Great Britain's Imperial Power: Direct and Economic Imperialism
Exploring the imperialistic actions of the UK, using the British Raj and the Chinese Opium War as contrasting case studies
The industrial revolution was a turning point in world history, and it led to the imperial actions of European countries like Great Britain. Some countries embraced the industrial change, began to form their own industrial economies, and became very rich and powerful. However, some countries were unable to industrialize, and they were not as economically successful as industrialized countries. European states such as Britain and France successfully industrialized, and thus became world powers, both economically and militarily. However, their industrial economies needed lots of raw materials to keep up with production, so they decided to export these raw materials from other non-industrial countries. To do this, they needed to form foreign colonies. This process was known as imperialism.
In the 1800s and 1900s, the British established themselves as an imperial power. However, their imperial conquests took different forms. In China, The British engaged in an economic form of imperialism. However, in India, the British established full governmental control.
Imperialism in China manifested in a more indirect form, as the British never directly governed the Chinese populace. The backdrop to this lies in the extensive opium trade conducted by the British in China, which yielded substantial profits. The Chinese government saw that people were getting addicted to opium, so they confiscated a shipment of it, burned it, and banned the trade. The British saw this ban as a threat to their “laissez faire” ideology, and they used that as justification to invade. This intervention was influenced by the ideas of Adam Smith, who persuaded the UK that an unregulated open market was optimal for the economy.
The British forces held a considerable advantage, boasting superior weaponry, advanced naval capabilities, and rapid troop mobilization. The Chinese, hindered by a military unit known as "the Bannermen," formerly elite but now outmatched by the British soldiers, succumbed to defeat. After winning, the British took Hong Kong as a British city. They also opened four new trading ports in China, one being Shanghai. This was Britain's way of forcing China into trade with the European powers. They also granted extraterritorial rights to their citizens, which meant that British people living in China did not have to abide by Chinese rule, and instead were governed by British law, despite being in foreign land. The British also gave themselves “most-favored-nation” status, which ensured preferential treatment whenever China engaged in trade negotiations. It's important to note that these actions were driven by economic motives, seeking to benefit the UK's trading economy, in contrast to the more direct governance seen in the British Raj.
The British exerted a more direct form of imperialism over India for economic, strategic, and political reasons. Initially driven by economic interests, the British East India Company wanted access to Indian markets. The political fragmentation in India was marked by the decline of the Mughal Empire and the resulting emergence of local rulers, which gave the British an opportunity to create strategic alliances and then impose their military control. The British defeated the powerful nawab, and then put a puppet ruler in power, which strengthened their political control. They also gained tax collection rights, which further established their economic and administrative authority. Additionally, the government promoted Westernization efforts and thus reinforced British cultural influence. The direct control allowed the British to exploit India's vast resources, justifying and reinforcing their imperialist rule over the country.
The British began to collect more information about Indian society. They developed a census, and used this information to set policy. One of the ways the census was used was to figure out how the government should interact with the different Indian castes. For example, it helped them target certain groups for military service, and others for government roles. It also gave them a better idea of how to police the lower classes. The British also established the Indian Civil Service, a national bureaucratic service, which was responsible for tax collection and governing. The examination for this service was administered in English, which meant that it was closed to most Indians. The small number of Indian officials who joined the service were strongly outnumbered. The British government set up the Indian Civil Service to further strengthen their rule, which further illustrates the British government's commitment to direct governance of the Indian people.
In conclusion, the imperialistic actions of Great Britain were not always the same in all their territories. In British-controlled India, the creation of direct governmental control facilitated exploitation of India's natural resources and reshaping of its longstanding societal structure to serve imperial interests. On the other hand, in China, economic imperialism through the opium trade and the resulting coercive measures to secure advantageous trading conditions highlights the potency of economic incentives in prompting imperial ambitions. These distinct strategies reflect the multifaceted nature of British imperialism in pursuit of economic and political dominance on the global stage. Even today, remnants of British imperialism are easily noticeable across the world, which shows the true imperial power they possessed.
And I will read it again and again and over again.
This article features very important information of the Uk era. Their control took different faces and varied from country to one.