British expansion
The British were not the first Europeans, who came to India, nor were they the last, who left them. Both of these honors (though one might doubt, or the latter as well) they belong to the Portuguese. W 1498 R. Vasco da Gama, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, he sailed to the shores of present-day Kerala. This made it possible to create a Portuguese monopoly in Europe's trade with India and the Far East, lasting one hundred years. W 1510 R. The Portuguese captured the island of Goa, which remained under their control until 1961 R. Due to its great riches, this island was called the Lisbon of the North. However, the Portuguese did not have the resources to build a lasting and strong empire and gave way to the British arriving in India, French and Dutch. W 1612 R. took place first, and much too long, British visit. It was then that the Surat trade center was established in Gujarat, W 1600 R. Queen Elizabeth I granted the London trading company a monopoly on trade with India. It was from there that the East India Company was created, which by almost 250 for years she has represented the interests of Great Britain in India. British trading outlets were also established in Madras (1640 R.), Mumbai (Bombay; 1668 R.) and in Calcutta (1690 R.). The Danes and the Dutch also had their trading centers in India. The French appeared in Pondichery in 1672 R., which they only left after the British withdrew definitively. For almost a century, France and Britain vied with each other for control of trade with India. W 1746 R. The French won Madras for three years. In the years that followed, there were frequent matches between the two powers. When the British fought one of the local rulers, The French immediately supplied him with weapons, people and their own advisers. W 1756 R. Sirad ad-Daula Muhammad Mirza, Nawab Bengalu, attacked Calcutta, which provoked the British – this event was called the "black hole in Calcutta" incident. A year later, Robert Clive recaptured the city and, at the Battle of Passey, defeated Siraja ad-Daulus and his French henchmen., which greatly weakened French influence. This victory was followed by abuses in the East India Company, whose competences he took over at the beginning of the 19th century. British government. At that time, India was in the process of changing, caused by the disintegration of the Mughal Empire. Only the Marathas managed to fill this void, although in fact they were a loose association of several local states. On the south, where the Mughal influence was not so great, the situation was dominated by the British-French rivalry, which led to wars with the country of Maysur. In the fourth of them, lasting from 1789 do 1799 R., Tipu fell, Sultan of Mysore, a staunch enemy of the British Crown, which facilitated the consolidation of British power. The long war with the Marathas finally ended in 1803 R. Only the Punjab remained outside British control, which, however, succumbed to 1849 R. after two wars with the Sikhs. Just then, after the battles of the British with the Gurkha in 1814 R., Nepal's borders have been marked out. After the first victories of the Gurkha, the situation was reversed and after two years of fighting they were forced to plead for peace, as a result of which the states of Kumaon and Simla came under British control. The respect for the military abilities of its inhabitants prevented Nepal from being completely incorporated into the Indian empire. Independent Gurkha troops were created under the authority of the British army.
British India
At the beginning of the 19th century. all Indian territory came under British rule, which became possible due to the emptiness, as developed after the fall of the Mughals. The British remained faithful to Akbar's principles, at least some. India was primarily a mine of money, military careers and honors and therefore allowed the beliefs and culture of the Hindus to flourish. After all, the British do not condemn anyone for his religious beliefs… if only a follower, no matter what god, can make good tea. The British, except that, that they could brew tea, they also had an efficient and effective army and a cunning police force. They successfully applied the principle of "divide and rule". They signed unilateral treaties with small states, reserving the right to intervene, should the situation turn unfavorably for them. Even under the rule of the Crown, India remained a union of states, many of which were formally independent, although they were within the reach of Great Britain's influence. This policy of establishing "princely states", ruled by Maharajas or Navabas (or other titular rulers), causing many conflicts, it survived until India regained independence.
Under the rule of the English, iron ore and hard coal mining developed, increased tea crops, coffee and cotton, creation of the current rail network and construction and expansion of the irrigation system, which revolutionized Indian agriculture. The British gave India a perfectly functioning legal system and state administration. Maybe, it was after their invaders that the Indians inherited a love of bureaucracy. After independence, they were much better organized, efficient and less corrupt administration than most other colonial states. However, they had to pay a price for it, for the colonizers were by no means altruistic. Cheap fabrics from British manufactories flooded the Indian market and weakened domestic production in the countryside. On the other hand, the British abolished the hall – Hindu rite of burning widows. They established groups of zaminda-dows, who assisted the British administration with tax collection and administration. However, it contributed to the rise of an impoverished class of landless peasants in Bihar and West Bengal.. The official language was English. This has proved to be extremely useful in a multinational state, but it still prevented a closer rapprochement between the British and the Indians.