History
The Revolt of 1857
The Revolt of 1857 — Quick Revision
One-page CGPSC quick revision for the Revolt of 1857: causes, dates, centres, leaders, British officers, historians and the changes of 1858.
The Revolt of 1857 on one page: causes, timeline, centres, leaders, British commanders, historians and consequences. For explanations, go back to the chapter.
How to use this sheet
Scan it top to bottom in the week before Prelims. Bold entries are the facts examiners return to most often.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1848–1854 | Doctrine of Lapse (Dalhousie): Satara 1848, Jaitpur and Sambalpur 1849, Udaipur 1852, Jhansi 1853, Nagpur 1854 |
| Feb 1856 | Awadh annexed for misgovernance (Wajid Ali Shah) |
| 1856 | General Service Enlistment Act (Canning); Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act |
| Feb 1857 | 19th BNI refuses cartridges at Berhampur |
| 29 Mar 1857 | Mangal Pandey, 34th BNI, attacks officers at Barrackpore; hanged 8 Apr |
| 9 May 1857 | 85 sowars of the 3rd Light Cavalry sentenced at Meerut |
| 10 May 1857 | Meerut outbreak |
| 11 May 1857 | Delhi seized; Bahadur Shah II proclaimed Emperor of Hindustan |
| June 1857 | Risings at Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Bareilly |
| Sept 1857 | Delhi recaptured; Bahadur Shah surrenders at Humayun’s Tomb |
| 10 Dec 1857 | Veer Narayan Singh hanged at Raipur |
| 26 Feb 1858 | Maniram Dewan hanged at Jorhat |
| Mar 1858 | Lucknow recaptured (Colin Campbell) |
| Apr 1858 | Jhansi stormed (Hugh Rose); Kunwar Singh dies (26 Apr) |
| June 1858 | Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah killed (5 June); Rani Lakshmibai killed near Gwalior (17 or 18 June); Gwalior retaken |
| July 1858 | Peace proclaimed |
| 2 Aug 1858 | Government of India Act, 1858 |
| 1 Nov 1858 | Queen’s Proclamation, read by Canning at Allahabad |
| 18 Apr 1859 | Tantia Tope executed at Shivpuri |
| 7 Nov 1862 | Bahadur Shah II dies in Rangoon |
Causes
| Type | Key points |
|---|---|
| Political | Doctrine of Lapse; Awadh (1856); Nana Saheb’s pension refused; threat to the Mughal title |
| Economic | High land revenue; Awadh talukdars dispossessed; ruin of artisans; Inam Commission (1852) |
| Socio-religious | Sati abolition 1829; Religious Disabilities Act 1850; Widows’ Remarriage Act 1856; missionaries; racial arrogance |
| Military | Low pay, no promotion; General Service Enlistment Act 1856; loss of bhatta; Post Office Act 1854 |
| Immediate | Enfield rifle cartridges rumoured greased with cow and pig fat |
Centres, Leaders and Suppressors
| Centre | Leader | Suppressed by |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | Bahadur Shah II, Bakht Khan | Nicholson, Wilson, Hodson |
| Kanpur | Nana Saheb, Tantia Tope, Azimullah Khan | Havelock, Campbell |
| Lucknow | Begum Hazrat Mahal | Havelock, Outram, Campbell |
| Jhansi | Rani Lakshmibai | Hugh Rose |
| Gwalior | Tantia Tope, Rani Lakshmibai | Hugh Rose |
| Arrah / Jagdishpur | Kunwar Singh | William Taylor, Vincent Eyre |
| Bareilly | Khan Bahadur Khan | Campbell |
| Faizabad | Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah | — |
| Allahabad | Maulvi Liaqat Ali | Colonel Neill |
| Assam | Maniram Dewan | — |
| Sambalpur | Surendra Sai | — |
| Ramgarh (Mandla) | Rani Avantibai Lodhi | — |
| Sonakhan / Raipur | Veer Narayan Singh; Hanuman Singh (Raipur, Jan 1858) | See CG chapter |
Historians and Books
| Author | Work / view |
|---|---|
| John Seeley | “Wholly unpatriotic and selfish Sepoy Mutiny” |
| V.D. Savarkar | The Indian War of Independence of 1857 (1909) |
| R.C. Majumdar | The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857 (1957): “neither first, nor national, nor a war of independence” |
| S.N. Sen | Eighteen Fifty-Seven (1957), official centenary history: “began as a fight for religion, ended as a war of independence” |
| Sir Syed Ahmad Khan | Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (1859) |
| Benjamin Disraeli | Asked in Parliament (1857) whether it was a military mutiny or a national revolt |
| Eric Stokes | The Peasant Armed (1986) |
Consequences
| Change | Detail |
|---|---|
| Act of 1858 | Company rule ended; Secretary of State + Council of India (15); Governor-General also Viceroy (Canning first); Board of Control and Court of Directors abolished |
| Queen’s Proclamation | No annexation; respect for princes; religious non-interference; equal law; office regardless of race or creed; amnesty |
| Peel Commission | More European troops (about 1:2 in the Bengal Army); artillery with Europeans; mixed regiments (“divide and counterpoise”) |
| Policy | Doctrine of Lapse dropped; princes as allies; caution on social reform; divide and rule |
| New laws | IPC 1860; income tax 1860; Indian Councils Act 1861 |
| Chhattisgarh | Central Provinces formed 1861 |
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Barrackpore: Mangal Pandey, 29 Mar 1857 | Meerut: outbreak of 10 May 1857 | |
| Awadh: annexed for misgovernance | Jhansi, Nagpur, Satara: annexed by lapse | |
| Henry Lawrence: killed at Lucknow | John Lawrence: kept Punjab loyal | |
| Hugh Rose: Jhansi, Gwalior | Hugh Wheeler: Kanpur garrison | |
| Act of 1858 (2 Aug): machinery | Proclamation (1 Nov, Allahabad): policy | |
| Majumdar: “neither first, nor national…” | Sen: “religion to independence” |
Favourite MCQ trap
“Mangal Pandey led the Meerut uprising” and “Awadh was annexed by the Doctrine of Lapse” are both false. So is “Rani Lakshmibai died at Jhansi”: she died near Gwalior.
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