Cricket, Curry And Cups Of Tea
BBC Earth|May 2018

As Queen Victoria’s friendship with her Indian attendant is explored in the new film Victoria and Abdul, Shompa Lahiri examines how the queen helped popularise India’s cultural influence on all areas of British society, from polo to pyjamas

Cricket, Curry And Cups Of Tea

They cooked up Indian curries, played Indian sports, draped themselves in Indian textiles and even voted for Indian politicians. The Victorian era saw Britons falling in love with the culture of the subcontinent, and it seems that the people took their prompt from the very top. Queen Victoria herself declared a great interest in the empire’s largest possession and greatest trading partner, so helping to popularise Indian delicacies, fashion, jewellery and architecture.

The genesis of this passion for India can be traced back to the 16th century, when British merchant adventurers began to import spices, dyes and, most importantly, textiles from India via newly discovered sea routes. From 1600, the East India Company controlled this trade, and from the 1750s the commercial interests of the company were consolidated into outright political and territorial domination. After a massive rebellion against foreign rule in 1857, the British government decided to place India under the direct control of the crown the following year. Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877.

Victoria’s interest in India sprang, at least in part, from her Indian assistant Abdul Karim, who came to Britain in 1887 to serve the queen. He rose within Victoria’s affections, as well as in status to the title of ‘Munshi’ (teacher or clerk), teaching the queen Hindi and Urdu and advising on all matters concerning India.

Karim was one of a steady stream of Indian migrants coming to Britain during the 19th century (estimates suggest more than 110,000), including domestics, maritime workers, petitioners, performers, royalty, social reformers, students and travellers. Concentrated in Britain’s port cities, especially London, Indians were visible in Britain’s streets, docks, buses, trains, Inns of Court, medical schools, universities, exhibitions and parliament.

Denne historien er fra May 2018-utgaven av BBC Earth.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra May 2018-utgaven av BBC Earth.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BBC EARTHSe alt
World's First Malaria Vaccine
BBC Earth

World's First Malaria Vaccine

The World Health Organization’s director-general hails ‘historic moment’ as mass immunisation of African children begins

time-read
2 mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
Is River Pollution Putting The Species In Jeopardy Again?
BBC Earth

Is River Pollution Putting The Species In Jeopardy Again?

Ten years ago, it was jubilantly announced that o ers had returned to every county in England. But is river pollution putting the species in jeopardy again?

time-read
10+ mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
The Big Burnout
BBC Earth

The Big Burnout

Long hours, low pay and a lack of appreciation — among other things — can make for a stressful workplace and lead to burnout. It’s something we should all be concerned about, because over half of the workforce reports feeling it

time-read
10 mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
Putting Nature To Rights
BBC Earth

Putting Nature To Rights

More countries are enshrining the right to a clean environment into law. So if a company or government is impinging upon that right, you could take them to court

time-read
10 mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
Mega Spaceship: Is It Possible For China To Build A Kilometre-Long Spacecraft?
BBC Earth

Mega Spaceship: Is It Possible For China To Build A Kilometre-Long Spacecraft?

Buoyed on by its successful Moon missions, China has launched a five-year study to investigate the possibility of building the biggest-ever spacecraft

time-read
4 mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
Are We Getting Happier?
BBC Earth

Are We Getting Happier?

Enjoying more good days than bad? Feel like that bounce in your step’s getting bigger? HELEN RUSSELL looks into whether we’re all feeling more cheery…

time-read
3 mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
“Unless the Japanese got the US off their backs in the Pacific, they believed they would face complete destruction”
BBC Earth

“Unless the Japanese got the US off their backs in the Pacific, they believed they would face complete destruction”

Eighty years ago Japan’s surprise raid on Pearl Harbor forced the US offthe fence and into the Second World War. Ellie Cawthorne is making a new HistoryExtra podcast series about the attack, and she spoke to Christopher Harding about the long roots of Japan’s disastrous decision

time-read
10+ mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
Your Mysterious Brain
BBC Earth

Your Mysterious Brain

Science has mapped the surface of Mars and translated the code for life. By comparison, we know next to nothing about what’s between our ears. Over the next few pages, we ask leading scientists to answer some of the most important questions about our brains…

time-read
10+ mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
Why Do We Fall In Love?
BBC Earth

Why Do We Fall In Love?

Is it companionship, procreation or something more? DR ANNA MACHIN reveals what makes us so willing to become targets for Cupid’s arrow

time-read
2 mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2
Detecting the dead
BBC Earth

Detecting the dead

Following personal tragedy, the creator of that most rational of literary figures, Sherlock Holmes, developed an obsession with spiritualism. Fiona Snailham and Anna Maria Barry explore the supernatural interests of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

time-read
7 mins  |
Volume 14 - Issue 2