According to Osterhammel, modern colonialism is based on the theory that the societies being ruled should unquestionably obey the “metropolises.” There are three components that define what modern colonialism is. The first component is that colonialism is extremely detrimental to the society being ruled. They are “robbed of its historical line of development, externally manipulated and transformed according to the needs and interests of the colonial rulers (Osterhammel, 15).” He states that only a few colonial governments were able to achieve this goal. The second component is that there are stark differences between the rulers and the ones being ruled. Many people would expect the European powers to instill their culture and values upon their colonies. However, the rulers were unwilling to assimilate their colonies because they wanted to maintain the social hierarchy. The last component states that modern colonialism is an “ideological formation.” The Europeans did not view their actions as colonialism. Instead, they believed that their duties were to “” civilize” the “barbarians” or “savages,” as a “white man’s burden” that he is privileged to carry (Osterhammel, 16).” For instance, “The colonization of Africa, in contrast, has seemed to many the epitome of “modern” colonialism: the imposition of a completely external power over people marked as primitive (Burbank & Cooper, 312).” “Little was actually invested in Africa, and European capitalists found many other places in which to invest, at home, in other countries, and in older colonies (Burbank & Cooper, 314).”

Osterhammel also states the difference between traditional and modern colonialism. The Chinese believed that their civilizations were self-evident and superior to others around them. However, they never attempted to instill it upon their neighbors. “Only in modern colonialism did this kind of ethnocentric arrogance take an aggressive expansionist turn (Osterhammel, 16).” The Americans and Japanese did this to the Filipinos and Chinese, respectively. Also, “the French government considered its newly conquered populations in sub-Saharan Africa to be subjects, distinguishing them from citizens (Burbank & Cooper, 317).” In other colonies such as Rhodesia, Kenya and Algeria, “empires had never treated their subjects equally, but the juxtaposition of racial divides with European rhetoric of democracy and progress was volatile (Burbank & Cooper, 318).”

There is also the concept of colonial possessions without a colonial empire, or “informal empire.” Examples of an informal empire include the Belgian, American, Dutch and Spanish empires (which saw its empire decline significantly after the Spanish-American War of 1898). All of these “empires” only possessed a few territories. In comparison, during the new modern era, “the overseas empires of the early modern era were by their very nature almost exclusively colonial empires (Osterhammel, 18). This was due to rapid economic growth experienced by Europe and growing militaries. European empires were discovering new ways to achieve their economic and strategic interests across the globe without direct colonial rule. “In British India as late as the 1880s, the ratio of European officials to population was less than 1: 250,000 (Burbank & Cooper, 307).” Great Britain was also able to gain access to China’s market through the Opium Wars.

The Opium Wars were fought due to a disagreement between the Qing Government and British Empire over the opium trade. “What the British traders called free enterprise was smuggling and piracy to the Chinese officials, and what was law enforcement to them the traders saw as unjustified and whimsical interference (Headrick, 240).” The introduction of steamboats also gave the British Empire a huge advantage during the war. “In 1840 the forts of the Bogue were easily silenced by broadsides from the British ships of the line, then taken by marines. On water the Chinese were similarly outgunned, for their war junks were large unwieldy affairs armed with two to six pieces of artillery lashed to blocks of wood and impossible to aim (Headrick, 241-242).” The Qing Government ultimately surrendered, and the British forced China to pay reparations and open their ports to opium trade. The Opium Wars is an example of how the British achieved their objectives without directly colonizing China. “Colonial rule would have been too costly and would have involved unwanted political responsibility (Osterhammel, 19).”

Towards the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there were three stages of securing interests overseas. The first stage is replacing “little brother’s” ruler with “big brother’s” ruler. The new colonial power’s representatives are now in charge of performing traditional functions such as tax collection and maintaining law enforcement. The second stage is enacting a policy of quasi-colonial control. This meant that although “little brother” was permitted to operate with its own political system and given certain powers, “big brother” has the final say. “Big brother” can enact unfair treaties and grant exemption to its own citizens from the local law. The last stage involves non-colonialism influence. According to this concept, there is no sense of domination between the “big brother” and “little brother.” Instead, “big brother” uses its large economy and military force to influence the politics of “little brother.” For instance, “The East India Company in much of its early nineteenth-century domain relied on the “Residency System,” on the official looking over the prince’s shoulder (Burbank & Cooper, 307).” Princes were forced to forfeit their personal treasures, but they were still allowed to “allocate revenue, tax subjects, maintain internal law, and patronize cultural institutions (Burbank & Cooper, 307).”

