Historical Study: Colonial Age of India

With every Assassin's Creed game I play comes a new fascination in a historical era. This time it is a curiosity into the history of the British Raj thanks to the game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India. I'll later have a full review about this challenging side-scrolling game. The game is specifically set during the Anglo-Sikh Wars of the 1840s which lead to the fall of the Sikh Empire. The Sikh Empire was the final Indian Empire to succumb to British control by 1849. Just like the British settled and colonized the Americas in the 1600s, they did so with the region of India. Having territory in the Americas, Australia, Africa, and India once can certainly uncertainly understand the famous phrase "The sun never sets on the British Empire".

In this post I would like to get a general understanding of the colonization of India. It was an Asian territory full of great riches, culture, and history and it became the forefront of western Europe's expansion during the Age of Discovery. Someday I may take a deeper dive into Indian history and culture (love their food, music, and friendly people) but for now I want to focus primarily on the colonial age of the land. This essentially began in 1498 with Vasco de Gama's new discovery, which later led to the establishment of an entirely British colonial government, and finally to the independence of the sovereignty of India in 1947. 

Age of Discovery

It's often overlooked that the great European explorers such as Christopher Columbus, were not seeking a new world, yet rather a new route to India. Unlike the discovery of the Americas the existence of India was already well established and known by the western Europeans for some time. It is well documented that the Roman Empire held trade with the eastern Kushan Empire as far back as 30 AD. The culture of this land became better understood thanks to the explorations of Marco Polo in the late 1200s. The spice trade with India flourished by the early renaissance, however the arrival of the Ottoman Empire in the late 1400s, complicated matters in the Arabian Sea. Soon the Western powers had to find a new route to trade with India. 

Columbus was the first significant explorer to set sail from Europe on a new western route to reach India. By 1492 he thought he had achieved his mission in discovering a new rout to India, and did not realize until sometime later that he actually discovered a new world. He even called the natives "Indians" since he believed he was in the land of India. It was not until years later, much thanks to the publications of Amerigo Vespucci that it became commonly accepted that Columbus did not discover a new route to India, yet rather an entirely new world. While this was of course a monumental discovery the initial desire to reach India was still not yet resolved. 

It was not until 1498, that Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached the Cape of Good Hope, in Calicut India on the first ever circumnavigation of the world. From this point on the Portuguese Empire established various trading posts on the western coast of India. However just like with the land of America, the land of India was heavily contested among the other great European powers such as the Dutch, Danish, and French. By the early 1600s the British and Dutch trading companies began to threaten Portugal's monopoly on the region. By around this time the Portuguese Empire was consumed by King Philip II's Spanish Empire and slowly withdrew from India to focus on their colonies in Latin America. 

The territory of India was then heavily contested by the Netherlands and British during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. By 1688 Prince William of Orange established peace and divided the Indian trade; the Dutch kept hold of the spice trade while the British took on the textile trade. At the time it seemed the Dutch had the better side of the deal, since spice was far more profitable at the time. However by the early 1700s the market had shifted and soon the British East India Company had the stronger foothold in India. 

East India Company

By this point the mighty Mughal Empire of India was in decline and easily influenced by the western European forces. The greatest opposition to the British conquest came from the Bengal Subah, which was a subsidiary of the Mughal Empire on it's eastern front (in present day Bangladesh). However in 1757 the British squashed this resistance at the Battle of Plassey. From this point on the British East India Company had dominion over trade throughout the Indian region. It should be noted that this was a privately owned company based out of London, quite similar to the Virginia Company that discovered Jamestown, Virginia. 

While the East India Company operated privately they were still heavily backed and supported by the British monarchy. This was especially the case for various military engagements that occurred against smaller Indian Empires. The first of these was the Anglo-Mysore Wars from 1767-1799 on the southern coast; the Anglo-Maratha Wars from 1775-1818 on the western coast; and the Anglo-Sikh Wars from 1845-1849 in the northwestern region near Pakistan. The Sikh Empire was the final major Indian Empire to fall to British control and is the setting of AC Chronicles: India. 

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Another major turning point in the British occupancy of India came in 1857 it what is referred to as the Indian Rebellion of 1857. There can be no question that the local natives had grown weary of their foreign invaders since they're arrival. Just like the Native American's resisted the colonists so too did the people of India. The sentiment against British dominance surely began to grow after the fall of many prominent Indian empires such as the Mughal, the Mysore, the Maratha, and the Sikh Empires by 1850. The movement was actually organized by British-trained Indian soldiers, known as Sepoys. Soon mutiny and uprisings began to spread like a wildfire all across India in the year 1857.

The militant uprisings were quickly supported by the remnants of the Mughal Empire who hoped to establish a well organized resistance. However the British East India Company quickly responded with harsh violence against the mutineers (consisting of blowing them from cannons). The Rebellion did not last long and by 1857 the entire tension was subdued. It should be noted that while some Indians hoped for a revolution at this point, the majority of locals still supported British control (just like the Loyalist Tories had in Colonial America). Nonetheless this unsuccessful rebellion served as a rallying cry for the later Independence Movement to come.  

Establishment of the British Raj 

Following the events of the Great Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British government decided to intercede on the governance of India. In 1858 the East India Company was replaced by the establishment of the British Raj. This became the primary system of government in India, answering to the crown in Britain (who at the time was Queen Victoria). The position of Viceroy Governor General was established in West Bengal to oversee all the British Indian territories consisting of Punjab, Bengal, Bombay, Madras, and other regions. 

Thru British oversight, India had now established a new system of democracy and free trade. However they still endured civil struggles and terrible famines from the the 1870-1890s that led to the death of nearly 20 million people. Also during this time tension arose between Britain and Russia known as the Great Game, over territory in the Middle East and India. By the start of the 20th century, inspired by the revolutions of China and Russia, the Indian Independence movement began to gain steam. During WWI this evolved into a mass movement led by prominent public figures such as Mahatma Gandhi. 

Partition of India

The honorable Gandhi studied law in London and later returned to his home nation of India in 1915 to lead the Indian Independence movement. His primary objective was to fight high taxation, poverty, persecution, and especially British control. As an elected official of the Indian National Congress in 1924 he united the nation and began protests thru non-violence and civil disobedience. He also conducted long fasts without food as a means of public protest and spiritual purification. While there were many other political leaders who fought for India's independence, Gandhi is mostly associated as the key leading figure in this regard.

After WWII the movement finally gave way to the Indian Independence Act of 1947. The United Kingdom thus ended their authority over India and granted India's it's own sovereignty. The great Gandhi died a year later having achieved his goal and witnessed the new constitution of India; Vallabhai Patel became the nation's 1st prime minister. The British Raj was partitioned into two dominions, Pakistan and India. Border disputes continue to this day between Pakistan and India, however they have both become very prominent nations. Pakistan is the 5th most populated nation in the world, while India has the 5th highest GDP and 2nd highest population behind only China.