The British in India - Topic 6.3.1 Flashcards
The immediate causes, and conflict of the Indian Rebellion
What was the personality and philosophy of Governor Dalhousie?
1848-56
Dalhousie was an energetic moderniser, reformer and committed Utilitarian, devoted to his vision of an improved India.
During his governorship, Punjab was subjugated, and focused on subduing the central India princely states as he saw them as a conservative force getting in the way of his modernisations.
The first railroads were constructed, the first telegraph line was laid and the Penny Post was introduced.
How did the reforms of Dalhousie contribute to the Indian Rebellion?
1848-56
By assuming British paramountcy, he drew up the conditions in which it was stated that the British would and should intervene in the affairs of a native state. The doctrine of lapse was one of this interventions. The doctrine was in direct conflict with Hindu law, which allowed for the succession of an adopted son in such cases. The doctrine also applied when the state was being misgoverned and also redefining a number of ruler titles and powers as non-hereditary.
Why was the annexation of Awadh significant?
11th February 1856
Awadh was annexed under the doctrine of lapse as the King was accused of maladministration. Awadh was the seventh annexation under the doctrine.
Awadh was a traditional recruiting ground of the sepoys of the Bengali army. The British announced that land would be taken from all talukdars¹ unable to prove legal title to their estates. The British attack on social order was deeply destabilising and its annexation widely resented.
¹ - An Indian landholder responsible for tax collection
What was the importance of the General Enlistment Act of 1856?
Governor Canning - 1856-58
The Bengali army now had to march where they were previously unable to. Travel over water would pollute caste. Canning wanted to use the Bengali army with the other two company armies in Burma. The Act only applied to new recruits, but current sepoys feared they’d be next.
Why was the greased cartridge significant in the causes of the Rebellion?
1857
Rumors were circulating that the new cartridges, with the Lee Enfield rifle, were about to be issued, and that they were lubricated by animal fat, defiling both Hindus and Muslims. With the added long-term cause of the rebellion of the missionaries, the greased cartridge added to the belief that Britain’s christianisation of India was in full force.
What was the immediate cause of the Indian Rebellion?
9th May 1857
After the court martial of 85 sepoys for refusing to load the new rifles in Meerut, all three sepoy regiments rose in revolt while the British were at chruch, freeing the original mutineers and then proceeding to massacre all the local Europeans, including women and children.