Unfortunately, the process of colonization was not always peaceful. Deadly weapons such as the Minie Ball were used to make armies more effective killing machines. As early as the Revolutionary War and the beginning of the nineteenth century, most armies used muzzle-loading muskets. The British, for instance, used The Brown Bess. “This gun had an official range of 200 yards, but even at half that distance it was so inaccurate that soldiers were advised to withhold their fire until they saw the whites of their enemies’ eyes (Headrick, 249).” New inventions such as rifling and percussion caps improved the guns throughout the years, but the Minie Ball was the most successful of all. “Not only did the Minie bullet take the rifling and spin well, but its streamlined shape helped give it a flat trajectory (Headrick, 250).” It had a range five to six times greater than the Brown Bess.

Breech loading was also another gun that changed the tide of the war for many European armies. Breechloaders were guns that could be opened at the breech so it could be reloaded quickly. “Furthermore a tighter and harder bullet could be used, making the rifling much more effective and increasing the range and accuracy (Headrick, 254).” Maxim guns also contributed to the high death toll in wars. “In Chad in 1899 a French force of 320 mostly Sudanese soldiers defeated Rabah’s 12,000 warriors with their 2,500 guns (Headrick, 259).” Breech loading rifles, Maxim guns, “along with field artillery and repeating rifles, turned battles into one-sided massacres (Headrick, 259).”

The steamboat, Minie Ball, breech loading rifle and Maxim gun are a few of many technological advancements that made European colonialism easier to achieve. While many of these weapons caused significant loss of life on the battlefield, we can only hope that history will never repeat itself.

Overview

In Bernard Cohn’s Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge, British leaders and colonial agents have been the main center of attention when it comes to describing the way the British ruled India. However, he focuses less on everyday Britons, such as tourists. The photo album that I selected, Northwest Frontier, seeks to further examine how these everyday Britons shaped the way they looked at India. The donor of the album is Frederic A. Sharf, and the creators are the Church Missionary Society and Jean S. Sharf (joint donors). Frederic and Jean Sharf are philanthropists who have donated artifacts and other gifts to various museums and universities in Florida. The album was compiled by an executive from the Church Missionary Society who was sent to examine the progress the church has made in various Indian provinces such as Peshawar, Amritsar, and Lahore from 1910-1912. Unfortunately, there is missing information about the creators of the photo albums. Hence, there are a few assumptions that are made for a few photographs that I have chosen.

The photos that I have selected reinforce the various arguments and ideas that Cohn mentions. “The British were to appear in several forms – as “platonic guardians,” as patriarchs habitually addressed by the simple folk as ma-bap, as authoritarian rationalist utilitarians, and in times of crisis as the not-so-benevolent Old Testament avengers (Cohn, Colonialism, 65).” After examining the album, I think the everyday Briton tried to act less like rulers and more like “the simple folk as ma-bap.” However, the way the British acted and dressed convinced me that they were not willing to assimilate their subjects to British culture.

For instance, Mahatma Ghandi wanted to revive the Indian textile production the British dominated and encourage locals to spin their own wool and wear khadi. But “in the March of 1921, Ghandi reported that some European employers were ordering that the white khadi caps not be worn in the office (Cohn, Colonialism, 148).” The act of wearing the khadi was a symbol of non-violent resistance Ghandi orchestrated. “If they [the British] were so frightened by the mere wearing of a khadi cap, which was a convenience and symbol of swadeshi, what might happen if he, Ghandi, asked government employees to stop working, and not just wear khadi? (Cohn, Colonialism, 149).”

