Asking this for my 5-year-old niece. I, myself am 21 years old, don’t know how exactly they did it and am exceptionally bad at Humanities.
I don’t quite understand how the Britishers convinced/bewitched/overruled the rulers of a nation. From what I understand, they struck deals and what-not. Can you please explain a **bird’s eye view** of the entire situation so that I can explain it to my niece?
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Ally with someone who wants to be in charge – a younger brother of the king, a trusted advisor, etc. Let them know you want to work with them as long as they work with you, but they just need to get the king out of the way.
Sometimes the ruler had only been in charge a little while and there was someone else he toppled – that person was always happy to get put back in charge.
Also, they had better guns and better trained soldiers. So they might face a bigger army, but they secretly cut a deal with one of the key generals; on the day of battle, that general doesn’t send his troops in, and suddenly it’s a more evenly matched fight; then British superior artillery and more disciplined troops and training take the day (as the other side is also demoralized when the bought-off general doesn’t join in with all his men)
Keep in mind there was not “nationalism” like you have today. To most of the people – the peasants and merchants – the rulers were just people who squeezed them and were often changed through warfare or imperial appointment (in the case of the Mughals). There was not a lot of loyalty to the person in change; one was as good as another.
Ironically, the presence of the British and their growing control often awakened nationalist ideas (see Sepoy Mutiny)
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