Can India defeat Great Britain?

What battle do the Indians have the best chance of dealing a significant blow

  • Battle_of_Arcot

    Votes: 1 5.9%
  • Battle_of_Plassey

    Votes: 5 29.4%
  • Battle_of_Buxar

    Votes: 1 5.9%
  • Battle_of_Arakere

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Siege_of_Seringapatam_(1792)

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • Battle_of_Assaye

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Indian_Rebellion_of_1857

    Votes: 7 41.2%

  • Total voters
    17
Can India defeat Great Britain?

So I was thinking is it possible for India to resist British occupation? If so what battle do the Indians have the best chance of dealing a significant blow? If there’s any significant battle or event I’m missing list it in comments please, thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arcot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Plassey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Buxar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arakere
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Seringapatam_(1792)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Assaye
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857
 
It's not the battles that are important. It's the economic and political power the British used against the Indians. Battles are really overstated in modern history.
 
It's not the battles that are important. It's the economic and political power the British used against the Indians. Battles are really overstated in modern history.

What economic power did Britain use against India?

Now, maybe the British state was superior (and this seemed to be key to me), but I don't see how economic power mattered.
 
What economic power did Britain use against India?

Now, maybe the British state was superior (and this seemed to be key to me), but I don't see how economic power mattered.

Britain's conquest of India was one of taking over trade routes, dominating an area economically, and then either bribing of fighting the local rulers who opposed them while allying with others who wanted the economic benefits or the upper hand in a local grudge. And much of the support for continued British rule came from the people who became rich from trade.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
What economic power did Britain use against India?

Now, maybe the British state was superior (and this seemed to be key to me), but I don't see how economic power mattered.

It's all that mattered, really. Had it not been for the British system of fractional banking, a national debt, a bond market, ect., it never would have had the power to subjugate India. Indeed, Western financial institutions are the single most important factor in the "rise of the West" vis-à-vis the rest of the world.
 
What economic power did Britain use against India?

Now, maybe the British state was superior (and this seemed to be key to me), but I don't see how economic power mattered.

Because a large part of the British advantage was their domination of the trade routes and ability to hire large numbers of mercenaries. And how do you think the British state comes in when much of the colonization was done by the British East India Company?
 
You left out the one that most nearly destroyed the myth of British invincability. Sobraon. As it was , the Army in India spoke of it with awe for 100 years. A little luck on the Sikh side and it could have been a bigger disaster than Chillianwallah. A preserved independent Sikh kingdom would have interesting effects, especially if it caused the Sikhs to back the mutineers in '57.

My grandfather-in-law was in the Indian Army, and spoke of Sobraon with (metaphorical) hushed breath.He reckoned the Sikhs were far and away the most formidable force the British ever faced in India.
 
Yeah- quite frankly it isn't in the battles but the long development of economic domination- in a lot of battles themselves, Indians could have defeated the Company, but many others had a lot of interest in seeing the British win.

Hell, a lot of battles and sieges were won because of treachery and scheming- invaluable in any situation- Srirangapatam and Plassey are examples of this- and even Lal Singh and Tej Singh during the First Anglo-Sikh War.
 
I voted for Plassey but really think the British had it all over these local Indian rulers. In particular during the campaign that lead to Plassey the Royal Navy sailed up the Hoogly river and played a large part in capturing Chandannagar and other localities. The locals had no reply to this naval force which laid the groundwork for the victory at Plassey.
 
Top