The British tried their best to distinguish themselves from their subjects to establish a sense of authority. They also attempted to redefine the everyday Indian’s lifestyle by changing what they thought were small trivial things. Their goal was to “create a state through which it could administer the rapidly expanding territories acquired by conquest or accession (Cohn, Colonialism, 57).” By 1858, the British Raj was established, formally establishing rule. India was nicknamed “the jewel in the British crown” because of the land contained many valuable resources and had the largest population in the world at that time.

Learning the Language

The top photograph is called Learning the Language. On the left is an Indian man dressed in traditional clothing, like the turban. In the middle is another Indian man in Western attire, like his suit and tie. To the right is a British woman who is also in Western attire. The two men are shown teaching the woman what is presumably their language. Cohn, along with the elites during that time, “believed that Indian knowledge and experience as embodied in the varied textual traditions of the Hindus and Muslims were relevant for developing British administrative institutions (Cohn, Colonialism, 61).” By learning their language, the woman can better adapt and communicate with the Indian society.

Sawing Timber

The bottom photograph is called Sawing Timber. It depicts two man who are hard at work collecting timber. I think this photo relates to a statement Cohn made when he discussed about the relationship between clothing and British colonialism. “By the last decades of the nineteenth century, there was increasing documentation of the declining production of fine cotton textiles in India (Cohn, Colonialism, 143).” It is possible that sawing timber has become their new livelihood due to the loss of domestic textile production caused by the British.

Indian Troops at Ditto

The top photograph is called Indian Troops at Ditto. The photo depicts Indian troops with turbans in the background and their British superiors in the white helmets. Like the previous photo, I think this photo makes a strong connection between the role of clothing and British colonialism. During World War I, the British army tried to replace the turban with their steel helmets. “But by now, the Sikhs had come to associate their uniform pagri with their religion, and the argument that the turban as such was not prescribed by their religious code was to no avail (Cohn, Colonialism, 110).” This shows the willingness of the Indians to maintain their sense of national identity and pride.

The Tomb By His Garden

The two photos are called The Tomb by His Garden. It depicts a white man and woman dressed in Western attire under the sweltering Indian sun. This photograph reinforces the idea that British determination to distinguish themselves from the Indians, even if it was not practical. Although the heat, sun moisture and dust of the dry season were among the main concerns of Europeans, they still chose to wear layers of clothing. The practical thing to do would be to wear less clothing to reduce body heat. However, “men wore tight-fitting jackets and well-buttoned shirts (Cohn, Colonialism, 155)” and “women were layered with tight-fitting blouses or bodices, heavy skirts, multiple flannel chemise and underdrawers (Cohn, Colonialism, 155).” This is exactly what the man and the woman in the photograph are wearing.

Parmanand

The top photograph is titled Parmanand. Parmanand was a prominent Indian nationalist who lived from 1876 to 1947. He is wearing a blazer, slacks and tie. A distinguishing feature about his clothing is that he has his turban on. “The wearing of turbans, through lacking formal sanction… during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has been accorded an increasing importance in the endless quest for self identification (Cohn, Colonialism, 109).” Paramanand decided to keep his turban to remind the Sikhs that the wearing of the turban plays a vital role in their non-violent resistance against their rulers.

Further Thoughts

The album Northwest Frontier does a great job depicting everyday Indians and Britons during their colonial rule in the early twentieth century. In this exhibit, we examined a European woman trying to learn the language, a native man and a child making a straw bed, British and Indian soldiers converging together, a European man and woman in western clothing, and Parmanand. All these photographs convey the ideas that Cohn has been emphasizing. Although I believe everyday Britons just wanted to get along and interact with Indians in a less authoritative manner than the elites, differences in culture and values overshadow their good intentions. Although the album is a primary source, many questions remain unanswered. Besides translating the Hindu law and redefining Indian clothing, are there other ways the British tried to establish rule? What was the British public’s perception of how they were ruling the British Raj? Did they feel that their actions were justified?

