SPI History · Modern India
Company Rule and the Revolt of 1857
How the East India Company took power from the Nawabs, Rajas and the Mughal emperor, and how the revolt of 1857 spread from Meerut before the British crushed it.
Why this matters
Six questions in the bank, three EASY and three MODERATE. They ask for a place, a leader or a year: where the revolt began, who led it at Kanpur, when the British regained control, and what became of the last Mughal emperor. Each year has a different event, so mixing up 1857, 1858 and 1859 costs the mark.
Concept 1 of 2: The Company, the Nawabs and the last Mughal
The East India Company came to trade and stayed to rule. It won battles, took over the right to collect revenue, and then used treaties and new rules to swallow kingdom after kingdom. The Nawabs and Rajas kept their titles but lost their power, and the Mughal emperor became a name with no authority.
Definition
- From the middle of the 18th century the Nawabs and Rajas lost their authority and honour. The Company placed Residents at their courts to watch and control them.
- Under subsidiary alliance (Lord Wellesley, 1798) a ruler could not keep his own army and had to pay for Company troops.
- Under the doctrine of lapse (Lord Dalhousie) a kingdom passed to the Company if its ruler died without a male heir: Satara (1848) and Jhansi (1854) went this way.
- Awadh was annexed in 1856 on the charge of bad government, not under the doctrine of lapse.
- In 1849 Dalhousie announced that after Bahadur Shah Zafar's death his family would be moved out of the Red Fort. In 1856 Lord Canning said Zafar would be the last Mughal king.
- After 1857 Zafar was tried, sent to prison in Rangoon in 1858, and died in the Rangoon jail in 1862.
| Event | Year | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Battle of Plassey | 1757 | Robert Clive defeated Sirajuddaulah, Nawab of Bengal |
| Battle of Buxar | 1764 | The Company defeated Mir Qasim of Bengal, the Nawab of Awadh and the Mughal emperor together |
| Diwani of Bengal | 1765 | The Mughal emperor gave the Company the right to collect revenue in Bengal |
| Subsidiary alliance | 1798 | Lord Wellesley: allies disbanded their armies and paid for Company troops |
| Doctrine of lapse | 1848 to 1856 | Lord Dalhousie: a kingdom with no male heir passed to the Company |
| Annexation of Awadh | 1856 | Taken over on the charge of misgovernment |
| Zafar's family to leave the Red Fort | 1849 | Dalhousie's announcement, for after Bahadur Shah Zafar's death |
| Zafar to be the last Mughal king | 1856 | Lord Canning's decision |
| Zafar's death | 1862 | Died in the Rangoon jail, in exile |
Practice this conceptself-check · 5 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 1 · Modern India · Company Rule and the Revolt of 1857
The Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar died in:
Awadh was not taken by the doctrine of lapse
Satara and Jhansi were taken because their rulers had no male heir. Awadh had a ruler, Wajid Ali Shah, and was annexed in 1856 on the charge of misgovernment.
In 1849 Zafar was alive
Dalhousie's 1849 announcement was about what would happen after Bahadur Shah Zafar's death. Zafar lived until 1862 and died in exile in Rangoon.
Concept 2 of 2: The revolt of 1857: where it began and who led it
The revolt started as a mutiny of sepoys and grew into a rising of soldiers, rulers and peasants across north India. Learn it as a map: each centre has one leader, and the story runs from Meerut to Delhi and then out to Kanpur, Lucknow and Jhansi.
Definition
- Before the Meerut rising, the sepoy Mangal Pandey was hanged for attacking his officers at Barrackpore.
- On 10 May 1857 the sepoys at Meerut rose, freed their jailed comrades and marched to Delhi, where they proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar their leader.
- The British recaptured Delhi in September 1857.
- Tantia Tope, Nana Saheb's general, fought on in central India until he was captured and killed in 1859. By the end of 1859 the British had regained control of the country.
- The Government of India Act of 1858 passed power from the Company to the British Crown. The Governor-General was now called the Viceroy.
| Centre | Leader |
|---|---|
| Barrackpore | Mangal Pandey, hanged before the Meerut rising |
| Meerut | The sepoys rose first, on 10 May 1857 |
| Delhi | Bahadur Shah Zafar, proclaimed leader; Bakht Khan led the soldiers |
| Kanpur | Nana Saheb, adopted son of the last Peshwa Baji Rao II |
| Lucknow | Begum Hazrat Mahal |
| Jhansi | Rani Lakshmibai |
| Arrah, Bihar | Kunwar Singh |
| Central India | Tantia Tope, Nana Saheb's general |
The years to keep apart: 1857 the outbreak, 1858 the Crown takes over, 1859 the British regain control.
Practice this conceptself-check · 6 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 2 · Modern India · Company Rule and the Revolt of 1857
The revolt of 1857 began from:
Barrackpore is not where the revolt began
Mangal Pandey's act at Barrackpore came first, but it stayed one man's protest. The revolt itself began at Meerut on 10 May 1857.
Three years, three events
1857 is the outbreak, 1858 is the year the Crown took over from the Company, and 1859 is the year the British regained control of the country.
Nana Saheb at Kanpur, the Begum at Lucknow
Nana Saheb led at Kanpur and Begum Hazrat Mahal at Lucknow. Lucknow was the capital of Awadh, so Awadh is not a separate leader's centre from Lucknow.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
The Company, the Nawabs and the last Mughal9 rows
| Event | Year | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Battle of Plassey | 1757 | Robert Clive defeated Sirajuddaulah, Nawab of Bengal |
| Battle of Buxar | 1764 | The Company defeated Mir Qasim of Bengal, the Nawab of Awadh and the Mughal emperor together |
| Diwani of Bengal | 1765 | The Mughal emperor gave the Company the right to collect revenue in Bengal |
| Subsidiary alliance | 1798 | Lord Wellesley: allies disbanded their armies and paid for Company troops |
| Doctrine of lapse | 1848 to 1856 | Lord Dalhousie: a kingdom with no male heir passed to the Company |
| Annexation of Awadh | 1856 | Taken over on the charge of misgovernment |
| Zafar's family to leave the Red Fort | 1849 | Dalhousie's announcement, for after Bahadur Shah Zafar's death |
| Zafar to be the last Mughal king | 1856 | Lord Canning's decision |
| Zafar's death | 1862 | Died in the Rangoon jail, in exile |
The revolt of 1857: where it began and who led it8 rows
| Centre | Leader |
|---|---|
| Barrackpore | Mangal Pandey, hanged before the Meerut rising |
| Meerut | The sepoys rose first, on 10 May 1857 |
| Delhi | Bahadur Shah Zafar, proclaimed leader; Bakht Khan led the soldiers |
| Kanpur | Nana Saheb, adopted son of the last Peshwa Baji Rao II |
| Lucknow | Begum Hazrat Mahal |
| Jhansi | Rani Lakshmibai |
| Arrah, Bihar | Kunwar Singh |
| Central India | Tantia Tope, Nana Saheb's general |
The years to keep apart: 1857 the outbreak, 1858 the Crown takes over, 1859 the British regain control.
Watch out for (5)
- Awadh was not taken by the doctrine of lapse→ The Company, the Nawabs and the last Mughal
- In 1849 Zafar was alive→ The Company, the Nawabs and the last Mughal
- Barrackpore is not where the revolt began→ The revolt of 1857: where it began and who led it
- Three years, three events→ The revolt of 1857: where it began and who led it
- Nana Saheb at Kanpur, the Begum at Lucknow→ The revolt of 1857: where it began and who led it
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