Throughout history, humans have constantly held the desire to achieve more, to find more, to be more. Greed sparked this desire in humans and as a result humans have achieved amazing feats. Greed contributed heavily to the idea of the caste system; greed began exploration, exchange, and encounters between societies and new land. Along those lines, greed was the catalyst that set off the rule of the British Raj, the fleet from Great Britain sent to colonize India in 1857. The greedy British Raj attempted to colonize India in an organized fashion utilizing India’s luxury, wealth and pleasure. Unfortunately, that plan was far too optimistic. In reality, greed caused the British to face political confusion and revolts from the Indian population,
…show more content…
During pre-colonial era, the Mughal Empire designed a strong economy in India. The Mughal’s agriculture was producing harvests twenty times the number of seeds planted; the Europeans, on the other hand, had eight times less. At this time, India contributed to 24.5% of the world’s manufactured goods while Britain was contributing 1.9%. Once the British Raj encountered India they began restricting the Indian economy to prevent it from competing with the British economy. This restriction required the deindustrialization of India and quelling it from an exporter of muslin and silks to an exporter of raw materials. Furthermore, they regulated methods of farming, cotton textile manufacturing, and the production of food. In addition, the British changed the agriculture to produce more cash-crops disabling subsistence farmers from sustaining their families. This restriction and variation in agriculture drastically altered the country that once had too much food to export, to barely any food to survive on its own. This lack of food created famine and left many former subsistence farmers in hunger. These famines peaked in April of 1770, primarily due to the destruction of food crops in Bengal to produce more opium and poppy, reducing food accessibility, contributing to nationwide famine. The most infamous famine occurred in 1943 named the ‘Bengal Famine’ in which four million people …show more content…
At the time, it was presumed ‘morally justifiable’. For example, in 1919, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place. Approximately 1000 peaceful protesters were killed and more than 1000 were injured. Originally the Indian citizens planned to celebrate a harvest festival, but upon their arrival, the British Indian Army fired at them for ten minutes non-stop. Since they arrived from outside the city, they were uninformed of laws prohibiting freedom of assembly. The British were under the assumption that a coup d’état would occur since thousands of people were gathering in Jallianwala Bagh around May which coincidentally happened to be when British troops withdraw to the hills for the summer. Regardless, Colonel Dyer, the leader of the massacre, returned to Britain and was treated as a hero. He died under the notion that his slaughter was socially, morally, and ethically justifiable. A few conclusions can be made off of this event. First off, since the British thought that the traveling Indians were attempting a coup d’état they punished the citizens of Jallianwala by making them crawl on streets and do ‘salaam’, salute, to all ‘sahibs’, British officers. Secondly, once news spread across India there were strikes and rebellions on British government buildings. Even though India experienced political confusion and displacement there were instances during the rule of the British Raj where the Indian public decided
During pre-colonial era, the Mughal Empire designed a strong economy in India. The Mughal’s agriculture was producing harvests twenty times the number of seeds planted; the Europeans, on the other hand, had eight times less. At this time, India contributed to 24.5% of the world’s manufactured goods while Britain was contributing 1.9%. Once the British Raj encountered India they began restricting the Indian economy to prevent it from competing with the British economy. This restriction required the deindustrialization of India and quelling it from an exporter of muslin and silks to an exporter of raw materials. Furthermore, they regulated methods of farming, cotton textile manufacturing, and the production of food. In addition, the British changed the agriculture to produce more cash-crops disabling subsistence farmers from sustaining their families. This restriction and variation in agriculture drastically altered the country that once had too much food to export, to barely any food to survive on its own. This lack of food created famine and left many former subsistence farmers in hunger. These famines peaked in April of 1770, primarily due to the destruction of food crops in Bengal to produce more opium and poppy, reducing food accessibility, contributing to nationwide famine. The most infamous famine occurred in 1943 named the ‘Bengal Famine’ in which four million people …show more content…
At the time, it was presumed ‘morally justifiable’. For example, in 1919, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place. Approximately 1000 peaceful protesters were killed and more than 1000 were injured. Originally the Indian citizens planned to celebrate a harvest festival, but upon their arrival, the British Indian Army fired at them for ten minutes non-stop. Since they arrived from outside the city, they were uninformed of laws prohibiting freedom of assembly. The British were under the assumption that a coup d’état would occur since thousands of people were gathering in Jallianwala Bagh around May which coincidentally happened to be when British troops withdraw to the hills for the summer. Regardless, Colonel Dyer, the leader of the massacre, returned to Britain and was treated as a hero. He died under the notion that his slaughter was socially, morally, and ethically justifiable. A few conclusions can be made off of this event. First off, since the British thought that the traveling Indians were attempting a coup d’état they punished the citizens of Jallianwala by making them crawl on streets and do ‘salaam’, salute, to all ‘sahibs’, British officers. Secondly, once news spread across India there were strikes and rebellions on British government buildings. Even though India experienced political confusion and displacement there were instances during the rule of the British Raj where the Indian public decided