Question

Explain colonial period in India? (5 marks)

Answer 1

1: Colonial period in India refers to the time period under which India was a colony of the British. It lasted from 1858 - 1947.

2: The British initially arrived in India to trade in spices since spices were a very valuable commodity in Europe back then.

3: But they wanted more and decided to stay back to establish their rule over the Indian subcontinent. They used the following methods to consolidate their rule

• Established control over the economy and society by conducting surveys and census
• Collected revenues to meet all their expenses
• Bought goods at lower rates and produced crops they wanted to export.

All this brought about changes in the values and tastes, customs and practices of the people living in India leading to colonisation.