greased cartridges revolt of 1857greased cartridges revolt of 1857

What are the major holidays and festivals of India? KoboE. is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. There at a stroke was an army, a cause, and a national leaderthe only Muslim who appealed to both Hindus and Muslims. When Muslim and Hindu troops learned that the tip of the Enfield cartridge had to be bitten off to prepare it for firing, a number of troops refused, for religious reasons, to accept the ammunition. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. He survived and was put on trial and hanged on April 8, 1857. Greased Cartridges: The Revolt of 1857 was triggered by the use of new Enfield rifles whose cartridges were believed to be greased with cow and pig fat, leading to the refusal of both Hindu and Muslim sepoys to use them. Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges. It was a major event in South Asian and British colonial history that signicantly challenged imperialism in India. The soldiers performed well on the field of battle in exchange for which they were rewarded with symbolic heraldic rewards such as battle honors in addition to the extra pay or "batta" (foreign pay) routinely disbursed for operations committed beyond the established borders of Company rule. Seven Years' War: Major General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, Biography of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, 20 Facts About the Life of Mahatma Gandhi, independence movement against British rule. What was the issue of cartridges? Kanpur 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. In some districts like Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur, Bose and Jalal argue that "the revolt took on a distinctly millenarian flavor. It was against this backdrop of uneasiness in which the mutiny erupted 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. The Great Mutiny: India 1857 (London: Penguin, 1978);House of Commons. Certain actions of the government, such as increased recruitment of Sikhs and Gurkhas, peoples considered by the Bengal sepoys to be inferior in caste to them, increased the distrust of the sepoys who thought that this was a sign of their services not being needed any more. It was alluded to , and it was supposed to portend some coming disturbance, and was, moreover, understood as implying an invitation to the whole population of the country to unite for some secret objective afterwards to be disclosed. Following the disarming and disbandment of an additional seventeen Bengal Native Infantry regiments, which were suspected of planning mutiny, only twelve survived to serve in the new post-mutiny army. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. 1857 revolt started firstly on 29th March 1857 from Bairakpur (West Bengal) by Mangal Pandey. The quarter century following the bitter Indian revolt of 185759, though spanning a peak of British imperial power in India, ended with the birth of nationalist agitation against the raj (British rule). Yet discreet inquiries soon revealed that many hundreds of chapatis were passing through his district, and through other parts of India as welleverywhere from the Narmada river in the south to the border with Nepal several hundred miles to the north. A rumor that spread like wildfire among the sepoys (Indian soldiers) stationed at cantonments throughout the north of the country was that the British had come up with yet another diabolical contrivance for breaking their caste and defiling their bodies: the greased cartridge. A. of your Kindle email address below. In spite of their apparently desperate situation, the British possessed long-term advantages: they could and did receive reinforcements from Britain; they had, thanks to the resolution of Sir John Lawrence, a firm base in the Punjab, and they had another base in Bengal, where the people were quiet; they had virtually no anxiety in the south and only a little in the west; and they had an immense belief in themselves and their civilization, which gave resolution to their initial desperation. Vital though their Indian empire was to them, they controlled the subcontinent with a comparative handful of menabout 100,000 in all, less than half of whom were soldiers, ruling over a population of 250 millionand they were all too aware of just how inadequate these numbers would be in the event of any serious rebellion. The Company had upgraded to the new Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle, which used greased paper cartridges. Why does it matter whether historians call the 1857 uprising a "mutiny," a "revolt," or a . The new Enfield rifles, which were now being issued, had grooved or rifled barrels. Due to the need for technical specialists, the artillery units generally had a higher proportion of British personnel. Seen from a distance of 150 years, the chupatty movement can appear a quaint anomaly, a strange and colorful rumor of interest mostly to historians and psychologists. The movement that Hadow was describing was a remarkable example of rumor gone wild. Feature Flags: { There is no question that atrocities were committed by both sides, and stories of events of 185758 lived on in both Britain and India. Sepoys throughout India were issued with a new rifle, the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musketa more powerful and accurate weapon than the old but smoothbore Brown Bess they had been using for the previous decades. Indian sepoys believed that the cartridge was greased with either pig fat or made from cow fat. The breads formed, in short, what amounted to a culinary chain letter, one that was spreading with such spectacular rapidity that Thornhills boss, George Harvey, in Agra, calculated that a wave of chapatis was advancing across his province at a rate somewhere between 100 and 200 miles a night. The resumption of tax-free land and confiscation of jagirs (the grant or right to locally control land revenue) caused discontent among the jagirdars and zamindars. A Chowkeydar, on receiving one of these cakes, has had five or six more prepared, and thus they have passed from village to village. An idea has been industriously circulated that the Government has given the order. In an elaborate ceremony, Lord Lytton, the serving viceroy of India, honored a number of Indian princes. The uprising was officially declared over on July 8, 1859. Famous For: Revolt of 1857. 