[Illustrated with over one hundred maps, photos and portraits, of the battles, individuals and places involved in the Indian Mutiny]
By 1857, the British power in India had been largely undisputed for almost fifty years by even the most powerful of the native princes since the days of Governor-General Wellesley. The East India Company, under licence from the British Crown, expanded and annexed more and more territory until the government of the majority of India lay in its hands. However, the armies of the East India Company were largely recruited from the native people of India; the famed soldiers of their Sepoy regiments were in fact the instruments of the imperialist powers. This inherent weakness would be exposed during the events of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-1858, also known as the First War Of Indian Independence, as those very Sepoy soldiers turned against their erstwhile British employers.
The events that led up to the Revolt were many and varied, including British highhandedness, ignorance of local customs and religious values, and incendiary propaganda. It is generally argued that the spark that lit the flame was the rumour that the newly issued Enfield Rifles cartridges would be greased either with tallow, derived from beef and thereby offensive to Hindu soldiers, or lard, derived from pork and thereby offensive to Muslim soldiers. The enraged soldiers mutinied across a number of Indian States, taking over control of Delhi, besieging Lucknow, and revolting in Oudh. The British struggled to retain their control on these states and it was only with the help of allied Indian princes who refused to align themselves with the revolt and often provided troops to put down the rebels. The Mutiny also did not reach all parts of the sub-continent: the quiet in Bengal, the Bombay presidency and the Madras presidency enabled the company to transfer Sikh troops to quell the rebellion elsewhere.
In the middle of these tumultuous events was Ruth Coopland, wife of Reverend Coopland who had been sent to the important city of Agra some 200 miles south of Delhi, not directly controlled by the British but allied with them. Although not long in the Sub-continent she became accustomed to the new culture, however her world would soon become shattered as the news of the uprising of the Sepoys spread. Her own household servants became sullen, aggressive and possibly murderous; she recounts how the atmosphere began to heat up as rumours of slaughters abounded. The author and her family, along with other Europeans in Gwalior were on a knife-edge not knowing where they might flee to gain shelter. Finally the clouds broke, the rebellion finally reached Gwalior and anyone British was a target for cold-blooded murder, her husband was killed in the initial stages of the fighting and as rioting carried on she made good here escape in the company of other women. After the loss of her husband her travails only increased as she attempted to escape to the fort at Agra which she describes in all of its perilous details. Thereafter she recounts the difficulties and struggles she encountered as she and the survivors tried to hold on amid the Mutiny and put their lives back together. She was eventually able after the fighting died down to return to England where she was determined that her story, as an exemplar of the larger suffering, should be made know to the public.
By 1857, the British power in India had been largely undisputed for almost fifty years by even the most powerful of the native princes since the days of Governor-General Wellesley. The East India Company, under licence from the British Crown, expanded and annexed more and more territory until the government of the majority of India lay in its hands. However, the armies of the East India Company were largely recruited from the native people of India; the famed soldiers of their Sepoy regiments were in fact the instruments of the imperialist powers. This inherent weakness would be exposed during the events of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-1858, also known as the First War Of Indian Independence, as those very Sepoy soldiers turned against their erstwhile British employers.
The events that led up to the Revolt were many and varied, including British highhandedness, ignorance of local customs and religious values, and incendiary propaganda. It is generally argued that the spark that lit the flame was the rumour that the newly issued Enfield Rifles cartridges would be greased either with tallow, derived from beef and thereby offensive to Hindu soldiers, or lard, derived from pork and thereby offensive to Muslim soldiers. The enraged soldiers mutinied across a number of Indian States, taking over control of Delhi, besieging Lucknow, and revolting in Oudh. The British struggled to retain their control on these states and it was only with the help of allied Indian princes who refused to align themselves with the revolt and often provided troops to put down the rebels. The Mutiny also did not reach all parts of the sub-continent: the quiet in Bengal, the Bombay presidency and the Madras presidency enabled the company to transfer Sikh troops to quell the rebellion elsewhere.
In the middle of these tumultuous events was Ruth Coopland, wife of Reverend Coopland who had been sent to the important city of Agra some 200 miles south of Delhi, not directly controlled by the British but allied with them. Although not long in the Sub-continent she became accustomed to the new culture, however her world would soon become shattered as the news of the uprising of the Sepoys spread. Her own household servants became sullen, aggressive and possibly murderous; she recounts how the atmosphere began to heat up as rumours of slaughters abounded. The author and her family, along with other Europeans in Gwalior were on a knife-edge not knowing where they might flee to gain shelter. Finally the clouds broke, the rebellion finally reached Gwalior and anyone British was a target for cold-blooded murder, her husband was killed in the initial stages of the fighting and as rioting carried on she made good here escape in the company of other women. After the loss of her husband her travails only increased as she attempted to escape to the fort at Agra which she describes in all of its perilous details. Thereafter she recounts the difficulties and struggles she encountered as she and the survivors tried to hold on amid the Mutiny and put their lives back together. She was eventually able after the fighting died down to return to England where she was determined that her story, as an exemplar of the larger suffering, should be made know to the public.
