The Indian Rebellion of 1857
A mutiny becomes a widespread revolt, and the Crown takes over from the Company.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 365 days
- Known to
- ± 1 year
- Era
- Industrial, Holocene
Grievances over pay, annexation policy and religious interference — crystallised by rifle cartridges rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat — spark mutiny at Meerut in 1857 and a broad uprising across northern India. Suppression is extremely brutal on both sides. The East India Company is abolished in 1858 and India is ruled directly by the Crown. Indian nationalism later dates its beginnings here.