These revision notes cover how Britain administered its empire, how rule of India changed after 1858, the international threats to the empire, the conferences that led to the ‘Scramble for Africa’ and the informal empire between . They are for the new a level specification and are to an A*stand...
2: Imperial and Colonial Policy
Colonial Established in 1801, functioned separately from 1854. 5 departments: North America,
Office Australia, West Indies, Africa and the Mediterranean and General from 1870. Headed by
the Colonial Secretary. Orders in Council were issues on the advice of law officers in
London as a means of administering the Crown colonies without local consultations.
Some protectorates and other areas e.g. Egypt and treaty ports in China were under the
foreign office and there was an Indian Office from 1858
Responsible Canada 1848; Newfoundland 1855; New South Wales 1855; Victoria 1855; New Zealand
Government 1856; Tasmania 1856; South Australia 1857; Queensland 1859; Cape Colony 1872; Western
to White Australia 1890 and Natal 1893
Settler
Colonies
Administration Following the Durham repot in 1838, Britain moved towards responsible government in
of White the colonies. British governors ruled with the support of the representative assemblies. The
Settlers West Indian colonies remained under direct British rule because there was such as small
Colonies white majority
Governance Expansion had been overseen by the British East India Company. It grew increasingly
of India up to expansionist, provoking the mutiny of 1857 which lasted a year and brought 1000s of
1858 deaths. After the mutiny was defeated, Britain thought a change of rule was needed to
prevent a reoccurrence. In 1858, the EIC handed control to Britain and the company
was dissolved
Government The EIC's territories were passed to the crown. The position of Secretary of State in India
of India Act was created in the cabinet. An India Council of 15 with experience of Indian affaires was
1858 appointed to assist the SSoSfI. The Crown appointed a Viceroy.
Indian The Viceroy had a legislative council of 5 which were responsible for finance law, army,
Administration economy and home affairs. Provincial governors represented the Viceroy in the
after 1858 Provinces and had their own legislative councils. District Officers oversaw local councils.
Apporx. 1000 British Civil Servants were employed in the Indian Civil Service. Virtually all
senior posts were white. After the mutiny, greater respect was show for traditional Indian
practices and customs. The Queen assures there would be no further meddling with
traditional Indian culture. The Queen became Empress of India in 1876. From an Indian
perspective, very little changed
Collaboration The Viceroy relied upon native Princes who ruled the 565 nominally independent Princely
with natives in States. Until 1858, a 'doctrine of laps' had ensured that Princely States fell under British rule
India when their ruler's line ended but this doctrine was removed to ensure the princes' loyalty.
The British had to rely on Indian bureaucracies. Within the civil service, bilingual Indians
were recruited as low-level clerks to act as intermediaries between the British and the
masses. A growing number of middle class demanded a greater say in the administration
of the country. British refusal drove them towards nationalism and support for the Indian
National Congress (1885)
Indian The EIC's armies were brought under control of the Crown. The proportion of British to
Defence Indian troops was raised to roughly 1:2. Regiments of native Indian troops were cut off
from on another to prevent a sense of unity. They were also a deliberate mix of different
casts and religions. They enlisted a greater number of Gurkhas and Sikhs who had been
loyal during the mutiny to replace the Bengali troops who had not. All field artillery was
placed in British hands. Indians were denied officers rankings. Indians were sometimes
sent abroad to lessen the risk of a rebellion in India. The growth of railways helped
defence as it enabled swifter deployment of troops: 3000 miles of track was added in the
decade following the mutiny. An armoured gun train was introduced and Lucknow
station was purpose-built for disembarking reinforcements. A garrison was built in every
major city. The Imperial Police Force was set up to avoid over reliance on the army
Threats to the Industrial rivals imposed high duties to protect their economic interests. Britain was
Empire 1870- suffering from the economic depression that started in the 1870s. During the period 1870-
90 90, the British Empire was never seriously threatened. The relative threat varied over the
period, perhaps the greatest threat from Russia in the 1870s, then France after 1882, with
a brief but remarkable German involvement in empire in the mid 1880w. If Britain had
ever really felt threatened it would not have been able to avoid the need to think about
alliances
Threat from It united in 1871. It had a powerful military which had just defeated France; however,
Germany Germany was yet to build a navy which rivalled Britain's. In 1870 Prussia had no colonies
or imperial ambitions by 1890, Germany controlled a vast colonial area which amounted
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