Colonial India
From Free net encyclopedia
In 1498, the Portuguese set foot in India, landing near the city of Calicut in the present-day state of Kerala in South India. The pursuit of trade and competition between European powers saw the entry of the British and French, among others, into India. The fractured kingdoms of India were eventually taken over by the Europeans, who indirectly assumed control by subjugating rulers. By the early 19th century, the British had assumed direct or indirect control over all of present-day India. In 1857, a local rebellion by an army of sepoys snowballed into the Insurrection of 1857. This resistance, although short-lived, was triggered by widespread resentment against certain discriminatory policies of the British. As a result of this, the British East India Company was abolished and India formally became a crown colony. The slow but momentous reform movement, which had been unleased in India by contact with European ideas and institutions, developed gradually into the Indian independence movement. During the years of the First World War, the hitherto bourgeoise "home-rule" movement was transformed into a popular mass movement by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi —a pacifist.Also aided by revolutionaries such as bhagat singh chandrashekar azad,subhash chandra bose who were feared by the british in the later stages.This independence movement attained its objective with the Independence of India on August 15, 1947.
The sequence of events that took place during the Colonial era:
- European colonies in India,
- British East India Company,
- Company rule in India,
- Indian rebellion of 1857,
- British Raj,
- Indian Independence Movement,
- Indian National Congress,
- India during World War II,
- Partition of India
