By the end of the 19th century many Indians began feeling that to instill a sense of pride in the nation Indian history had to be thought about differently. The British saw Indians as backward and primitive, incapable of governing themselves. In response, Indians began looking into the past to discover India's great achievements. They wrote about the glorious developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished. This glorious time in their view, was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These nationalist histories urged the leaders to take pride in India's great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule.