British Imperialism Dbq

It all starts with the British East India Company in 1757. After the Mughal dynasty started collapsing 50 years earlier, this company saw an opportunity to take over a huge country -- and they did so, for 100 years, until the Sepoy (Indian soldiers) started rebelling against them. Then, in came the British government, in 1857, and made India officially a British colony.The government the British had in place and left behind was, and is, highly efficient, but the British ruined India’s soil and there was massive deforestation, which led to many famines, and it was only after the British left India altogether that India’s population became more educated and literate. Dr. Lalvani is one of the few who believe that imperialism was beneficial,

They ruined the soil (doc 7), and they exported food out of India and into England, whilst Indians were dying of starvation (doc 4). But, Dr. Lalvani argues that the Brits were not all that harmful, as they did build animal reserves, and the railroads they built to export food are now at the heart of Indian development. Despite them making enclosures for hunted animals -- such as Rhinos -- (Lalvani), they also destroyed the soil, as they grew an overabundance of cash crops, and cut down whole forests due to their greed for wood, which led to salinization, and to a lack of food and water for Indians (doc 7). This means that many Indians during this time lost all their food and water, and were dying of starvation and dehydration, due to the British over growing crops and cutting down trees. Meanwhile, the food that was being grown was transported to England, and sold there, as well as the trees that were being cut down (doc 4). So, while people were dying of a lack of sustenance, their food was being shipped off to England on trains and train tracks built by the British for this purpose (doc 4). The train stations that are still standing serve as a testament to that, as a reminder of the economic death British Imperialism brought upon them, both metaphorically and literally. India at this time was an economic

It was in charge for 100 years, then in 1857 the Sepoy rebellion began. That’s when the British government came in, and took India over for themselves. Dr Lalvani claims that this was the start of the modernization of India, and that imperialism helped boost it to the magnificent country it is today. The Brits did leave behind an efficient government -- but not before they ruined the soil with cash crops and deforestation, led India to many famines, and left their mark all over the country in the form of train tracks. Today, both India and Britain are affected by the imperialism in India, and those scars can still be seen today, and serve as a reminder of the good and bad done during that