South
Asia sources from the Strayer book and historychannel.com
By Eric Garcia
Political: In the era of 1750-1900, the countries of South Asia did not have any strong unified government. In India, local princes ruled different regions, and this fragmentation facilitated the colonization of India by the British. The Muslim Mughal Empire ruled most of India. But the arrival of the British in India was an exchange of one set of foreign rulers for another. Colonization by Europeans of India and Indonesia grew out of earlier interaction with European trading firms. The British East India Company led the role in colonizing India rather than the British government. The Mughal Empire was fragmented, and there was no sense of cultural or political unity in India which made British colonization very easy. The case was very similar in Indonesia as the presence of many small rival states in Indonesia made Dutch colonization easy. The British would make deals with local rulers and bought their allegiance. The areas of Pakistan, India, Bhutan and Burma and Malay states were territories held by the British. Indonesia was held by the Dutch. The Indian Rebellion which lasted from 1857-1858 which started because the British used a cartridge smeared with animal fat from cows and pigs. They didn’t want to convert to Christianity and rebel leaders sought to revive the Mughal Empire. The rebellion widened the racial divide in colonial India and caused the British to gain direct control of India.
Economic: India became a trading colony when the British East India Company came to India and established trade there. There were still Indian traders, but the majority of the trade in South Asia was controlled by Europeans either the Dutch or the British. The British taxed the Indians and seized their land for European enterprises such as cotton spinning factories. The British brought India into the world global economy because of India’s resources such as cotton and spices. Forced labor was present in the cultivation system of the Dutch East India Trading Company in Indonesia. People were required to cultivate 20 percent or more of their land in cash crops such as sugar or coffee in order to pay their taxes to the state. The products brought great profits to Dutch traders. Rice was harvested greatly in India.
Religion: The main religions of South Asia were Hinduism which was prominent in India, but Islam was also prominent because of the Mughal Empire in India whose rulers were Muslim, also the people of Indonesia were Muslim. There were European missionaries who tried to spread Christianity in South Asia. In India, Christianity did not spread significantly. The Indians wanted to make a religion equal to Christianity but distinct to India. Swami Vivekananda was a religious figure in India who helped to revive Hinduism to offer spiritual support.
Society: The caste system was still prominent in India, so there was great inequality between the castes. The European colonizers saw the colonized people of India as soft, passive, and feminine. Racial prejudice accompanied colonial rule. People in India that were Siks or Gurkha were seen as masculine by Europeans and therefore recruited into the British forces. Many Indians lived a working life as they had to work to supply Europeans’ demand, such as spinning yarn. Families were closely knit as they would live with parents and grandparents. Princes had special privileges since they were allied with the British.
Innovation: India gave the concept of 0 to the Europeans, and they made other advancements in mathematics. An intellectual was Swami Vivekananda who was an Indian religious figure who helped to revive Hinduism in India. There were not many technological innovations in South Asia, only those brought over by Europeans such as pieces of equipment for spinning yarn and European weaponry like firearms. Education varied in South Asia as the rich could afford education by the British which included subjects like Math and Science. Those who were important to the British would receive European style educations.
Arts and Architecture: There were Hindu ritual dances, and a traditional style of Indian dances. Indians still continued to make structures by rock carving. South Asian art depicted religious events, or religious figures such as how Indian art depicted different gods. South Asian art also began to depict European presence such as how paintings were done of British riding elephants or colonizing. Indian architecture sometimes blended with Muslim architecture in cases where Hinduism would mix with Islam.
Near Geography: South Asia lies in the Indian Ocean Basin making it an important place for commerce in the Indian Ocean Basic. South Asia has China to the north, Indonesia to the southeast, and the East African coast to the south west and Pakistan right next door to the west. People settled along rivers such as the Ganges. The Himalayas lie to the north of South Asia separating it from China. People would move to where the Europeans needed them to work near areas of good soil for harvesting rice, or spinning yarn.