Reading Information

Bernard S. Cohn, Cloth, Clothes and Colonialism, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge

Overview

This chapter discusses about how the British extended their colonial authority to how the Indians were supposed to dress. The British quickly realized that “clothes are not just body coverings and matters of adornment, nor can they be understood only as metaphors of power and authority, nor as symbols; in many contexts, clothes literally are authority (Cohn, 114).” For example, a king taking off his robe and putting it on another person of lower authority is equivalent to the king his power to the subject. Another instance was regarding the issue of foot wearing. F.J. Shore, a judge in India, complained that “natives of rank walk into the rooms of Englishmen with their shoes on (Cohn, 133).” Shore also instructs sahibs to explain to Indians that “you can either take off your shoes or your urban, but I must insist on one or the other mark of civility if you wish me to receive your gifts (Cohn, 134). Efforts to repel these unusual dress codes were futile, as Bengali officials unsuccessfully petitioned the lieutenant-governor to allow the uncovering of the head in official occasions and places.

The climate also played a significant role in changing the way how the British dressed. “From the earliest days to the present, Europeans have viewed the Indian environment as dangerous (Cohn, 155).” Everything from the heat, strong sun rays, humidity, and odors of urine and feces were especially concerning to the Europeans. The way the British initially dressed was ironic considering their concern for clean, fresh air. British men and women would wear tight-fitting jackets, trousers and multiple layers of clothing. It was always a question as to ‘how was it that Indians could live and work in an atmosphere so highly dangerous to Europeans? (Cohn, 156).” However, Dr. Jefferies’ book The British Army in India: Its Preservation by an Appropriate Clothing revealed that traditional British attire accumulate and trap heat in the head and torso. This was a big concern for the British Army, as they had to navigate through terrain with similar climate conditions. Research and theory eventually dispelled the myth that white troops would never be able to withstand the tropical environment “in the noonday sun without their pith helmets and specially designed heavy protective clothing (Cohn, 160).” As a solution, the British simply dressed down and got rid of the pith helmets. They were soon able to work under the sun just as long as their Indian counterparts.

Keywords

1. khadi: handspun cloth that is made using a chakra (spinning wheel). It has its origins in Bangladesh and India. It was a main source of income for a huge portion of the native population.
2. khilat: the symbolic transfer of power when a king takes his robes off and puts it on his subject.
3. pagri: an alternate term for turban. It is a headdress that is usually worn by men and symbolizes royalty.

Argument

“Europeans did not have to conform to Indian custom, but Indians had to conform to European ideas of what was proper Indian behavior (Cohn, 134).” Also, the British would redefine Indian customs and label any departure from those customs as an act of disobedience or rebellion.

Evidence

In this chapter, Cohn references to many primary sources to support his claim and arguments. For instance, he uses Flora Annie Steel’s recommendation on how to stay cool and healthy in the Indian climate.

Historiographical Debate

The author uses Dr. Jefferies’ The British Army in India: Its Preservation by an Appropriate Clothing to reinforce his theory on how the British analyzed and changed the way they dressed in response to the harsh Indian climate.  The author also draws upon surgeon James Johnson’s reaction when he saw a dandi (Bengali boatman) on page 130. The British were shocked by how underdressed the Indians were, and sought to redefine this. The author also uses James Forbes Watson’s opinion on page 146 to reinforce the idea that British efforts to get the native population to buy more clothing could economically help manufacturers in Manchester.

Contribution to Our Understanding of Colonial Rule

The assigned text helped reinforce the idea that although the British emphasized the importance of military and political influence over the region, clothing has also contributed towards the British efforts to establishing stronger colonial control. In chapter 3, the author talked about how the British were able to rewrite Hindu law in terms that were favorable to them, and later administered them to white judges. I also think the concept of modern colonialism/imperialism goes hand in hand with chapter 5. Under traditional colonialism/imperialism, the Chinese believed that their civilizations were self-evident and superior to others around them. “Only in modern colonialism did this kind of ethnocentric arrogance take an aggressive expansionist turn (Osterhammel, 16).” The British took this a step further and sought to redefine the way Indians dressed. This was a clear example of modern colonialism. However, “the British also knew the dangers of too rapid a move out of the feudal stage (Cohn, 122).”

Reading Information

Bernard Cohn, “Law and the Colonial State,” Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge

Overview

This chapter mainly talks about how the British were initially uncertain as to how to establish rule in India. Previously, British colonies such as New England and the Caribbean had adapted to the legislature of Great Britain. However, India was different because of the history of their civilization. There were already established forms of self-governance that worked. The problem for the British was that the local villagers and territorial rulers were not on the East India Company’s side. The British at first attempted to import their own legal system, but failed miserably. For instance, in 1765, the British tried to collect taxes from the Bengals but later caused a famine that killed a third of the population.

