3-2-1 Summary

Three Things I Learned...

1. India was considered by Britain the brightest "jewel in the crown" because it was the most valuable of all Britain's colonies.
2. The British people loved spices, and that was one of their biggest cash crops.
3. The Sepoy Mutiny was caused by religious beliefs and the beliefs on two different cultures.

Two Things That Interested Me...

1. That the British traded Opium with China for tea.
2. Despite using cash crops in India, making them economically efficient, the entered into a loss of self-sufficiency and famine.

One Question I still Have...

1. What would the world be like today if India had gained control instead of Britain?

Ghandi

"A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people."

-Mohandas Gandhi

 

I believe this quote is saying that despite the control of another nation, such as Britain, and their attempts at assimilation, or the attempt to practically force their culture onto another, such as onto India, that the native's original culture still exists in their hearts and souls and that it will never go away despite these attempts. It's saying that a culture is not something that can be taken away. 

 

My opinion is that this is completely true, a culture is something that's existed since the beginning of time and that it's different per nation, per country, per region, per religion, etc. Your culture is something that cannot just be taken away from a person or group. It's something that has always existed and always will.  

 

 

 

 

 

Suez Canal

Control:
Today, the Suez Canal is completely owned and controlled by Egypt.

How Many Ships:
On an average day, about 3 ships transverse through the canal, with two going south and one going north. In 2008, 21,415 vessels passed through the canal.

How Much it Matters:
The Suez Canal is quite important in today's world, in that about 7.5% of world sea trade is carried through this canal. 

The Sepoy Mutiny

Key Players:

1. The Sepoy Soldiers
2. The British
3. East India Company

What Happened:
Due to the British having Imperialism over India, they began to face economic problems, causing feelings of resentment and nationalism towards the British. In 1857, Sepoy, or Indian soldiers were told that the cartridges of their new Enfield rifles were sealed with beef and pork fat, and that to use these cartridges, the seals were to be bitten off. This offended the Hindu and Muslim Sepoys because the cow is sacred to Hindus, and Muslims do not eat pork. The soldiers who refused to take the cartridges were placed in jail, a bad idea from the British. The day after they were placed in jail, the Sepoys repelled, and they marched to Delhi, being joined by other Indian soldiers there. The Indian soldiers took control of Delhi, and continued on from there.
There was much fierce fighting all over India due to this uprising. It took the East India Company more than a year to regain control over the country. The Indians could have taken control if they had had a stronger leadership and a union between the Muslims and Hindus.


How Successful:
The Sepoy Mutiny was not very successful because the Indians did not have a strong and the Muslims and Hindus were not exactly friendly towards one another. As a result of the rebellion, the British government took direct command of India in 1858. The parts of India that were controlled by the British was called the Raj which referred to the British rule over India from 1757-1947. India was controlled by a British Governor-General, who was directed by policies formed in London by a Cabinet Minister. Because of the Sepoy Mutiny, racist attitudes towards the Indians increased. Overall, the success of this Rebellion was not great. They seemed to have lost more than they had gained.

Colonial Control

One way a empire could control a colony was through a form of Imperialism called a Protectorate. This worked through a country or territory having its own internal government, but under the control of an outside power. An example of this was Britain gaining control over the Suez Canal due to the debt that India owed to the French. Because of this, India was practically Britain's, and there wasn't anything they could do about it. And because of Britain having power over them, they became economically valuable. This had many negative effects though such as the villagers no longer being self-sufficient and food production declining causing famine amidst them. Also because the racism that set in, rebellions such as the Boer War occurred.

3 Pros and Cons of Imperialism

Pros

1. New transportation systems such as the railroad were introduced.
• Ex. India became economically valuable to Britain.
2. The Imperialists countries gained cheap, efficient workers.
• Ex. Companies grew such as the East India Company, didn't have to pay workers as much.
3. Better food production, due to better farming methods.
•  Ex. Britain started producing cash crops in India such as spices. 

Cons

1. New religions were forced upon natives, and their beliefs were disregarded.
• Ex. Indian soldiers spread word that cartridges for their new rifles were sealed with beef and pork fat. The soldiers had to bite of the seal in order to use the cartridges. This was an insult towards the soldiers that were Hindu or Muslim because the Hindus considered the cow sacred, and Muslims didn't eat pork.
2. Impacts from different types of Imperialism mainly effect the natives.
• Ex. British restricted Indian-owned industries such as cotton textiles. These were converted to cash crops. This caused the villagers to become no longer self-sufficient. Food productions declined and famine set it.
3. Racism sets in against natives.
• Ex. The British believed they were better than the Indians. This resulted in them becoming slaves and servants to the British, they were also made to be laborers in the factories.

Germ Theory of Disease

The Germ Theory of Disease was developed by a French Chemist by the name of Louis Pasteur. He discovered that the fermentation process of alcohol was caused by microscopic organisms he called bacteria. He also found that bacteria was killed by heat and that led him to develop the process of pasteurization that he used to kill germs in liquids such as milk. Pasteur and others later discovered that bacteria also caused diseases. It changed the world because a British Surgeon by the name Joseph Lister read about Pasteur's work and thought that these germs or bacteria may explain why half of all surgical patients during this time period died from infections. Because of this theory, he began to have his surgical wards kept spotlessly clean, and insisted that wounds be washed with antiseptics. As a result of this, 85% of Lister's patients survived. These practices are still being used even today.