the EIC. The British used the revenue of winning the land to increase their military and push the other European powers like the Dutch and the French out of South Asia, thus expanding the British Empire in Asia. -
Vellore Mutiny *picture is of sepoy uniforms*
The Vellore mutiny was the first large-scale and violent mutiny by Indian sepoys against the East India Company. The revolt, in the South Indian city of Vellore, was brief, only lasting a day, but still brutal as mutineers seized the Vellore Fort and killed/wounded 200 British troops. The mutiny was brought on by Eurocentrism, the British were forcing their own customs, attire, and religion onto the Indian soldiers and they felt they were being stripped of their identities. -
Indian Rebellion/Indian War of Independance *picture is of memorial dedicated to the lost lives of the mutiny*
The Rebels (feudal nobility, rural landlords, and peasants) went against the rule of the British EIC from 1857 to 1859 in central India because the company didn't respect the Muslim/Hindu culture, owners lost land, and they tried abolishing the Indian traditional system of inheritance. Sepoys originally rebelled against the EIC's army and it soon started other civilian rebellions. This posed a threat to EIC power in that region, and was contained only with the fall of Gwalior in 1858. -
Fall of East India Company
After the British recovered control after the war, few sepoys survived and those that did were slaughtered. When Britain's civilians uproared about the brutality of the rebellion, the British parliament finally realized that it was inappropriate for a private company to have such enormous power and control over a land the size of India and it was dissolved in 1858, and the administration of India became the responsibility of the Crown. -
Muhatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independance movement in British India, was born
His vision of an independent India based on multiculturalism was challenged in early 1940 by a new Muslim nationalism that demanded a separate Muslim section out of India. In 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire was split into two sections, a Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. Many were displaced, religious violence broke out, and Gandhi visited the affected areas. A Hindu nationalist assassinated Gandhi on January 30th, 1948. His legacy of a free India lived on. -
Indian National Congress is formed
The INC formed a platform for civic/political dialogue of educated Indians with the British Empire. After the Rebellion, it was the goal of the Empire to support its governance of India with the aid of anglo-Indians, who would be familiar and friendly to British culture and political thinking. The INC was considered to be the most prominent Indian public organization. After independence of India in 1947, Gandhi asked the leaders to dissolve INC and form new organisation to govern the nation. -
Jalianwala Bagh Massacre
[https://www.britannica.com/event/Rowlatt-Acts]
After public revolt against the Rowlatt Acts, a ban on public gathering was placed. On April 13, a crowd of 10,000 protesters and Sikhs celebrating the spring festival gathered in Jallianwalla Bagh. The military arrived and, without warning, the troops opened fire on the crowd, shooting for 10 minutes until the ammo ran out. 379 were killed and 1,200 were wounded. After they stopped firing, they withdrew, leaving behind the dead and wounded. -
India and Pakistan win independence
The Indian Independence Bill carved the independent nations of India and Pakistan out of the former Mogul Empire. The long awaited agreement ended 200 years of British rule and isn't just a legacy of the British rule, but was hailed by Gandhi as the “noblest act of the British nation.” The religious strife between Hindus and Muslims, which had delayed Britain’s granting of Indian independence after World War II, caused the death of thousands, including Gandhi, in the months after independence.
