<P> The British had direct or indirect control over all of present - day India before the middle of the 19th century . In 1857 , a local rebellion by an army of sepoys escalated into the Rebellion of 1857 , which took six months to suppress with heavy loss of life on both sides , although the loss of British lives is in the range of a few thousand , the loss on the Indian side was in the hundreds of thousands . The trigger for the Rebellion has been a subject of controversy . The resistance , although short - lived , was triggered by British East India Company attempts to expand its control of India . According to Olson , several reasons may have triggered the Rebellion . For example , Olson concludes that the East India Company 's attempt to annexe and expand its direct control of India , by arbitrary laws such as Doctrine of Lapse , combined with employment discrimination against Indians , contributed to the 1857 Rebellion . The East India Company officers lived like princes , the company finances were in shambles , and the company 's effectiveness in India was examined by the British crown after 1858 . As a result , the East India Company lost its powers of government and British India formally came under direct British rule , with an appointed Governor - General of India . The East India Company was dissolved the following year in 1858 . A few years later , Queen Victoria took the title of Empress of India . </P>
<P> The British had direct or indirect control over all of present - day India before the middle of the 19th century . In 1857 , a local rebellion by an army of sepoys escalated into the Rebellion of 1857 , which took six months to suppress with heavy loss of life on both sides , although the loss of British lives is in the range of a few thousand , the loss on the Indian side was in the hundreds of thousands . The trigger for the Rebellion has been a subject of controversy . The resistance , although short - lived , was triggered by British East India Company attempts to expand its control of India . According to Olson , several reasons may have triggered the Rebellion . For example , Olson concludes that the East India Company 's attempt to annexe and expand its direct control of India , by arbitrary laws such as Doctrine of Lapse , combined with employment discrimination against Indians , contributed to the 1857 Rebellion . The East India Company officers lived like princes , the company finances were in shambles , and the company 's effectiveness in India was examined by the British crown after 1858 . As a result , the East India Company lost its powers of government and British India formally came under direct British rule , with an appointed Governor - General of India . The East India Company was dissolved the following year in 1858 . A few years later , Queen Victoria took the title of Empress of India . </P>
when did india become a direct colony of britain
when did india become a direct colony of britain
before the middle of the 19th century
before the middle of the 19th century