![]() ![]() For close to century, the EIC remained the dominant force on the subcontinent: they conquered every opposition to its imperialism with military brutality.įrom 1820, the EIC began making many changes to India’s legal system as well as introducing new ideas and technology to boost its trading fortunes in the region. It’s massive army was divided into three: Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. The EIC conquered many princely states and Mughal areas and governed more than half of the Indian subcontinent. The EIC had its tentacles in a host of commodities, including sugar, spices, tea, opium, and cotton.Īlthough the Company’s initial mission was to conduct business with India and Southeast Asia in the “Indian Ocean trade,” it eventually entered into the business of imperialism. This made the company not only wealthy but also extremely influential across the globe. It’s said that the EIC conducted about half of the world’s trade. At its greatest extent, around the mid-19th century, the EIC could boast of more than a quarter of a million forces, which at the time dwarfed the British army itself. ![]() Having emerged on the scene in India in the mid-18th century, it took the EIC less than 50 years to control more than 17 territories in India. Moreover, the territories of ethnic groups and kings were always under threat of being conquered by external forces. Instead, it existed as a territory of many ethnic groups governed by different kings and rulers. It was neither a nation-state nor was it similar to the country of India as it is now known. The political landscape of India from the 16th century to the 19th century shared minimal similarity with modern-day India. Image: Flag of the British East India Company At it’s peak, the EIC could boast of more than a quarter of a million forces, which at the time dwarfed the British army itself. ![]() The East India Company was undoubtedly the largest trade company in the 18th century, accounting for about half of the world’s trade. How the British East India Company came to rule large parts of the Indian subcontinent This led to the creation of several legislative acts that favored the Indians.īelow, we take an in-depth look at the other major causes and effects of the Indian Mutiny of 1857.īut first, here is a quick summary of how the EIC came to wield such enormous power on the Indian subcontinent and other parts of Southeast Asia. Having learnt a great deal from the two-year mutiny, the British gradually began to involve Indians in policy-making and the administration of the county. However, the immediate effect of it was that the British ended the rule of the EIC in India, and rule of India was transferred (under the Government of India Act 1858) to the British Crown, which at the time was Queen Victoria. The British were the victors of the rebellion. In the two years that followed, close to a quarter of a million lost their lives during the mutiny. A fierce confrontation broke out between the Sepoys and British officers in 1857 when the former refused using guns made of pig and cow extracts. It’s often said that the Sepoys were the biggest drivers of the rebellion. Indian soldiers serving under the British EIC) began to challenge their British commanders. They use these terms for the uprising since they believe it only broke out because Sepoys (i.e. On the other hand, the British refer to the uprising as the Indian Mutiny or the Sepoy Mutiny. Both Indian civilians and soldiers fought against the British troops during the rebellion. Basically, the mutiny was aimed at reclaiming the territories that the British East India Company (EIC) had seized for many decades. Many Indians believe the uprising was their country’s first real violent action against British rule. Spanning about two years (from to July 8, 1859), this historic uprising came to be known as the First War of Independence or the Great Rebellion. This widespread revolt was arguably the highest threat to British colonialism in India until the country’s independence in 1947. The Indian Rebellion, also known as the Indian Mutiny of 1857, was a major revolt orchestrated by Indians to oppose the authority of the British East India Company (EIC), a multinational trade company that ruled large parts of the Indian subcontinent beginning around 1757. Image: 7th Hussars, charging a body of the Mutineer’s Cavalry, Alambagh, Lucknow Major Causes and Effects of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 – aka the First War of Independence. ![]()
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