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The British East India Company is established and begins setting up factories.
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BEIC obtains trading rights from Mughal Emperor Jahangir.
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British control through the BEIC expands to Bangladesh, southern India, and the regions along the Ganges River.
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The BEIC renews their charter and continues ruling in India. Their charter is renewed every 20 years.
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The British begin taking more control of India. They employ Sepoys in the British Army and pass the Permanent Settling Act. It was a land tax on all Indian landowners, and it was so high that most Indians could not afford to pay it.
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Conflicts begin arising between Indians and the British. Indians thought the British were trying to convert them to Christianity, and a rumor spread that gun cartridges were being greased with beef and pork fat. This offended Muslim and Hindu Sepoys.
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The Sepoy Mutiny begins, and there is fierce fighting between the Sepoys and British army. But the mutiny ends two years later because India was divided and their government was weak. As a result, hate and distrust increases between the groups.
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The Indian National Congress is created for Indians to have representatives in British councils. It is led by Jawaharlal Nehru.
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Led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Muslim League is created to provide Muslims an equal voice in the independence movement arising.
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The new Rowlatt Acts allow the British to arrest and imprison Indians accused of “terrorism” without a trial or formal charges. The Indians who were protesting for independence were targeted as criminals.
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The Amritsar Massacre occurs. With General Dyer ordering troops to open fire on unarmed protesters, about 400 Indians died and over 1,100 were wounded.
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Gandhi leads the Homespun Movement after having returned to India. By having Indians weave their own cloth, they were boycotting British made goods. The movement’s main goal was to show the British that they could be economically independent.
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The Salt March, a 240 mile journey to the sea, was a peaceful protest against British salt tax. Indians made their own salt using saltwater, and news coverage was spread about India’s struggle for independence.
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Gandhi calls for Indians to leave their jobs in the Quit India Movement. They refuse to fight for the British in WWII unless they’re granted immediate independence. The British suffer and Gandhi’s use of civil disobedience has proven to be successful.
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India is granted independence, and the country is partitioned into India and Pakistan. Hindus remain in India while Muslims migrate to Pakistan. It is the largest migration in history. The Indian constitution is completed two years later.
