One of the well known revolutions in India during at the time of British colonization was the Sepoy mutiny of 1857. The uprising is also known as the Sepoy mutiny, Revolt of 1857 or Great rebellion. The When it began, the British had not seen it coming since they thought they were in control of everything at that time.
During the colonial period, British East India Company had recruited the local citizens known as the natives or sepoys in their troops. This was so that they could maintain control of the area as they carried out their trading activities. The British government soon followed suit and started recruiting the natives into their army so that they could fight for them during their conquests. They trained the natives on their fighting methods and how to use their weapons.
The recruitment exercise saw the natives outnumber Europeans in the army. Using this strong army, the British were able to control two thirds of the land in the country. After which, they began to introduce their rules on the locals. This included their land ownership ways, missionary and evangelical activities, administration systems as well as their technology. To many, this was totally new things that made them uncomfortable.
Though not many of the natives were in agreement with what the Europeans were doing, they could do nothing. But this was bound to change when a situation happened that sparked them to cause a revolution. In the year 1853 the British Company decided to make an improvement of the weapons used. They introduced greased paper cartridges that required one to open it using the teeth in order to load the firearm. Following this improvement, rumors started flowing around that the grease used on the cartridges had been made from pork and beef fat.
As it would be, the local people did not like this. The reason being according to their religion which is Hindu, they were not allowed to eat beef since a cow was sacred. For the Islam, eating pork was also not allowed since a pig is unclean according to this religion. Therefore, the Sepoys saw the introduction of these new cartridges as a way of forcing them all into Christianity.
The revolution began in Meerut, which was the first district to get the new weaponry. Here, the mutineers killed any European they came across with. They then moved to other areas namely Delhi, Cawnpore, Rajputna, Lucknow, Sahib and Oudh. In an attempt to calm the anger among the sepoys, British manufactures decided to change the cartridges and removed the grease. But this only confirmed to the locals the rumors were true.
Two months later into the revolution, it was revealed that more than two hundred women, men and children had been brutally murdered, the British decided to avenge these deaths. They would capture suspected rebels and then execute them. This they continued as retaliatory attacks for six months and they were able to restore their power in 1858.
Even though the Sepoy mutiny of 1857 did not free the Indians from their colonialists, it was a strong indicator to the Europeans that their activities had not gone down well with many. India would later get its independence from the colonialists in 1947. But the freedom fighters still remembered that the Sepoy mutiny was the start of their struggle for freedom.
During the colonial period, British East India Company had recruited the local citizens known as the natives or sepoys in their troops. This was so that they could maintain control of the area as they carried out their trading activities. The British government soon followed suit and started recruiting the natives into their army so that they could fight for them during their conquests. They trained the natives on their fighting methods and how to use their weapons.
The recruitment exercise saw the natives outnumber Europeans in the army. Using this strong army, the British were able to control two thirds of the land in the country. After which, they began to introduce their rules on the locals. This included their land ownership ways, missionary and evangelical activities, administration systems as well as their technology. To many, this was totally new things that made them uncomfortable.
Though not many of the natives were in agreement with what the Europeans were doing, they could do nothing. But this was bound to change when a situation happened that sparked them to cause a revolution. In the year 1853 the British Company decided to make an improvement of the weapons used. They introduced greased paper cartridges that required one to open it using the teeth in order to load the firearm. Following this improvement, rumors started flowing around that the grease used on the cartridges had been made from pork and beef fat.
As it would be, the local people did not like this. The reason being according to their religion which is Hindu, they were not allowed to eat beef since a cow was sacred. For the Islam, eating pork was also not allowed since a pig is unclean according to this religion. Therefore, the Sepoys saw the introduction of these new cartridges as a way of forcing them all into Christianity.
The revolution began in Meerut, which was the first district to get the new weaponry. Here, the mutineers killed any European they came across with. They then moved to other areas namely Delhi, Cawnpore, Rajputna, Lucknow, Sahib and Oudh. In an attempt to calm the anger among the sepoys, British manufactures decided to change the cartridges and removed the grease. But this only confirmed to the locals the rumors were true.
Two months later into the revolution, it was revealed that more than two hundred women, men and children had been brutally murdered, the British decided to avenge these deaths. They would capture suspected rebels and then execute them. This they continued as retaliatory attacks for six months and they were able to restore their power in 1858.
Even though the Sepoy mutiny of 1857 did not free the Indians from their colonialists, it was a strong indicator to the Europeans that their activities had not gone down well with many. India would later get its independence from the colonialists in 1947. But the freedom fighters still remembered that the Sepoy mutiny was the start of their struggle for freedom.
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