Around A. D. 1500, European traders began arriving in India. They wanted to take India’s spices, rice, silk, and sugar cane back to Europe. The most successful trading company was the British East India Company, which was founded in 1600. With the help of the British government, this company gained great control over India. British rule had some benefits for India. Important crops – including tea, coffee, and indigo – were introduced into India, and a national railroad system was built to help export goods. English was used across the many regions of India, providing one common language for the people.

But the British caused hardships too. For example, farmers in the Bengal region were forced to grow the export crop of indigo, used to make blue dye, instead of food. As a result, in 1770 about 10 million people died of famine. Britain also caused hardship in the Indian cloth industry by putting a 30 percent import tax on Indian cloth. This made Indian cloth too expensive to sell in Britain. When the Indians lost their British customers, their cloth industry was ruined. Then British cloth factories profited by selling British cloth to the Indians.

The Indian people were discontent under British rule. In 1930 Mohandas Gandhi took up the cause of Indian independence. He encouraged Indians to protest in nonviolent ways. He encouraged them not to pay taxes to the British, and he advocated a boycott of British-made products. After great struggle, both non-violent and violent, the British withdrew, and in 1947 India became a self-governing independent country.

Main Idea 1. What is the main idea?
A. A. The British ruled India.
B. B. Mohandas Gandhi took up the cause of Indian independence in 1930.
C. C. British rule of India had benefits and hardships.
Subject Matter
2. This passage is mainly about
A. the history of India
B. Britain’s role in the history of India
C. India’s struggle for independence
Supporting Details 3. A benefit of British rule was
A. famine
B. decline of India’s cloth industry
C. a national railroad system
Conclusion 4. The Indian people were discontent because they did not
A. want to speak English
B. like British taxes or British rule
C. want to be farmers
Vocabulary in Context 5. The word boycott in this passage means
A. buy a great deal of
B. advertise
C. refuse to buy, sell, or use