Question

imperialism in india and its impact

Answer 1

Answer:

Imperialism can be defined as the take over and rule of a weaker nation by a stronger nation. British imperialism in India is the most suitable example to explain how one nation can make use of another nation through total control for profit. But before going into details, there are certain questions that need to be explored like how a small company could take control of such a huge nation and what the impact of imperialism was. Let’s go back to the history of British imperialism.

As Indian spices, like Indian wealth, were world famous, so many invaders came to India. With an interest in trade, small European ships in the early 1600s came to South Asia, especially in search of spices. India at that time was being ruled by Mughals from Afghan. So their first encounter was with the Mughal Empire.

Mughal rulers, who were Muslims and Afghans, used to work in close connection with local Hindu rulers. Famous Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) even married Hindu princesses to expand his rule in India. There existed a very strong regionality in India that had never allowed cultural unification of India. This was the weakest point of India. Moreover, India on the political front was never united.

Till 1700, the Mughal Empire enjoyed its peak but then it started to decline in India because Hindu rulers with time went against the biased policies of Mughals. As per these policies, non-Muslims had to pay more taxes. Hindu Marathas dishonored the Mughals, Hindus and Sikhs at large and started disliking the Mughal leadership. So, a sort of turmoil was going on when the British came to India.

On the other hand, Europeans had a more powerful and advanced army. Hence, the regional Nawabs of that time started visiting Europeans for military support and protection. At the same time, Europeans were more interested in trade and Mughals became uninterested in the trade at shore as they used to get revenue from agricultural taxes. So, Mughals were no longer guarding the coast. This gave a way to British and their rule in India.

Explanation: