Among the well known revolutions in India is the Sepoy mutiny of 1857. This was an uprising against the British colonialists. Some historians refer to this rebellion as the Indian rebellion, or Revolt of 1857. According to many historians, the uprising caught the colonialists by surprise because they thought they were in full control of the area.
As a way of maintaining control over trade in India, the British East Indian Company decided to recruit native population or Sepoys into its troops. This move was also followed by the British government took the locals into their army. They then trained them on their fighting methods and how to use their weapons. They would later use them in fighting their conquests and maintaining stability.
With no time, the sepoys had outnumbered the Europeans in their army. The British used this strong troop to take control of almost two thirds of the land in India. They then began to affect their rule among the local people. They introduced their technology, began missionary and evangelical work, introduced their system of administration and reformed land ownership practices. This invasion in every part of life of the local people was not taken well by many.
There was tension among the local people due to these many changes. But they did not have the will to revolt. This was later to change as something happened that sparked the later then rebellion. In 1853, the British East India Company had decided to improve the firearms and introduced bullets that used paper cartridges which were greased. These weapons required the locals to tear the paper with their teeth in order to open the cartridges and load their firearms. Rumors then began escalating among the locals that the cartridges had been greased by oil from beef and pork 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.
It is this rumor among other factors that saw the revolution first begin in a place known as Meerut. This place was among the first areas to receive the new weapons. The Sepoys murdered any European they met. The revolution then spread to other places like Sahib, Rajputna, Delhi, Oudh, Lucknow and Cawnpore. At this time, the British manufacturers had made an attempt to quell this anger by removing grease on the new cartridges. But this only made things worse.
The British then discovered that over 200 of their men, women and children had murdered, they decided retaliate. This they did by capturing any suspected mutineer and then executing him accordingly. Their retaliatory attacks continued for almost six months until they succeed in restoring their power back. This was 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.
As a way of maintaining control over trade in India, the British East Indian Company decided to recruit native population or Sepoys into its troops. This move was also followed by the British government took the locals into their army. They then trained them on their fighting methods and how to use their weapons. They would later use them in fighting their conquests and maintaining stability.
With no time, the sepoys had outnumbered the Europeans in their army. The British used this strong troop to take control of almost two thirds of the land in India. They then began to affect their rule among the local people. They introduced their technology, began missionary and evangelical work, introduced their system of administration and reformed land ownership practices. This invasion in every part of life of the local people was not taken well by many.
There was tension among the local people due to these many changes. But they did not have the will to revolt. This was later to change as something happened that sparked the later then rebellion. In 1853, the British East India Company had decided to improve the firearms and introduced bullets that used paper cartridges which were greased. These weapons required the locals to tear the paper with their teeth in order to open the cartridges and load their firearms. Rumors then began escalating among the locals that the cartridges had been greased by oil from beef and pork 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.
It is this rumor among other factors that saw the revolution first begin in a place known as Meerut. This place was among the first areas to receive the new weapons. The Sepoys murdered any European they met. The revolution then spread to other places like Sahib, Rajputna, Delhi, Oudh, Lucknow and Cawnpore. At this time, the British manufacturers had made an attempt to quell this anger by removing grease on the new cartridges. But this only made things worse.
The British then discovered that over 200 of their men, women and children had murdered, they decided retaliate. This they did by capturing any suspected mutineer and then executing him accordingly. Their retaliatory attacks continued for almost six months until they succeed in restoring their power back. This was 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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