How Britain gained an empire - religion and ideasReforms of Indian ways and the Great Rebellion

Expansion and empire

The British had allowed the East India Company to operate independently in India up to the end of the 18th century, but they became concerned that the Company's men were getting too powerful. The term ‘nabob’ was used to describe English men who took power over Indian subjects and controlled more than just trade. Some nabobs were enthusiastic about Indian culture, took up native customs and married Indian women. This made the British establishment in London suspicious of the Company’s conduct in India and led to government intervention to control the power of the Company from 1784 onwards.

English reforms of Indian ways

Thomas Macaulay was a British official who wanted to transform India and introduce English ideas about government, education and morality to the country. Macaulay believed that western education in India would create a race of ‘brown Englishmen’. He passed the English Education Act for India in 1835.

One British change that caused great anger amongst Indians was the so-called ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ which was introduced by Lord Dalhousie in 1848. This was a British law that banned an Indian prince without a natural heir from adopting a successor. Unlike 19th century England, in India adopted children had the same legal status as biological children. Under the new law, if an Indian prince did not have a natural heir then the British immediately took his land. This interference in Indian traditions upset the Indian princes.

The Great Rebellion

• In April 1857, during the Great Rebellion, 85 sepoys refused to use the new cartridges which they felt were unclean.
• The 85 sepoys were court-martialled and imprisoned. At the sentencing, the British humiliated the sepoys by stripping their uniforms and shackling their ankles in front of 4000 other sepoys.
• Shocked by the humiliation they had witnessed, the 4000 sepoys mutinied. They quickly overwhelmed the British and the imprisoned sepoys were released.
• The sepoys then began to shoot every British man, woman and child in sight.
• When the British troops eventually restored control, they executed thousands of sepoys and other Indians.

After the chaos and carnage of the rebellion, the British government centralised control of the Indian Empire to Westminster and took away the East India Company’s power.