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. He survived and was put on trial and hanged on April 8, 1857. More disturbing to traditional sensibilities were the interventions, in the name of humanity, in the realm of Hindu custome.g., the prohibition of suttee, the campaign against infanticide, the law legalizing remarriage of Hindu widows. Along with the previously mentioned illustration in Ballou's Pictorial, numerous American newspapers published accounts of the violence in India. 24 October 2009. Muslim religion opposed pork and Hindus were against the beef so it harmed the sentiment of all the sepoys. . It is called the chupatty movement. . To load the rifle, the end of the cartridge containing the powder had to be bitten off so that the charge would ignite. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, sepoys tended to take great pride in their military prowess, and they exhibited enormous loyalty to their British officers. The Revolt of 1857-58 was the biggest and bloodiest conflict against any European colonial power during the nineteenth century. Western inventions such as the telegraph and railways aroused the prejudice of a conservative society (though Indians crowded the trains when they had them). Indian soldiers in the East India Company's armies believed they risked defilement because the new rounds were being issued greased with the fat of pigs and cowsuntrue, but sufficient to spark the most dangerous uprising against British imperial rule since the American Revolution. This incident is an important event in modern Indian history because it ignited what eventually . No, it is not by any means a custom; I am 50 years old, and never heard of such a thing before. Musket cartridges circa 1858 The Sepoys in the East India Company were first issued with the Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket in 1857. Following the fighting of 185758, India was legally considered a colony of Britain, ruled by a viceroy. 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. Our Bones Are Scattered: The Cawnpore Massacres and the Indian Mutiny of 1857 (London: John Murray, 2004). On March 29, 1857, on the parade ground at Barrackpore, a sepoy named Mangal Pandey fired the first shot of the uprising. [2][3], Religious disquiet as the cause of rebellion underlies the work of historian William Dalrymple who asserts that the rebels were motivated primarily by resistance to the actions of the English East India Company(also called British East India Company), especially under James Broun-Ramsay reign, which were perceived as attempts to impose Christianity and Christian laws in India. It is not known who first projected the plan. The revolt is known by several names. The system was subject to abuse, and the company used it to annex territories in a questionable manner. His unit in the Bengal Army, which had refused to use the new rifle cartridges, was about to be disarmed and punished. [10], Caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army were not merely tolerated but encouraged in the early years of the company's rule. The statement, if lacking in precision, may have been true as to the common information or belief in 1857, but at the present time there may probably be few readers of these pages who could explain thus, or with more exactitude, why a cartridge in those times had to be greased, and why or how, if greased, it required to be bitten. In the altercation, Pandey was surrounded by British troops and shot himself in the chest. The Indian Mutiny of 1857-59 was a widespread but unsuccessful rebellion against the rule of British East India Company in India which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British crown. But the spark was interestingly not so much of religious clashes, but the grease used in the new Enfield rifle. [14], The pay of the sepoy was relatively low and after Awadh and the Punjab were annexed, the soldiers no longer received extra pay (batta or bhatta) if posted there, because this was no longer considered "foreign service". Illustrations of events tended to reinforce Victorian notions of honor and bravery. This allowed different meanings an interpretations to be attributed to them, and the chapattis became an index of peoples thoughts and worries. McNamara, Robert. All of the Bengal Native Cavalry regiments and 45 of the infantry units rebelled at some point. The whole episode falls into three periods: first came the summer of 1857, when the British, without reinforcements from home, fought with their backs to the wall; the second concerned the operations for the relief of Lucknow in the autumn; and the third was the successful campaign of Sir Colin Campbell (later Baron Clyde) and Sir Hugh Henry Rose (later Baron Strathnairn of Strathnairn and Jhansi) in the first half of 1858. Politically, many princes of India had retired into seclusion after their final defeat in 1818. The dramatic capture of Delhi turned mutiny into full-scale revolt. This book is essentially about the heroes - Tatya Tope, Nana Saheb, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur - and not to forget, a few villains. [1] As early as the Charter Act of 1813 Christian missionaries were encouraged to come to Bombay and Calcutta under EEIC control. Few of these