British Imperialism

Throughout history there have been numerous movements advocating for a change in government. One nation that experience these changes in government is India. The movement in India was led by Mohandas Gandhi. The desire for a change in government could potentially have negative and positive impacts.

Mohandas Gandhi was the leader of civil disobedience in India. Before the independence movement in India began, India was a British Colony since the 1760s. Prior to British imperialism and colonialism in India, many Indians hand craft their tools and clothes for survival. Since the British took over most of India due to the British’s commercial interests in the region of India. The British East India Company defeated the Newab of Bengal which
India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. India was a country with an abundance of resources. The British took cloth, spices, and other items from India and sold them for profit. English exports from India’s resources were produced in massive quantities to guarantee economic growth. The British’s desire for more and more wealth helped them maintain control of India. In the process, many British people took advantage of the India people for their own personal gain.The impact of colonialism made advancements in India’s technology such as the railroad systems, dams, bridges, and canals. The railroad system in India was the fourth largest in the world and helped the Indian economy to be more modern. However, due to British trade laws the Indian industry declined. The economic benefits India reaped went straight to the British to benefit them. Many Indian farmers lost their stable supply of food because every farmer were prompted to grow cash crops rather than crops to feed themselves. Many people died due to a decline of food and famine struck. Since the British imposed high taxes on agriculture and were required to grow cash crops that didn’t help with their hungry needs, many looked for
The Salt March was a form of civil disobedience because civil disobedience is a peaceful form of political protest, which the Salt March was, protestors used no violence to display their disagreements to the ban. Salt was a much-needed resource specifically for the Indians because of India’s hot weather which promotes sweating, hence drains the human body of its salt supply. Taxing the salt that the Indian people relied on for survival, which was a way the British government thought would keep the Indians under its control. However, Gandhi wanted to change that on March 12, 1930 Gandhi started a march towards the Arabian Sea, which was the start of the Salt March. The Salt March was 240 miles, which attracted many protesters and bystanders who also believed in the unfair treatment of Indians to join the march. When Gandhi reached the Arabian Sea, he collected a chunk of salt, which was against the law, inspired many others to follow Gandhi’s lead to also collect salt from the sea. The British authorities arrested more than 60,000 people. In the end the British lifted the tax and ban on collecting salt, which proves Gandhi’s actions were