This investigation seeks to discover whether or not the Sepoy revolution in 1857 had a sufficient impact on India’s rise to independence and separation from the British Empire. The Sepoy revolution was a revolution of the Sepoy soldiers in 1857, and complete independence from the British Empire was not achieved by Indians until 1947. Therefore, did the Sepoy revolution catalyze their rise to independence, or was independence inevitable? The impact of the Sepoy Revolution will be found by looking at the effects of the Sepoy revolution and determining whether or not they were key factors in the rise to independence. A variety of sources will be used. Two important sources that will be used during this investigation are Indian Summer by Alex Von Tunzelmann and Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World by Niall Ferguson.
Summary of Evidence
After the Battle of Plussey in 1757, Britain gained a much control over India. The British East India Company exercised power in this region instead of the Queen of England. The Company brought British soldiers and missionaries to the foreign land. The military in India was comprised of European troops and Indian troops resulting in a variety of weapons present. The weapons of the English people were a lot more different than those of the Indian people. The Europeans were the officers in this military and the Indians were common soldiers. The Indian Soldiers were known as the Sepoys. There were various events before the actual revolution that were significant to the cause of the Sepoy Revolution. In 1806, the introduction of new clothing/appearance regulations sparked a minor rebellion, but this was easily controlled and suppressed by the British. In 1856, the East India Company anne...
... middle of paper ...
...f the mutiny: British artists' imaginative depictions of the 1857 sepoy rebellion helped fan the flames of public outrage." MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History Spring 2008: 90+. General OneFile. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
James, Garry. "Lucknow 1857: this bloody siege during the Indian Mutiny saw the use of two cavalry carbines--the British Pattern 1855 Sharps breechloader and the muzzleloading Victoria." Guns & Ammo Sept. 2012: 78+. General OneFile. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India. New York: St. Martin's, 1998. Print.
Singh, Jaswant. Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
Von, Tunzelmann Alex. Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire. New York: Henry Holt and, 2007. Print.
Wolpert, Stanley A. A New History of India. New York: Oxford UP, 1977. Print.
...ary units of the imperial Roman army, as auxiliary units were integrally involved in the Batavian Revolt. Chapter three examines the Batavian Revolt itself, summarizing the events of the revolt and providing analysis. Part two focuses on the Sepoy Rebellion, and consists of chapters four, five, and six. Much like chapter two, chapter four provides an overview of the East India Company's Bengali sepoy regiments. Chapter five addresses the major causes of the Sepoy Rebellion, and summarizes its events and participants. Chapter six provides a short historiographical review of three Indian texts on the Sepoy Rebellion, exposing the reader to Indian interpretations of the events. Finally, part three consists of chapter seven, which is a comparison of the major similarities and differences of Batavian Revolt and Sepoy Rebellion, and serves to highlight key aspects of both.
The Sepoy Rebellion was the result of many significant events that took place during the British rule over India. The main cause of the Sepoy Rebellion was the issue of pork and cow grease on the gun cartridges, which led to religious and social conflict and ultimately, the rebellion. In order to load the guns, the sepoys needed to bite the cartridges open to release the powder. However, this incensed the sepoys, who were comprised of mainly Hindus with a few Muslims, as
India was first controlled by the British East India Company for growing crops like cotton and indigo. During the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857, the British took over the political, economical, and social aspects of India. India became Britain’s most important colony because of the amount of valuable natural resources the country had. Although Britain was the world’s largest employer, structured India’s government and gave Indians freedom of religion and culture, They actually made life for Indians unlivable, structured the government for their own benefit and caused discrimination.
British Imperialism in India brought about many changes in India; both positive and negative. It was however, as a whole, an important turning point in India’s history. Imperialism had its positive economic outcomes for the British during the 1600s, but also had its negative effects on India’s people; leaving their governmental power in the hands of Britain.
The 190 years of Imperialism in India by the British were over all a negative experience for the country. However, a few good things did come out of imperialism like transportation. Britain became selfish and inconsiderate towards the Indian people and only did what helped their country and their economy. Because of the imperialism India’s people became hostile towards each other and later, after being freed from British rule, broke out into a civil war.
The Indian Mutiny began as a revolt in 1857, it was also known as the Sepoy Mutiny. It was a series of anti-British uprisings that successfully demonstrated a unification of spirit. The indigenous people of India resented the burdens of domination by the British. The Indians tolerated the British in the beginning largely because the British did not infringe on the Indians’ traditional cultural practices. Some of the British even inter-married with the Indians. As time moved on the British began to impose itself on the Indians. The most significant incident that sparked the Indian Mutiny was the British not respecting the Indian religious and cultural practices. “A series of incidents bega...
Thousands of years ago, Indian society developed into a complex system based on different classes. This system was known as the Caste System. It separated Indians into different castes based on what class were born into. As thousands of years went by, this system grew larger and became further complex (Wadley 189). This system caused frustration for the Indian citizens because they were receiving inequality. Not only did the inequality and separation of the Indian society frustrate the citizens of India, but the imperialism Britain had upon them as well. In the early 20th century, Indian nationalists wanted to take a stand against the British rule and make India independent. The British created unfair laws that created a nationalist movement
In The Raj Quartet, Paul Scott deftly represents one of the most tumultuous periods of British rule in India. Deviating from the trend of justifying colonialism and imperialism, Paul Scott, like E.M. Forster, displays a liberal humanist’s perspective in portraying the
The Sepoy Rebellion was caused by Cultural disrespect from the British. One example of this discourtesy was the increase in christian missionaries in India. The local people felt that this was an attempt to convert people from Hindu and Islam, and that Britain was pushing western culture on them. Another contributor to the notion of disrespect from the British was a rumor that the guns being issued to the indian soldiers were greased with pig and cow fat. Since these were sacred animals in Islam and Hindu, people of these religions saw this as further proof that the british were trying to take away their religions. Lastly, there were no Indians in the Legislative Council, so they had very little political power. These are a few of the things
On May 10th of 1857, Elphinstone was proven right when the Sepoy's rebelled against the British starting the Sepoy Rebellion. Prior to this rebellion, there had been other Sepoy led outbreaks. The difference being was that all of these were quickly and brutally ended by the British. The final “spark”, as Maria Elde...
Nicholas B. Dirks. (2011). Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India. Princeton University Press
4 # Stein, Burton (2001), a History of India, New Delhi and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. xiv, 432, p.222
The Sepoy Rebellion or the Indian Mutiny of 1857 rattled the British. Most of the Indian army was Hindu and they were taught that they will be defiled if they eat any part of a cow or pig. The Sepoy Rebellion was caused by the removal of the Muslim king of Oudh, Christianity being forced upon Muslims and Hindus, and the new rifle cartridges.
By the year 1857 the British had established complete political control of India. As Western education was introduced and missionaries eroded Hindu society resentment among Indian people grew and it was joined by unease among the old governing class when the British decided to formally abolish the Mughal Empire.
The decision to grant independence to India was not the logical culmination of errors in policy, neither was it as a consequence of a mass revolution forcing the British out of India, but rather, the decision was undertaken voluntarily. Patrick French argues that: “The British left India because they lost control over crucial areas of the administration, and lacked the will and the financial or military ability to recover that control”.