HISTORY
CHAPTER 1
How, When and Where
Meaning of History
History is about
changes that occur over
time.
I.e., finding how things
were in the past and
how things have
changed.
James Rennel
He was born on Dec 3, 1742 in England
and died on March 29, 1830.
He was the leading British Geographer
of his time. He constructed the first
nearly accurate map of India.
He joined East India Company and
became Surveyor General of
Bengal.
Britannica/East India Company
English company formed for the exploitation of trade
with East and Southeast Asia and India. Incorporated
by Royal Charter on December 31, 1600.
Started as a monopolistic trading body, the company
became involved in politics and acted as an agent of
British imperialism in India from the early-18th century
to the mid-19th century.
The activities of the company in China in the 19th
century also served as a catalyst for the expansion of
British influence there.
Official of East India Company riding in an Indian
Procession
History is Referred to Span of Time
We cannot determine a
specific date when British
rule was started as it
happened over a span of
time.
Similarly, we developed a
taste of drinking tea over a
period of time.
See the advertisement on
the right.
Past versus present state of history
Earlier history was associated with string of dates. This
was because history used to keep a track of battles and
big events.
At present, history is a wider concept which includes
‘how’ and ‘what’ concepts.
For example, how people earned their livelihood, what
did they produce, and eat? Etc.
Criteria to select a set of dates
Dates become important when we assume that a
particular set of events are important.
Most of the history in India was written by British
historians. These historians started writing with the
rule of first Governor-General, Warren Hastings and
ended with the last Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten.
Warren Hastings
He became the first Governor-General of India in 1773.
Warren Hastings was a competent, honourable, and farsighted
administrator, whose policies, while some controversial, decisively
shaped and stabilized future Anglo-Indian relations.
The controversy surrounding his administration made him the
subject of impeachment and trial in Great Britain.
Criteria to periodise
In 1817, a Scottish
Economist and Political
Philosopher, named James Mill,
published a book “History of
British India”.
In this book, the Indian history is
divided into 3 periods:
1) Hindu
2) Muslim
3) British
Modern period changed to Colonial
Modern period is related to growth of all the forces of
modernism. But under the British rule, people were not
getting modernised. Therefore the name changed to
Colonial period.
When the subjugation of one country by another leads to
political, economic, social and cultural changes this is the
process of Colonisation.
Sources of writing history
Sources that historians use in writing about last 250 years on
Indian history includes:
1) Official records of the British Administration - For British,
the act of writing was crucial. So every plan, policy
agreement was in writing. This led to administrative culture
of memos, noting and reports.
British also kept all the documents preserved in the record
room which was attached to all administrative institutions.
Moreover these documents were written by calligraphists,
who specialised in the art of beautiful writing.
Sources of writing history
National archives of India,
Delhi (1920s)
It is a record room where all
the documents and letters
from government and various
administrators have been
arranged as per dates from
18th century and are
preserved in good conditions.
Sources of writing history
2) Conducting surveys - Conducting surveys was
common under colonial administration. The British
believed that a country had to be properly known
before it could be effectively administered.
By the early 19th century, detailed surveys were being
carried out to map the entire country.
For Example: forest survey, zoological survey, etc.
What official records do not tell
1)Records do not tell what other people in the country
felt.
2)Only dairies of people, travellers, autobiographies of
important personalities can tell about literate people.
3)No record of the history is available for the Tribals,
peasants, workers or the poor.