Warren Hastings, an employee of the East India Company, was given the task to establish rule in Bengal. Hastings began his task by deciphering the Hindu law so judges in civil courts could use it. He hired 11 pandits in Bengal to compile all the literature of the Hindu law so it could be readily used for translation. The task was then passed on to a man named Sir William Jones. Jones also knew that the British legal system would never work in India. He strongly believed that the basis of law should be the Hindu and Mahomedan laws. However, he did not trust the Indian scholars’ interpretations of the Hindu law and instead hired two pandits to continue translating until his death in 1794. Taking the reins, H. T. Colebrooke completed and published Jones’ works in 1798. Colebrooke used “European methods” of filling in the gaps (text that was not complete) the Hindu law. This eventually led to the Indian judicial system reform in 1864. But by now, most of the transformed “Hindu law” is derived from the British legal system, which was what Hastings, Jones and Colebrooke wanted to avoid.

The Indians viewed the British and the East India Company as trading partners. However, the British viewed the Indians as constituents of the British crown. The slow but gradual interpretation and translation of the Hindu law for English judges reinforces this idea. They needed courts that would be in favor of the British.

Keywords

1. pandit: an educated person or scholar in India
2. Mahomedan: a person who follows the Islamic prophet Muhammad
3. jagir: a system that dealt with the distribution of grants or public revenues in India

Argument

“Although employees of the company owed allegiance to the British Crown, the natives of India – be they peasant or territorial rulers allied to the East India Company – did not (Cohn, 58).” The British acknowledged the stability and success of the current Indian legal system, but sought to reinterpret it in terms favorable to them. “They also agreed that the peoples of India, unlike the Indians and slaves of the New World, had an ancient civilization and forms of local self-governance that were stable and deeply entrenched (Cohn, 58).”

Evidence

Cohn uses Clive’s letter addressed to the East India Company to describe how inefficient the British were at collecting revenues. “They believed that Englishmen were unfit to conduct the collection of revenues and to follow the subtle native through all his arts, to conceal the real value of his country, to perplex and elude the payments (Cohn, 59.)” This evidence is reliable because their inexperience with tax collection caused a third of the Bengal population to die from a famine.

Orme’s account of a court trial is used to describe how justice in India was determined by the person in charge of the court, not by rule of law. After the plaintiff offers the judge money, “the wealth, the consequence, the interest, or the address of the part, become now the only consideration (Cohn, 64).” This evidence is reliable because the British were now aware how much power the judges of the court held. This fueled their desire to find an interpretation of the Hindu law.

Historiographical Debate

Cohn refers to H. T. Colebrooke’s The Digest of Hindu Law on Contracts and Successions (1798) to make a point that it took 26 years of culminating efforts to create the compilation; from when Hastings was appointed to the publishing of the book. Cohn also mentions Thomas Strange’s Elements of Hindu Law to make the argument that the Anglo-Saxon law has already encroached and mostly replaced the Hindu Law. Cohn also mentions Ferishta’s History of Hindostan to make his point that the people of India were willing to subject themselves under the rule of one “tyrant” to another. This feeds into the British argument that the Indian legal system was despotic and thus needed a “strong hand who could administer justice in a rough-and-ready fashion unfettered by rules and regulations (Cohn, 65).” The British believed they were the ones ready to take this job on.

Contribution to Our Understanding of Colonial Rule

Upon reading this chapter, I was able to get a further understanding of one of the key investigative modalities that shaped British perception of India. The East India Company arrived in India as “merchants” who wanted to conduct trade with the Indians. But as we all know, their true intentions were to gain control and colonize the territory. At first, they ran into many problems because of their lack of knowledge of the “ancient civilization and forms of local self-governance that were stable and deeply entrenched (Cohn, Colonialism, 58).” Perhaps the biggest problem was the British and the East India Company had no influence in the courts. The British realized that they would never be profitable or successful without familiarizing themselves with the Hindu law. Even elites like Sir William Jones “seemed to distrust Indian scholars’ interpretations of their own legal traditions, a distrust that grew in India (Cohn, Colonialism, 69).” In response, the British compiled and translated as much of the Hindu law as they could and began redistributing the translations to British judges. By 1864, the reform of the judicial system began.

