Consolidator of British Rule in India

Born on April 22nd, 1812, upon the dawn of a new era in politics and economics, I, James Andrew Broun Ramsay, fully embraced the stirring winds of change. Indeed, it can even be said that I helped propel these winds to become a roaring tornado for Britain. My election into the British parliament and my appointment as president of the Board of Trade simply foreshadowed my more renown and glorious accomplishments as a governor-general in India. Because of my annexation policy, also known as the Doctrine Lapse policy, the British East India Company, and ultimately Great Britain herself, achieved greater heights of glory and power. Through the Doctrine of Lapse, any princely state or territory under British influence would automatically be annexed if its ruler was “manifestly incompetent or died without a direct heir.” Although I prioritized my country and acted chiefly to further increase Great Britian's wealth, I also sought to better the situation of the Indians. Attempting to modernize and channel English intellectual movements into India, I was slightly perturbed to behold their vehement responses. In the Second Anglo-Sikh War, Sikh troops and sardars rebelled and murdered Vans Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson. Good came out of this rebellion, however, as after the rebels were defeated, Punjab was annexed, and I was rewarded with the title marquis. So gratified was I, that I sought further to bring Great Britain glory. Hence, I embarked on a quest for conquest in the Second Burmese War and succeeded in annexing the province of Pegu in the Burmese empire. In doing so, I limited Burma’s political and economic growth, causing these territories to depend solely on their British overseers. Nevertheless, I should be looked to as a benefactor. They must all remember that it was I who founded the telegraph and postal systems in India. It must also be noted that I also helped modernize their primitive transportation systems by sponsoring railroad and road construction projects. Establishing Anglo Vernacular Schools, I also aided the natives in becoming more educated and in possessing nobler thoughts. In 1856, I bid India farewell with satisfaction, for I had labored strenuously and meticulously, and much had been accomplished under my administration. As I was on my way back to my homeland on board the Tribune, I had the hopes, which were surely not too fanciful for one who had accomplished so much, of being received with praise and warmth. However, in 1857 Indian troops started to revolt against their British officers. This infamous revolt, which makes me writhe and fills me with such unbearable loathing, became known as the Indian mutiny. 

Sepoy Rebellion

This mutiny, regardless of the fact that it erupted after my administration, tainted my reputation, and I was received in Great Britain with derision and stinging criticism. Although British troops were able to crush the revolt, it caused such a great deal of alarm that the British government decided to take control of the administration of India from the East India Company in 1858. India was then ruled by a viceroy who governed as the personal representative of the British monarch. Although understandably upset at this mutiny, the British government, I believe, made a fatal error in removing the East India Company from power. Truly, the East India Company was the key to maintaining British rule in India. Although order has been restored and Britain still retains power over India, the dissolution of the enterprising British East India Company, which labored efficiently and with such zeal, can only lead to a decline in British control over India.

Victorian Era

            Also called the Second English Renaissance, the Victorian Era was a time filled with great accomplishments. Though I was not in Great Britain at that time to personally attend it, I can imagine the glory of the Great Exhibition. During it, the genius of the British and the prosperity of our homeland were awesomely displayed for all to behold. In the midst of the rising uncertainties due to the revolutions, the British strove to stand firmly with propriety and modesty and were widely acknowledged for it. We bear this reputation with pride and continue to conduct ourselves with sensibility and according to a strict code of morality. Some may claim that we are “prudish,” but it is not so. Our fashion and our arts attest to this fact. Our most contemporary women adore wearing balloonish sleeves and crinolines, which they believe, while most becoming in a feminine and elegant way, also convey blithesomeness. This shows that our women are not at all trying to stifle fashion with all its ridiculous frivolity and abudance of lace. Rather, they encourage it and are delighted by the current style. Also, during this time, romanticism, which emphasized emotion, bloomed and flourished. Are we boring, prudish people? Far from it! We are unafraid to explore the mysterious depths and natures of the human mind and emotion. We are hence the greatest innovators of our time in every aspect. Our contribution to the industrial world through the steam engine is priceless, and our transportation systems are unrivaled. Furthermore, in our parliament, the likes of our reforms and openness to change is unparalleled. The works of our Mary Shelley and Lord Byron, now literary canons, have the capacity of simultaneously stirring beautiful sensations of joy and gripping sensations of horror, and all the while they enlighten the reader and broaden the reader’s capacity to analyze the world. The British have every right to be basking in the admiration of all other Europeans for we have proven during this time, this glorious Victorian Era, that we are unmatched and irreproachable in our conduct of morality, our rationality, our intelligence, and in our unfurled wings of imagination.