participated in the rebellion, and one contingent in particular (the recently raised Punjab Irregular Force) actively participated on the British side. There was thus a suppressed tension in the countryside, ready to break out whenever governmental pressure might be reduced. Mike Dash (See Barrackpore Mutiny.). Whether the cartridge was unballed or balled, it was necessary, in loading a muzzle-loader, to open the end of the cartridge. To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org Thornhill examined the chapatis in his office. @kindle.com emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply. This war of Independence marked the end of rule by the British East India company. The sepoys rejected this, pointing out that they might very well forget and bite the cartridge, not surprising given the extensive drilling that allowed 19th century British and Indian troops to fire three to four rounds per minute. He first defeated the Gwalior contingent and then, when the rebels Tantia Topi and Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi had seized Gwalior, broke up their forces in two more battles. The Revolt of 1857 started as a Mutiny of the sepoys. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857-58 against the rule of the British East India Company, . [17], Officers of an evangelical persuasion in the company's Army (such as Herbert Edwardes and Colonel S.G. Wheler of the 34th Bengal Infantry) had taken to preaching to their Sepoys in the hope of converting them to Christianity. The rebels were . That, combined with a declining number of British officers who understood India, spoke Indian languages fluently or had any real sympathy for the people whom they ruled, meant that the colonial hierarchy remained perpetually jittery. (2021, July 31). @free.kindle.com emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. Mason, Philip (1974), page 190 "A Matter of Honour", London: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston. Render date: 2023-03-01T21:49:14.745Z Scottish Highlanders charge during the suppression of the rebellion of 1857. A hardcore corporate, he initially worked for Hindustan Unilever and was later Director of Brooke Bond, India. It began on a point of caste pollution; its leaders were traditionalists who looked to reviving the past, while the small new Westernized class actively supported the British. } In another, however, the appalling atrocities visited by the Companys armies on the people of northern India were far from justified, since the British proved to be just as prone to rumors and panics as their Indian subjects. Later, the attitudes of British officers changed with increased intolerance, lack of involvement and unconcern of the welfare of troops becoming manifest more and more. Outraged by events such as the massacre of women and children at Cawnpore, some British officers believed that hanging mutineers was too humane. Mangal Pandey, (born July 19, 1827, Akbarpur, Indiadied April 8, 1857, Barrackpore), Indian soldier whose attack on British officers on March 29, 1857, was the first major incident of what came to be known as the Indian, or Sepoy, Mutiny (in India the uprising is often called the First War of Independence or other similar names). The army so far had been quipped with the smooth-barrelled musket, which had a protracted loading procedure and was not accurate over long ranges. The immediate cause of military disaffection was the deployment of the new breech-loading Enfield rifle, the cartridge of which was purportedly greased with pork and beef fat. Both Hindu and Muslim sepoys refused to use them. [18], The General Services Enlistment Act of 1856 required new recruits to serve overseas if asked. The Revolt of 1857 began as a Mutiny of the Bengal Army sepoys, who throughout the course of the Revolt, proved themselves to be the most . A number of Indians began to suspect that the British intended to convert the Indian population to Christianity. The Revolt of 1857 in India eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges. Another important source of discontent among the Indian rulers was that the British policies of conquest had created significant unrest. Wild stories circulated freely in the panic-stricken atmosphere of 1857, and there were enough real massacres and murders to make almost anything seem possible. The signal spread in all directions with wonderful celerity. The chupatty movement first came to British attention early in February 1857. Some Indians were upset with the draconian rule of the Company who had embarked on a project of territorial expansion and westernization that was imposed without any regard for historical subtleties in Indian society. They bore no message, and were identical to the breads cooked in every home in India, a staple part (even today) of the locals diet. And when the Indian independence movement gained momentum in the 20th century, events of the Revolt of 1857 were viewed as having been an early battle for independence, while individuals such as Mangal Pandey were hailed as early national heroes. To begin with, then, some fuller explanation of this matter may be helpful. Sepoys were forced to watch such displays as it was believed it set an example of the horrific death that awaited mutineers. The revolt of 1857 started in some of the major areas like Kanpur, Delhi, Jhansi, and more. The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. A keen cricketer and tennis player, he now lives in Delhi and serves as director of a few companies. When soldiers of the Bengal army mutinied in Meerut on May 10, 1857, tension had been growing for some time. In 1877, outside Delhi, essentially in the spot where bloody fighting had taken place 20 years earlier, an event called the Imperial Assemblage was held. The revolt failed in overthrowing British Rule. The army became an efficient professional body, drawn largely from the northwest and aloof from the national life. 