Illustration
A map illustrating the British Raj around 1930, a period of direct British rule over the Indian subcontinent that began in 1858. Following the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, also known as the First War of Independence, the British Parliament passed the Act for the Better Government of India. This legislation transferred power from the East India Company to the British Crown. The last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was exiled to Burma, and Queen Victoria (reign 1837–1901) was declared Empress of India, marking the formal start of the Raj.
While Britain exercised direct control over vast regions of South Asia, approximately two-fifths of the subcontinent remained divided among nearly 800 princely states. These were native-led territories with varying degrees of autonomy, governed under British supervision through subsidiary alliances. The British Raj persisted until 1947, when decolonization and nationalist movements culminated in the partition of British India into two independent dominions: India and Pakistan.
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APA Style
Netchev, S. (2022, October 13). Map of the British Raj c. 1930. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16537/map-of-the-british-raj-c-1930/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the British Raj c. 1930." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified October 13, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16537/map-of-the-british-raj-c-1930/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the British Raj c. 1930." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 13 Oct 2022, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16537/map-of-the-british-raj-c-1930/. Web. 20 Jun 2025.