Champions of Reform

I suppose reform was inevitable. The overcrowded slums, which were a result of industrialization, pressured the government into action. While the government may not be able to fully upgrade these living conditions, it can at least appease the working class that lives in these slums by making their work life and living conditions less dehumanizing. By alleviating their situation, they put to rest the fears of the middle class. Who knows what these people, lashing out in their anger, will do. We all have evidence enough from the Luddite revolt. Mark my words, the violence exhibited is merely a shadow of what they are truly capable of doing. I commend the people who have found it in their hearts to have compassion on such beings. Such people (most prominent of whom I believe is Edwin Chadwick) made it so that the government could no longer ignore or avoid the glaring signs of degradation and misery in this society. The government thus began to pass a series of factory acts. By the Ten Hour Act, the workday for children and women was limited to ten hours. These acts also required children to become educated in reading and arithmetic during the working days. Also, factory inspections were imposed to remove the worst abuses in factories (particularly in the textile factories) and to create a certain standard that all the industries must at least meet to be deemed acceptable.  In a way, though these acts benefitted the lower classes, it also benefited the government, for the government grew more powerful as it asserted its right to control industrial organizations. Eventually, this will also lead to an increase in power for the upper-middle class because the Reform Act of 1832 has enabled us, the members of the upper-middle class, to expand our control over the British parliament. Hence, an increase in governmental authority and power is equivalent to an increase in influence and advantages for the upper middle class, who constitute the parliament.

Europe Lit Afire



Liberty Leading the People

 France was once again the culprit for causing tumult. This time however, France lit the spark that grew into a roaring flame across the European continent. Seeking to increase their power and influence via obtaining the right to vote, the bourgeois in France overthrew Charles X and made Louis-Philippe the constitutional king. This revolution instigated the revolutionary outbursts in Europe that became collectively known as the Revolutions of 1848. Belgium refused to be united with the Dutch Republic and demanded independence. When Italy, under the leadership of Mazzini, attempted to free itself from the obviously more potent Austrians, it was pitifully defeated. Likewise, when Poland tried to call for its independence from Russia, it was swiftly crushed. Then, France did once more what it does best: revolt. Louis-Philippe eventually was forced to flee France and a provisional government was established through universal male suffrage. The Germanic states and the Austrian Empire soon joined the revolutionary frenzy. The Frankfurt Assembly, a prime example of what happens when the unorganized inferiors dare to supplant those ruling, futilely tried to create a Kleindeutsch and only created more confusion in Germany. In Austria, Louis Kossuth agitated for the independence of Hungary. With the aid of Russia, Hungary’s movements for independence were eventually quelled. Thankfully, while the rest of the primitive governments throughout Europe met fearsome opposition, the superior British parliament was able to satisfy the demands of the people while still preserving its unquestionable power. When the wealthy industrial middle class, of which I am part of, sought to become a vital part of the government, the British parliament, seeing the futility in denying the request of the ever-growing numbers, agreed and passed the Reform Act of 1832. Through this, though the upper-middle class gained power, the rest of the classes below us did not. Hence, though the government wisely shared power with those obviously capable enough to handle it, it did not weaken its function by allowing the uneducated to vote.

Industrial Britain

As Great Britain became industrialized, the quiet pastoral scenes were shattered by the clattering din from new factories.

During the day, the sky was darkened by smoke from the new factories while at night, the sky was illuminated by the eerie glow of furnaces. The landscape was radically changed; the grounds were crisscrossed by canals and railroads. Bridges and tunnels, awesome symbols of man’s apparent dominance over nature, also dominated the scene. Chimneys trailed smoke across its skies. New towns and cities, teeming with the members of a new, industrial working class, the proletariat, emerged. Initially, I was startled and bit unsure about all this monumental change, as would anyone be. Later, however, I embraced it, and even sought to further these industries and introduce them to India. Some may wonder why Britain, out of all the European nations, was the one to rise to prominence and glory. What is there to be puzzled over? Britain was the natural leader in industrialization, as the British people are entrepreneurs by nature. Even our capital, London, for the longest time has been a bustling center for trade with the continent and with Britain’s colonies. The industrial revolution simply further asserted our already established superiority. Our achievements became the envy of the European continent. It became the goal, the dream, of the European states to emulate our industrial revolution. Try as they might to surpass us, their people are proof of our unshakable lead in the textile industries. Their people purchase our textiles more willingly than they buy their native cloth. Why, even Napoleon’s troops wore British overcoats.