Painting Analysis (Fig 4.14)
Prompt: Analyze “The East offering its riches to Britannia”. Analysis:
- Britannia: Sits high up on a rock, holding a trident (naval power) and shield (Union Jack). She looks down, symbolizing superiority.
- India: Depicted as a dark-skinned woman offering pearls/jewels, looking up in a submissive posture.
- Symbolism: It justifies colonialism as a “voluntary” submission where the East offers wealth, rather than it being looted. The “Old Father Thames” pouring water represents London receiving this wealth.
- Reality: It was theft, not an offering.
”The Sun Never Sets…”
Prompt: What does “the sun never sets on the British Empire” mean? Answer:
- Meaning: The British Empire was so vast, spanning across globe (Canada, India, Australia, Africa), that it was always daylight in at least one part of their territory.
- Symbolism: It represented their global dominance.
Macaulay’s Quote
Prompt: What did Macaulay mean by “A single shelf of European library…”? Answer:
- Meaning: He displayed extreme arrogance and ignorance. He dismissed thousands of years of Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian literature, philosophy, and science as worthless compared to Western thought.
- Goal: To justify erasing Indian culture and replacing it with English education to create obedient civil servants.
”Brown Englishmen”
Prompt: Why make Indians “English in taste…”? Answer: The British needed a buffer class—Indians who looked like the natives but thought like the British. These “Brown Englishmen” would:
- Act as loyal intermediaries between the rulers and the masses.
- Provide cheap labor for administration (clerks).
- Become consumers of British goods.
”Re-opened” India
Prompt: Why use the term “re-opened” India to the world? Answer: India had been connected to the world (Rome, China, SE Asia) for millennia through trade. The colonial period didn’t “open” a closed India; it forced India into a new, unequal relationship dominated solely by Europe, breaking its traditional Asian trade links.