avy. Meanwhile, the English East India Company continued to extend its control over Indian territory throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Treaties made with Indian princes provided for the stationing of British troops within these princely states. To pay for the troops the British were often given revenue-collecting rights in certain parts of the states; this gave them indirect control over these areas. Many of these states were annexed when succession to the throne was in doubt or when the ruler acted in ways that seemed contrary to British interests.At the same time British attitudes about Indian culture changed. Until about 1800 the East India Company traders adapted themselves to the country, donning Indian dress, learning Sanskrit, and sometimes taking Indian mistresses. As British rule strengthened, and as an influential evangelical Christian movement emerged in the early 19th century, India's customs were judged more harshly. Missionaries, who had been kept out by the company for fear they would upset Indians and thus disrupt commerce, were now brought in. In 1835 English was enforced as the language of government.In Gandhi’s articles to the Indian Opinion he wrote about British control in India. Gandhi spent most of his life combating the influence England had over his country. In the excerpts of his articles, he also attempted to appeal to the British conscience, the difference being that he wrote more to the British people than the government. “In seems, then, that the hope of India lies in the British people, rather than in the British Government…” Gandhi later led a movement encouraging civil disobedience through passive resistance to the British rule in India. Both of these historical documents show the impact of British imperialism over other countries. Both India and China had long struggles to free themselves from the influence of Great Britain, and these documents helped to gai...