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.. [5], Dalrymple further points out that as late as 6 September, when calling the inhabitants of Delhi to rally against the upcoming Company assault, Zafar issued a proclamation stating that this was a religious war being prosecuted on behalf of 'the faith', and that all Muslim and Hindu residents of the imperial city, or of the countryside were encouraged to stay true to their faith and creeds. Partly owing to this, Bengal sepoys were not subject to the penalty of flogging as were the European soldiers. One common punishment was to tie mutineers to the mouth of a cannon and then fire the cannon, completely obliterating the victim. The Great Fear of 1857: Rumours, Conspiracies and the Making of the Indian Uprising (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2010);Andrew Ward. Match the Country with Its Hemisphere Quiz, Baron Strathnairn of Strathnairn and Jhansi. Match the following: Answer: [12], There had been earlier indications that all was not well in the armies of the East India Company. was the rumour that the newly issued rie cartridges would be greased either with tallow, derived from beef and thereby oensive to Hindus, or lard, derived from pork and thereby oensive to Muslims. The Revolt of 1857-58 was the biggest and bloodiest conflict against any European colonial power during the nineteenth century. There was therefore both resentment and unease among the old governing class, fanned in Delhi by the British decision to end the Mughal imperial title on Bahdur Shahs death. The greased cartridges thus posed precisely the same threat to observant sepoys as would flour adulterated with the blood of pigs and cows, and though the British recognized the problem early on, and never issued a single greased cartridge to any Indian troops, fear that the Company was plotting to defile them took hold among the men of many Indian regiments and resulted in the outbreak of rebellion in the cantonment of Meerut in April 1857. the Indian Mutiny, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, or the Indian Revolt of 1857. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/sepoy-mutiny-of-1857-1774014. Measures of prevention of future crises naturally began with the army, which was completely reorganized. Its cartridges consisted of a .577 inch ball projectile and a charge of gun powder propellant wrapped in waterproofed cartridge paper. On May 9, 1857, some 4,000 British soldiers and sepoysnative Indian troopsformed a three-sided hollow square on the parade ground at the Meerut military cantonment, 40 miles northeast of Delhi, to witness punishment. on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Down-country operations centred on the relief of Lucknow. It is also known by other names: the Indian Mutiny, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, or the Indian Revolt of 1857. This included an increase in the taxation on land. Tall tales, panic and misapprehension spread readily in such a climate, and plenty of people felt a certain disquiet in the early months of 1857. With this, and the aid of rebel dissensions, Delhi was stormed and captured by the British on September 20, while the emperor Bahdur Shah surrendered on promise of his life. The immediate cause of military disaffection was the deployment of the new breech-loading Enfield rifle, the cartridge of which was purportedly greased with pork and beef fat. The particular reason, the greased cartridges for the Enfield rifles, was a mistake rectified as soon as it was discovered; but the fact that explanations and reissues could not quell the soldiers suspicions suggests that the troops were already disturbed by other causes. Under a British policy called the "doctrine of lapse," the East India Company would take control of Indian states in which a local ruler had died without an heir. But the only evidence for either of these was the circulation from village to village of chapatis, or cakes of unleavened bread, a practice that, though it also occurred on other occasions, was known to have taken place at any time of unrest. In 1885, however, the founding of the Indian National Congress marked the beginnings of effective, organized protest for national self-determination. At some point the chapattis passed beyond the limits of their meaningful transmission and simply continued through the country as a blank message. Once the first rebellions took place, it was clear to most British commanders that the grievances which led to them were felt throughout the Bengal army and no Indian unit could wholly be trusted, although many officers continued to vouch for their men's loyalty, even in the face of captured correspondence indicating their intention to rebel. One thing did not change in this new weapon the loading process, which did not improve significantly until the introduction of breech loaders and metallic, one-piece cartridges a few decades later. The military cause was both particular and general. [7] Several years before the sepoys' mutiny, Lord William Bentinck had attacked several jagirs in western Bengal. The Lucknow garrison held out in the residency from July 1, in spite of the death of Sir Henry Lawrence on July 4. The chapatis were real, but no one knew for sure what they were for. Indian soldiers had to blow the cartridge which was made of pork and beef. A cartridge for the new Enfield rifle. 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. Company officers became aware of the rumours through reports of an altercation between a high-caste sepoy and a low-caste labourer at Dum Dum. The Muslims had lost the large state of Avadh; the Marathas had lost Nagpur, Satara, and Jhansi.

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