greased cartridges revolt of 1857
[13] In 1851-2 sepoys who were required to serve in the Second Anglo-Burmese War also refused to embark, but were merely sent to serve elsewhere. An uprising in several sepoy companies of the Bengal army was sparked by the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle in February 1857. But the spark was interestingly not so much of religious clashes, but the grease used in the new Enfield rifle. The army became an efficient professional body, drawn largely from the northwest and aloof from the national life. Advertising Notice The Sepoy Mutiny was a violent and very bloody uprising against British rule in India in 1857. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. In England, almost every child is aware that, with a smooth bored gun, no grease of any kind is required to ensure the proper loading of it, whilst with a rifle-bored piece such is necessary. So writes Mrs Peile, one of those who escaped from Delhi on 11 May 1857. Q. Destructive 'Super Pigs' From Canada Threaten the Northern U.S. [11] If the caste of high-caste sepoys was considered to be "polluted", they would have to expend considerable sums of money on ritual purification before being accepted back into society. To these points may be added the fact that the British garrison in Bengal had been reduced at this time to 23,000 men because of troop withdrawals for the Crimean and Persian wars. Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges. This event and Pandey's subsequent punishment led to more resentment among the sepoys of the Bengal Army ultimately aiding in the Revolt of 1857.. The campaign then settled down to British attempts to take Delhi and relieve Lucknow. Prior to the outbreak of the Revolt, Bahadur Shah Zafar lived in Delhi as a Pensioner of the British. The Revolt of 1857-58 was the biggest and bloodiest conflict against any European colonial power during the nineteenth century. When soldiers of the Bengal army mutinied in Meerut on May 10, 1857, tension had been growing for some time. It is called the chupatty movement. . He also passed decrees allowing Hindus who had converted to Christianity to be able to inherit property, which had previously been denied by local practice. This war of Independence marked the end of rule by the British East India company. I have the honour to inform you that a signal has passed through numbers of the villages in this district, the purport of which has not yet transpired. In the altercation, Pandey was surrounded by British troops and shot himself in the chest. Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. The Siege of Delhi. The Revolt of 1857 eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges. Privacy Statement Find out more about saving content to Google Drive. The Greased Cartridge: The Heroes and Villains of 1857-58, Rezensionen werden nicht berprft, Google sucht jedoch gezielt nach geflschten Inhalten und entfernt diese. Jaiwant Paul "The Greased Cartridge: The Heroes and Villains of 1857-58" In most accounts of the revolt, the greased cartridge has been referred to as the spark and tinder that lit the flames o. Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges. Pandey rebelled by shooting a British sergeant-major and a lieutenant. I had no conversation with the King on the subject; but others talked in his presence about it, wondering what could be the object. Once defiled, the theory went, men who had consumed the forbidden meal would be shunned by their co-religionists and would be easier to bring into the Christian fold, or could be sent as soldiers overseas (crossing the black water being forbidden to Hindus of high caste). India at the time of the 1857 rebellion. Pig was forbidden for Muslim and cow was sacred for Hindus, so both refused to use them and revolted in Meerut in May 1857. And where had the chowkidar got them? Though the revolt was suppressed later, it shook the foundation of British rule in India. The musketry books also recommended that, "Whenever the grease around the bullet appears to be melted away, or otherwise removed from the cartridge, the sides of the bullet should be wetted in the mouth before putting it into the barrel; the saliva will serve the purpose of grease for the time being" This meant that biting a musket cartridge was second nature to the Sepoys, some of whom had decades of service in the company's army, and who had been doing musket drill for every day of their service. However, in those two years, they were not ordered to use them. "[26] Their rule in India had begun with the Battle of Plassey in 1757. In the Punjab were some 10,000 British troops, which made it possible to disarm the Indian regiments; and the recently defeated Sikhs were so hostile to the Muslims that they supported the British against the Mughal restoration in Delhi. The surrender of Kanpur, after a relatively brief siege, was followed by a massacre of virtually all British citizens and loyal Indian soldiers at Kanpur. Some of these units belonged to states allied to the British or recently absorbed into British-administered territory, and of these, two large contingents from the states of Awadh and Gwalior readily joined the growing rebellion. To facilitate its passage, the cartridges were greased with tallow, which, in the U.K., was made of beef and pork fat. The revolt failed in overthrowing British Rule. Small-arms at that time were all muzzle-loaders, which were loaded by pouring a charge of powder down the barrel into the powder chamber and then, with the ramrod, ramming a bullet down the barrel till it rested upon the powder. Host of Midian: the chapati circulation and the Indian Revolt of 1857-58. Studies in History 16 (2000);Christopher Hibbert. However much of this sense of the invincibility of the British was lost in the First Anglo-Afghan War where poor political judgment and inept British leadership led to the massacre of Elphinstone's army (which included three Bengal regiments) while retreating from Kabul. A hardcore corporate, he initially worked for Hindustan Unilever and was later Director of Brooke Bond, India. The cartridge of the Enfield rifle was heavily greased - with animal fat, to facilitate an easier load into the muzzle. And the uprising became extremely violent. The Lucknow garrison held out in the residency from July 1, in spite of the death of Sir Henry Lawrence on July 4. Pandey, it should be noted, is considered a hero in India, and has been portrayed as a freedom fighter in films and even on an Indian postage stamp. A small British army was improvised, which held the ridge before Delhi against greatly superior forces until