This chapter reminded me that “there’s more than meets the eye.” As I was reading the first few pages of the chapter, I did not understand how interpreting the law could have possibly benefited the British. But towards the last few pages of the chapter, I found out that although they managed to do what Hastings and Jones tried avoiding, it worked in their favor and the English law became the law of India.

Reading Information

Jurgen Osterhammel, “Colonization” and “Colonies,” Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview

Overview

This introductory chapter talks mainly about the history of colonialism. Osterhammel believes that there was minimal research done on this topic, as “no entry for this term is found in the seven-volume encyclopedia “Basic Historical Concepts” (Osterhammel, 3).” The author also states that colonization occurs in six different forms. They were: total migration of entire populations and societies, mass individual migration, border colonization, overseas settlement colonization, empire-building wars of conquest, and construction of naval networks.

There are a few forms of colonialization that is worth mentioning. One of them is colonial rule without colonization, which is arguably the most beneficial to the ruler. The British Raj is a prime example of this form of colonization. The British never fully established and settled in India, but still managed to effectively control the territory thousands of miles across the world. However, if expansion was achieved by conquest or war, territories were integrated into empires “depending on the political traditions of the conquering power (Osterhammel, 9). Traditional empires simply annexed the new territory into the existing government. In contrast, modern empires assigned different authorities to each territory to supervise, not rule.

The author also made sure to distinguish between “colonization” and “colony.” He stresses the point that colonization can occur without having an actual colony. Different types of colonies include exploitation colonies, maritime enclaves and settlement colonies. An example of an exploitation colony is the British Raj. The purpose of exploitation colonies is usually for economic and political reasons. There is also very limited colonial presence in exploitation colonies. An example of a maritime enclave is British Hong Kong and Singapore. The purpose of maritime enclaves is “informal control over formally autonomous state (Osterhammel, 11).” An example of a settlement colony is New England. Their purpose is find new forms of social and religious freedom from a mother country, and cheap land and labor.

Keywords

1. colony: a newly established territory that has been conquered (often through war)
2. gunboat diplomacy: when military force is used to achieve a political objective
3. colonization: a process of acquiring territory and establishing control in the area

Argument

The author seeks to divulge deeper into the meaning of colonialism. Many people “typically associate this term with manipulation, usurpation, and illegitimate appropriation, terms that betray a negative assessment of everything related to “colonialism” (Osterhammel, 1).” However, this term holds much more meaning.

Evidence

The author has done a great job with providing examples for each term that was used. Osterhammel compared mass individual migration to the Chinese workers in the Pacific and San Francisco’s Chinatown. He also uses New England as an example of an overseas settlement colonization. Examples of naval networks included Gibraltar, Cyprus, Hong Kong, and Singapore. However, the most applicable example (in my opinion) is “the gradual expansion of the Han Chinese agricultural zone at the cost of the pastoral economy of Inner Asia (Osterhammel, 6).” These examples have helped me grasp the meanings of the new terms.

Historiographical Debate

The author does not explicitly situate himself in a wider scholarly debate in the text. However, he does refer to the seven-volume encyclopedia Basic Historical Concepts in the beginning of the chapter.

Contribution to Our Understanding of Colonial Rule

This is the first detailed work I have read about that pertains to colonialism. As the author predicted early in the chapter, I also thought that colonialism was about the exploitation and manipulation of those being ruled. However, I soon learned that there is more than meets the eye. Colonialism can take many forms, and that a colony is not necessary to establish colonialism.

I always had the misconception that the rulers of a colony must have heavy and significant military presence in the area. However, I soon learned that was not always the case. For instance, the British were able to control the British Raj (an exploitation colony) with “relative insignificant numerical colonial presence, primarily in the form of civil bureaucrats, soldiers, and businessmen who return to their mother country after completing their assignments (Osterhammel, 11).” The British were also able to rule Hong Kong and Singapore using similar tactics.