British people lived in India first under the British East India Company (from about 1750-1850) and then in the British Raj (from 1858 to 1947). During the Raj, Britain's crown ruled India. The advantage that many British people gained in India was access to better jobs as members of the civil service or army than they could attain at home. This was particularly true of the younger sons of aristocratic or wealthy families, as the older sons often inherited the title to land. British people in India often had servants, who they could not have afforded at home, and they had higher status than they would have had at home. Finally, living in India provided them with a type of adventure that living in England would not have.

The disadvantages were that they were subject to cholera, smallpox, and other diseases. Civil servants serving in India under the British East India Company died at twice the rate of those at home in England. British people might also have felt socially isolated at times in a country that was not really their home and in which there were very different religious and social practices than at home. In addition, there were rebellions against British rule, including the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also called the Sepoy Rebellion). After World War I, there was increased pressure on England, in a movement led by Gandhi and others, to give India independence. Over time, sentiment developed towards ending British hegemony in India.