History of the British Raj

Hint: Probably the most controversial and the most hotly discussed part of the history of the British empire is the British rule in India. India has been used by Britain as a market and a source of raw materials. In order to improve transport for their items, the British constructed railroads and roads. New communication techniques, such as the telegraph, gave Britain better influence over India.Complete answer:Probably the most divisive and the most hotly discussed part of the history of the British empire is the British rule in India. The British could gain hold on India primarily because India was not unified, the British were able to take possession of India. The British signed treaties with several of the independent states that made up India and established military and trade alliances.The British were very active in infiltrating these states and gaining power gradually. Often they left the local princes in charge of the different parts of India. In upholding British rule, these local princes were productive and benefited much from being loyal to the British.The East India Company was initially chartered in 1600 to trade basic commodities such as India's silk, tea, salt, opium, and spices.Over time, the company of East India fundamentally transformed itself from a trading company into an institution which controlled the vast empire of India. Britain was able to conquer the Indian subcontinent through the East India Company, which from the 1750s included modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. With relatively little resistance and discontent, the British essentially controlled the sub-continent for almost two centuries, from the 1750s until 1947.Note: Other scholars pointed out that the fact that Indian society was so segregated that it could not form an alliance against the British. Actually, these distinctions were encouraged by the British. In English schools, the better-off classes have been educated. In the British army or in the civil service, they served.