Sir John Lawrence was able to send a siege train under John Nicholson. A rumour spread that the cartridges of the new enfield rifles . Measures of prevention of future crises naturally began with the army, which was completely reorganized. These changes caused widespread resentment not only among the landed aristocracy but also caused great havoc to a larger section of the middle-class people. By a campaign in Avadh and Rohilkhand, Campbell cleared the countryside. Illustrations of events tended to reinforce Victorian notions of honor and bravery. This movement became much more than a military mutiny. It is also known by other names: the Indian Mutiny, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, or the Indian Revolt of 1857. The ratio of British to Indian troops was fixed at roughly 1:2 instead of 1:5one British and two Indian battalions were formed into brigades so that no sizable station should be without British troops. Cookie Settings. ), Find out more about saving to your Kindle, Book: The Mutiny Outbreak at Meerut in 1857, Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563386.003. Then came the Western innovations of the now overconfident British. Several events happened that led to the Sepoys revolting and was called the Indian Revolt of 1857. All Indian villages had one, and it was these men, running between their homes and the nearest neighboring settlement with chapatis, who so effectively raised panic among the ruling British. The Revolt of 1857 started as a Mutiny of the sepoys. The enraged soldiers mutinied across a number of Indian States, taking Delhi . Map: Wikicommons. The immediate cause of the Revolt was the issue of the greased cartridges. Rumors began to spread that the grease used to make the cartridges was derived from pigs and cows, which would be highly offensive to Muslims and Hindus. An uprising in several sepoy companies of the Bengal army was sparked by the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle in February 1857. But the wars against the Afghans and the Sikhs and then the annexations of Dalhousie alarmed and outraged them. Order was restored by the firmness of Charles John Canning (later Earl Canning), first viceroy of India (governed 185862), whose title of Clemency was given in derision by angry British merchants in Calcutta, and of Sir John Lawrence in the Punjab. It was against this backdrop of uneasiness in which the mutiny erupted in 1857. In a few hours the whole country was in a stir, from Chowkeydars flying around with these cakes. [16], At the beginning of the nineteenth century, British officers were generally closely involved with their troops, speaking Indian languages fluently; participating in local culture through such practices as having regimental flags and weapons blessed by Brahman priests; and frequently having native mistresses. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857-58 against the rule of the British East India Company, . Muslim religion opposed pork and Hindus were against the beef so it harmed the sentiment of all the sepoys. The officers continued to be British, but they were more closely linked with their men. on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. In an elaborate ceremony, Lord Lytton, the serving viceroy of India, honored a number of Indian princes. Setting out from Allahabad, Sir Henry Havelock fought through Kanpur to the Lucknow residency on September 25, where he was besieged in turn. } What are the major holidays and festivals of India? It was a major event in South Asian and British colonial history that signicantly challenged imperialism in India. For both Indians and British, the period was haunted with dark memories of the mutiny, and numerous measures were taken by the British raj to avoid another conflict. These recalcitrant troops were placed in irons, but their comrades soon came to their rescue. The Politics of a Popular Uprising: Bundelkhand in 1857 (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994);Mark Thornhill. From the confidential physician to the King of Delhi: Nobody can tell what was the object of the distribution of the chupatties. An uprising in several sepoy companies of the Bengal army was sparked by the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle in February 1857. A cartridge for the new Enfield rifle. Then the bullet had to be rammed down the rifled barrel. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. It was a source of inspiration for the national liberation movement, which later achieved what the revolt could not. Most Indians thought they were the work of the British, whothrough the East India Companyhad ruled over large portions of the country for almost a century (and were, according to one well-known prophecy, due to be unseated at that centurys end). Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges. Though paid marginally less than the Bombay and Madras Presidency troops, there was a tradition of trust between the soldiery and the establishment the soldiers felt needed and that the company would care for their welfare. The immediate cause of the Indian Revolt of 1857, or Sepoy Mutiny, was a seemingly minor change in the weapons used by the British East India Company's troops. By the time of the chupatty movement, no more than a handful of aged India hands could remember such long-ago events as the Vellore Mutiny. | READ MORE. of your Kindle email address below. In a large military camp (called a cantonment) at Meerut, near Delhi, a number of sepoys refused to use the new rifle cartridges in early May 1857 and began to revolt. A Chowkeydar ran up to another village with two chupatties. In most accounts of the revolt, the greased cartridge has been referred to as the spark and tinder that lit the flames of rebellion. Musket cartridges circa 1858 The Sepoys in the East India Company were first issued with the Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket in 1857. Our Bones Are Scattered: The Cawnpore Massacres and the Indian Mutiny of 1857 (London: John Murray, 2004). Mopping-up operations followed, lasting until the British capture of rebel leader Tantia Topi in April 1859. In 1824, there was another mutiny by a regiment ordered overseas in the First Anglo-Burmese War, who were refused transport to carry individual cooking vessels and told to share communal pots. Thousands of entirely blameless Indians who found themselves caught up in the hysterical aftermath of the rebellion were flogged, or blown from cannon, or forced to clean bloodied paving stones using only their tongues before being summarily hanged.
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