The Sepoy mutiny of 1857 is a well known Indian revolution during British colonization. It is sometimes referred to as the Great rebellion, Revolt of 1857 or the Sepoy mutiny. This revolt took the British by surprise when it began as they had been blinded by their thought that they had taken control over two thirds of India.
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.
Although tension existed among the people after on introduction of the European rule, it was not enough to warrant a revolution. But later, something happened that saw this calm change into a rebellion. This was after the British East Indian Company made changes to the weapons used. They created paper cartridges that were greased and for anyone to load them into a firearm, they would have to use their teeth to open the cartridges. With this introduction, rumors started rising that grease on the cartridges composed of fat from beef and pork.
This did not go down well with the locals in Hinduism which is the main religion of most Indians; a cow is a sacred animal. Therefore its consumption is forbidden. Also in India, Islam is also practiced by many locals and to them a pig is unclean and its consumption is considered an abomination. The local people saw that this was an attempt by the British colonialists to change them to Christianity and they were utterly disgusted by this.
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.
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.
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.
Although tension existed among the people after on introduction of the European rule, it was not enough to warrant a revolution. But later, something happened that saw this calm change into a rebellion. This was after the British East Indian Company made changes to the weapons used. They created paper cartridges that were greased and for anyone to load them into a firearm, they would have to use their teeth to open the cartridges. With this introduction, rumors started rising that grease on the cartridges composed of fat from beef and pork.
This did not go down well with the locals in Hinduism which is the main religion of most Indians; a cow is a sacred animal. Therefore its consumption is forbidden. Also in India, Islam is also practiced by many locals and to them a pig is unclean and its consumption is considered an abomination. The local people saw that this was an attempt by the British colonialists to change them to Christianity and they were utterly disgusted by this.
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.
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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