The British East India Company expanded its control over most of India as the Mughal Empire declined. By the 1850s, the Company ruled India and maintained control through its Indian army, made up of sepoy soldiers. However, in 1857, sepoys rebelled against new Enfield rifles that required biting cartridges greased with animal fat, sparking the Sepoy Mutiny against British rule. The rebellion was crushed, and Britain took direct control over India as resentment between Indians and the British increased.

1. As the Mughal Empire declined, Britain
seizes Indian territory and soon it
controls almost the whole subcontinent.
27.4 BRITISH IMPERIALISM IN INDIA

3. QUESTIONS TO WRITE FIRST!
1. Looking at the map (India Under British Rule: 1805-1886), what were the first areas the British
came to control? Why was that so?
2. Who were the sepoys?
3. What economic policies did the British have in India?
4. What positive things did the British do for India?
5. Other than India, what other colonies did the British hold in Asia and Southeast Asia?
6. Name two underlying causes, and the one immediate cause of the Sepoy Mutiny.
7. What was Mangal Pandey’s role in the Mutiny?
8. What atrocities were committed by the sepoys against the British in the mutiny? (video)
9. What was the purpose of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League?
10. What kinds of reforms did Ram Mohun Roy want to make? What Indian cultural practices did he
oppose?

4. BRITISH EXPAND
CONTROL OVER
INDIA

5. • British East India
Company rules India
until the 1850s.
• Company has its own
army led by British
officers
• Army is staffed by
sepoys—Indian
soldiers.
EAST INDIA COMPANY DOMINATES
Flag of the British East India Company
(right); A painting showing a sowar
(sepoy), 6th Madras Light Cavalry of
British India. Circa 1845 (below)

6. • India is Britain’s most
valuable colony, or
“jewel in the crown.”
• Forced to produce raw
materials for British
manufacturing
• Also forced to buy
British goods
BRITAIN’S JEWEL IN THE CROWN”

7. • Railroads move
cash crops and
goods faster
• Trade in specific
crops is tied to
international
events
BRITISH TRANSPORT TRADE GOODS

8. IMPACT OF COLONIALISM
• British hold much of political and economic power
• Cash crops result in loss of self-sufficiency and cause
famine
• Indian life disrupted by missionaries and racist attitudes
• British modernize India’s economy, improve public
health

10. SEPOY MUTINY: UNDERLYING AND IMMEDIATE CAUSES
• Underlying Causes
• Religious Frictions: Some British officers actively attempted to convert the sepoys to
Christianity although the British East India Company discouraged it. The sepoys resented
imposing Christianity and Christian laws in India.
• Doctrine of the Lapse: The Company automatically seized land from a feudal leader who
died without leaving an heir.
• Unfair justice system toward Indians. British officers accused of crimes against Indians
were granted multiple appeals and advantages when being tried.
• High Caste Sepoys: The Bengal Army of sepoys were recruited from a higher caste of
Indians. Therefore, if the high caste sepoys were considered to be "polluted", they would
have to expend considerable sums of money on ritual purification before being accepted
back into society.
• Immediate Cause
• The Enfield Rifle: It required the solder to bite the cartridge and hold the ball in his mouth
when loading the rifle. The belief that the cartridge was lubricated with animal fat (either
pork or beef) offended both Muslims and Hindus.

11. The old gun: an India pattern smoothbore Brown Bess Musket. Notice this
is a flintlock musket.
1853 Enfield Rifle-Musket. Notice this gun uses a percussion cap rather
than a flint lock.

12. SEPOY MUTINY
• Sepoys refuse to use cartridges of new rifles for
religious reasons.
• Many Sepoys are jailed; others start the Sepoy Mutiny
against the British
• Many Indians, especially Sikhs, remain loyal to the
British
• British put down the rebellion and take direct command
of India.

13. • Mangal Pandey: The Rising is
an Indian movie based on the life
of Mangal Pandey, an Indian
soldier who is known for his role
in the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
• In March of 1857 Pandey gave a
speech to his fellow sepoys
encouraging them to mutiny. He
then attacked a British officer. He
was executed for these actions
the following month. In his
defense he claimed he did not
know what he was doing,
admitting he was under the
influence of cannabis and opium.
BOLLYWOOD FILM—
MANGAL PANDEY: THE RISING

14. THE RISING, A BOLLYWOOD FILM TELLS THE
STORY FROM THE INDIAN SIDE.

19. MUTINY FROM THE BRITISH SIDE

20. THE BRITISH RAJ
• Raj—refers to British rule after India came under
the British crown.
• Uprising increases distrust between British and
Indians.

21. • Calls for Reforms
• In 1800s, Ram Mohun Roy
leads modernization
movement
• Many Indians adopt western
ways and call for social
reforms
• Indians resent being second-
class citizens in their own
country.
NATIONALISM SURFACES IN INDIA

22. NATIONALISM SURFACES IN INDIA
• Nationalist Groups Form
• Indian National Congress and Muslim
League form
• Nationalists angered by partition of
Bengal and the pressure forces Britain to
divide it differently