British Imperialism And India

British Imperialism in India and South Asia forever changed the course of history, having both positive and negative effects on these nations and ultimately resulting in an imperialized system that limited the freedom of citizens in India and brought tremendous wealth to Britain. Imperialism is the policy of extending the rule of a country over other countries or colonies To this degree, Britain took control of India and South Asia because they saw an opportunity for trade superiority and were enticed by the potential these regions held. From the mid eighteenth to twentieth centuries, India was governed by two different variations of British imperialism. First through the British East India Company, perhaps the most powerful private trading entity the world has ever seen, and second, through the direct control of the British government. The British East India Company came to dominate and control India for nearly two centuries, exploiting the nation's resources and rendering them economically and socially delayed . These centuries of imperialism ended in many issues in India, including economic instability, social inequity, crime, and political corruption. These factors drastically altered their culture, forever changing India's future potential, primarily for the worse. While the British carried out many modifications that seemed, at first, to aid the Indian populace, such changes were irreparably damaging and left the nation helpless and underdeveloped.

By the late sixteenth century the British East India Company had established trade posts in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, dominating vast areas in India and southeast Asia . Although traders saw the potential for cheap labor and raw materials India held, they were...

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...ndia was rendered unable to progress economically and socially because of their forced dependence on Britain that made the nation unstable. Today, Britain remains an advanced country with a stable economy and strong government while India is filled with corruption, poverty, and crime. British involvement in India forever changed the course of history, and eventually determined the world we know today. While the British were able to thrive in this imperialized society, the most basic rights to freedom and equality were deprived from Indian citizens for centuries. British Imperialism in India allowed Europeans and even people in the Americas to thrive with the valuable goods from India, while people in India were rendered helpless to the greedy hands of stronger nations who believed they were superior and had a right to take whatever they wished from Indian citizens.