British Imperialism: Impact Of Colonialism In India And Rwanda

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Meredith Wade
PSC 1300
Dr. Lahiri
6 December 2015

Colonialism

Colonialism is a specific form of imperialism in which the colonizing nation exerts forthright power over the colonized country through economic, military, or political methods. While most people can agree that most parts of colonialism were brutal forms of economic exploitation, some argue that one form of colonialism was more beneficial to the colonized state than others. By examining the history and present impact of colonialism in both India and Rwanda it is clear…..
British involvement in India began in the first half of the 18th century (Marshall). The British had trading posts along different parts of the coast and at the beginning of the 18th century English commerce with India was contracted out by the East India Company, which held a monopoly of all English trade to Asia (Marshall). The East India Company wanted to bring luxury goods such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cottons, tea, and coffee into Europe.
Once in India, the British began to compete with the Portuguese, Dutch, and French for control of trade in India. Through a combination of combat and alliances, the East India Company gained complete control of all European trade in 1769. Once control had …show more content…

Most of their resources including silk, gold, and silver were shipped off to Britain and often auctioned off (“British Raj”) Subsistence farmers were forced into commercial farming of coffee, tea, and indigo which caused adversity for the farmers as well as skyrocketing food prices around India (“British Raj”). Import tariffs After an Indian uprising in 1857, the East India Company was abolished and the British government took back direct control of India (“The East India Company”). The state was both directly ruled by the United Kingdom government as well as principalities ruled by individuals under the strong influence of the British Crown (“British

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