By Eric Garcia
Political: In the era of 1750-1900, the countries of South Asia did not have any strong unified government. In India, local princes ruled different regions, and this fragmentation facilitated the colonization of India by the British. The Muslim Mughal Empire ruled most of India. But the arrival of the British in India was an exchange of one set of foreign rulers for another. Colonization by Europeans of India and Indonesia grew out of earlier interaction with European trading firms. The British East India Company led the role in colonizing India rather than the British government. The Mughal Empire was fragmented, and there was no sense of cultural or political unity in India which made British colonization very easy. The case was very similar in Indonesia as the presence of many small rival states in Indonesia made Dutch colonization easy. The British would make deals with local rulers and bought their allegiance. The areas of Pakistan, India, Bhutan and Burma and Malay states were territories held by the British. Indonesia was held by the Dutch. The Indian Rebellion which lasted from 1857-1858 which started because the British used a cartridge smeared with animal fat from cows and pigs. They didn’t want to convert to Christianity and rebel leaders sought to revive the Mughal Empire. The rebellion widened the racial divide in colonial India and caused the British to gain direct control of India.
Economic: India became a trading colony when the British East India Company came to India and established trade there. There were still Indian traders, but the majority of the trade in South Asia was controlled by Europeans either the Dutch or the British. The British taxed the Indians and seized their land for European enterprises such as cotton spinning factories. The British brought India into the world global economy because of India’s resources such as cotton and spices. Forced labor was present in the cultivation system of the Dutch East India Trading Company in Indonesia. People were required to cultivate 20 percent or more of their land in cash crops such as sugar or coffee in order to pay their taxes to the state. The products brought great profits to Dutch traders. Rice was harvested greatly in India.
Religion: The main religions of South Asia were Hinduism which was prominent in India, but Islam was also prominent because of the Mughal Empire in India whose rulers were Muslim, also the people of Indonesia were Muslim. There were European missionaries who tried to spread Christianity in South Asia. In India, Christianity did not spread significantly. The Indians wanted to make a religion equal to Christianity but distinct to India. Swami Vivekananda was a religious figure in India who helped to revive Hinduism to offer spiritual support.
Society: The caste system was still prominent in India, so there was great inequality between the castes. The European colonizers saw the colonized people of India as soft, passive, and feminine. Racial prejudice accompanied colonial rule. People in India that were Siks or Gurkha were seen as masculine by Europeans and therefore recruited into the British forces. Many Indians lived a working life as they had to work to supply Europeans’ demand, such as spinning yarn. Families were closely knit as they would live with parents and grandparents. Princes had special privileges since they were allied with the British.
Innovation: India gave the concept of 0 to the Europeans, and they made other advancements in mathematics. An intellectual was Swami Vivekananda who was an Indian religious figure who helped to revive Hinduism in India. There were not many technological innovations in South Asia, only those brought over by Europeans such as pieces of equipment for spinning yarn and European weaponry like firearms. Education varied in South Asia as the rich could afford education by the British which included subjects like Math and Science. Those who were important to the British would receive European style educations.
Arts and Architecture: There were Hindu ritual dances, and a traditional style of Indian dances. Indians still continued to make structures by rock carving. South Asian art depicted religious events, or religious figures such as how Indian art depicted different gods. South Asian art also began to depict European presence such as how paintings were done of British riding elephants or colonizing. Indian architecture sometimes blended with Muslim architecture in cases where Hinduism would mix with Islam.
Near Geography: South Asia lies in the Indian Ocean Basin making it an important place for commerce in the Indian Ocean Basic. South Asia has China to the north, Indonesia to the southeast, and the East African coast to the south west and Pakistan right next door to the west. People settled along rivers such as the Ganges. The Himalayas lie to the north of South Asia separating it from China. People would move to where the Europeans needed them to work near areas of good soil for harvesting rice, or spinning yarn.