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The first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, who reached Calicut in 1498 in search of spice. [3] Just over a century later, the Dutch and English established trading outposts on the Indian subcontinent, with the first English trading post set up at Surat in 1613.
Political subdivisions of the Indian Empire in 1909 with British India (pink) and the princely states (yellow) Before it gained independence in 1947, India (also called the Indian Empire) was divided into two sets of territories, one under direct British rule (British India), and the other consisting of princely states under the suzerainty of the British Crown, with control over their internal ...
[10] Revolutionary violence had already been a concern in British India; consequently in 1915, to strengthen its powers during what it saw was a time of increased vulnerability, the Government of India passed the Defence of India Act, which allowed it to intern politically dangerous dissidents without due process and added to the power it ...
The British diaspora in India, though comprising only 37,700 British nationals in 2006, [1] has had a significant impact due to the effects of British colonialism. The mixing between Britons and native Indians also gave rise to the Anglo-Indian community .
The East India Company officers lived lavish lives, the company finances were in shambles, and the company's effectiveness in India was examined by the British crown after 1858. As a result, the East India Company lost its powers of government and British India formally came under direct Crown control, with an appointed Governor-General of ...
By the early 1920s, the Indian National Congress had become the principal leader of Indian nationalism. [12] Led by Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress was to lead India to independence from the United Kingdom, [d] [13] [e] [14] and powerfully influence other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.
The History of British India is a three-volume work by the Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher James Mill, charting the history of Company rule in India. The work, first published in 1817, was an instant success and secured a "modicum of prosperity" for Mill.
There were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India (i.e. the presidencies and provinces), as they were not directly under British rule. The larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had; in the smaller ...