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Summary A* essay - British rule was disastrous for both Indians and Bantus
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A* level British empire essay 23/25
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British rule was disastrous for both the Indians and the Bantu of South Africa in the years 1857-1890Assess the validity of this view. (25 marks)
Introduction: British rule was largely disastrous for both the
Indians and bantu of South Africa in the years 1857 to 1890.
However, the Indian people had a select few, but
nonetheless, more tangible benefits compared to the Bantus
who were overwhelmingly mistreated.
Paragraph 1: politically Paragraph 2: economically
Politically, in both regions, the hierarchy benefitted the white In both regions, the white British were the ones to reap
British more than the indigenous people. However, there economic rewards and there was exploitation of the
were some moderate benefits for the Indians. indigenous people to profit off of their natural resources.
Universities were established in Bombay, Madras and In India, the growth of investment stimulated trade - tea
Calcutta (1857) and graduates from these three by 1882 plantations increased from one in 1851 to 295 by 1871. This
accounted for some 1100 appointments to gov. service. created greater employment and economic opportunities.
Therefore, in the long-term Indians were granted more In South Africa, there were some economic improvements
political control and were able to have some administration therefore not overwhelmingly disastrous.
benefits. Discovery of diamonds, 1866 and gold, 1886 did increase
However, this was only a limited benefit- only privileged, wealth of region. British imports in the Cape went from
upper-middle class Indians could attend. From 1857 to 1887 £2million, 1871 to £7.7million 20 years later.
only 60,000 entered university- the minority of a vast However, for both regions low-paid manual work were given
population. Therefore, for most Indians Br rule was politically to the Indians and Bantus whilst the white British and
disastrous. privileged few given skilled/lucrative positions.
In South Africa, there were also very few political benefits. For the Bantus, profits of diamond and gold remained firmly
The British claimed they were freeing Bantus politically by in hands of settlers. Laws passed, at the insistence of mining
taking over from Boer rule: companies, that limited the right of black Africans to have any
In 1868 the Brits annexed Basutoland (land of the Khoi Khoi claim over the mines or to trade in their products. Black
and Sotho people) and West Griqualand in 1871 with the Africans relegated to manual labour whilst whites reaped the
claim that indigenous Africans were seeking Brit protection profits. THEREFORE, clear that although economic
against Boers. Greater self-determination. improvements made, Brit rule was disastrous for Bantus as
However, following the Griqualand annexation, 2000 Griqua they were completely restricted from benefitting.
trekked eastward to establish Griqualand East, 1873 - clearly In India they economically benefitted more from Br rule- the
not desirous of British political rule over them. British provided India with cheap British manufactures - but
-This, only a year later, was also annexed by British- the Bantu India was left unable to develop viable industries of their
couldn't escape British political rule and had no say in who own.
ruled them. Therefore, overall, both the Bantus and Indians were largely
Overall, mostly politically disastrous- few minor benefits. neglected economically.
Paragraph 3: socially Paragraph 4: (add if there is time)
Socially, British rule was also mostly disastrous. The
indigenous people were vastly mistreated.
However, after the Indian Mutiny of 1857 which was
triggered by the introduction of the Enfield rifle, lubricated
with pork/beef fat and offensive to Muslims/Hindus, there
was some effort to respect indigenous culture better (but
only to avoid another uprising).
However, in SA there was more direct segregation- black
workers were forced to live in segregated communities and
cheap, inferior housing units and were forbidden by law to
live where they wanted. Historian Lawrence James claims:
"South Africa belonged to the white man and the black had a
stark choice between submission or extinction" – this clearly
shows the disparity and lack of care the British had for the
Bantus. The Bantus faced more explicit and harmful racism
compared to the Indians.
Overall, however, the deep racist ideology affected both
groups disastrously. Rudyard Kipling’s ‘White Man’s Burden’
(1899) notion marked the way both the Indians and Bantus
were treated as inferior to the British. However, the social
disrespect was more pronounced in SA.
Conclusion
Overall, British rule was beneficial to the Indians and Bantus
only to a minor extent as all developments and investments
were underpinned by ideas of British superiority and priority.
The indigenous people were neglected mostly economically
and socially however rule was more disastrous for the Bantus.
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