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Oct 14, 1497
1497- Vasco De Gama Set Sail For India
He began exploring the African Coast, because they wanted to direct sea route.Year later, he reached the port of Calicut. De Gama and his crew were amazed by the spices, rare silks, and precious gems, the Calicut shops had. -
Establishment of the British East India Company
British economic interest began in India, when the British East India Company set up trading posts at Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. The Mughal Empire was collapsing since small states broke away from control. In 1757, Robert Clive led East India Company troops victory, allied with the French, at the Battle of Plassey. Until 1858, the East India Company was the leading power in India. -
Decline of The Mughal Empire
By the end of Aurangzeb's reign, he left no resources. Over 2 million people died in a famine while Aurangzeb was away waging war. Aurangzeb handed European traders the port of Bombay and he had no idea that tehy were going ot take over in the future. -
Industrial Revolution In Britain
. The Industrial Revolution started the use of machine-made goods, it began in England. Before the Industrial Revolution, people wove textiles by hand, now machines to do this and other jobs. Later on the Industrial Revolution spread from England to Europe and North America. -
Sepoy Rebellion
The cartridges of their new Enfield rifles were greased with beef and pork fat. Hindus, who consider the cow sacred, and Muslims, who do not eat pork, did not like this. A commander was shocked about 90 sepoys refused to take the cartridges. The soldiers who had disobeyed were jailed. The sepoys rebelled, by marching to Delhi, where they were joined by Indian soldiers stationed there. They captured the city of Delhi. Then the bellion spread to northern and central India. -
British Overcome French and Take Control Of India
The British East India Company govered Bangladash, most of southern India, and the territory along the Ganged River in the North. India's 300 million people were a large potential market for British-made goods. British policies called that India had to produce raw materials for British manufacturing and to buy British goods -
British Colonized India
As a result of the mutiny, the British government took command over India. A cabinet minister in London directed policy, and a British governor-general in India carried out the government's orders. After 1877, this official held the title of viceroy, a person appointed to rule a country or province. -
Creation Of The Indian National Congress (INC)
Two groups formed to rid India of foreign rule one was the Hindu Indian National Congress, or Congress Party. Other was the Muslim League in 1906. Both of these groups were calling for self-governmet. These two groups both worked for the independence from the British. -
Creation Of The Muslim League
In competition with the Congress Party was the Muslim League founded in India to protect Muslim interests. The leader of the Muslim League, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, insisted that all Muslims resign from the Congress Party . Calling for self-governement. Worked toward the independence from the British. -
Mohandas Gandhi's Leadership of the INC
Since the massacre at Amritsar, Mohandas K. Gandhi emergeed as the leader of the independence movement. Gandhi's strategy evolved his deeply religious approach to political activity. His teachings blended ideas from different religions, including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. -
Amritsar Massacre
The British passed the Rowlatt Acts allowed the government to jail protesters without trial for two years.To protest about 10,000 Hindus and Muslims went to Amritsar. At a festival they decided to fast, pray, and to listen to political speeches.People there were unaware that the British government had banned public meetings. The British commander told his troops to fire on the crowd without warning. 400 Indians died and 1,200 were wounded. -
Rowlett Acts
The British passed the Rowlatt Acts, which allowed the government to jail protesters without trial for about two years. To Western-educated Indians, a trial violated their individual rights. -
Gandhi's Travels Stressing Nonviolent Resistance
The Congress Party approoved civil disobedience , the deliberate and public refusal to obey an unjust law, and nonviolence, to achieve independence. Gandhi then launched his campaign of civil disobedience to weaken the British government's authority and economic power over India. -
The Salt March
The British laws said that Indians could only buy salt from the government. They also had to pay sales tax on salt. To show opposition, Gandhi and his followers went down to the seacoast. Here they started to make their own salt. Some demonstrators planned a march where the British government processed salt, so they can shut down saltworks . Police officers attacked them. Eventually many were arrested even Gandhi. -
Government of India Act
The British Parliament passed the Government of India Act, which provided local self-government and limited democratic elections, but not total independence. But tensions apperared between Indians and Muslims. Indian Muslims, feared that Hindus would control India if it won independence -
Partition
Partition was the term given to the division of India into separate Hindu and Muslim nations. The northwest and eastern regions of India, where Muslims lived, would become the nation of Pakistan, and the other part of the area would be India and that's where most of the Hindus live. -
WWII- Riots Between Hindus And Muslims
When World War II ended, Britain faced with enormous war debts. As a result, British leaders began to rethink the expense of maintaining and governing distant colonies. With India continuing to push for independence, British had to give over their power. But the problem was who will get the power, Muslims, or Hindus.Rioting between the two groups broke out in Indian cities. Four days of clashes in Calcutta left more than 5,000 people dead and more than 15,000 were hurt. -
Indian/Pakistan Independence
The British House of Commons passed an act that granted India and Pakistan, independence in one month's time. In that time, more than 500 independent native princes had to decide which nation they would join.Another religious group, the Sikhs also had to decide where to go. -
Gandhi's Death
Gandhi personally went to the India's capital, Delhi, to plead for fair treatment of Muslim refugees. While there, he became part of the nation's violence. A Hindu extremist who thought Gandhi was too protective of Muslims shot and killed him.
