1857- Resentment Toward the British Spills Over
1858- Calm is Restored in British India
1876- Empress of India
- The Indian Rebellion of 1857, which was also called the Indian Mutiny, or the Sepoy Mutiny, was a turning point in the history of Britain in India. The traditional story is that Indian troops, called Sepoy mutinied against their British commanders because newly issued rifle cartridges were greased with pig and cow fat, thus making them unacceptable for both Hindu and Muslim soldiers. There is some truth to that, but there were a number of other underlying causes for the rebellion.Resentment toward the British had been building for some time, and new policies which allowed the British to annex some areas of India exacerbated tensions. By early 1857 things had reached a breaking point.
1858- Calm is Restored in British India
- Following the Indian Mutiny, the East India Company was abolished and the British crown assumed full rule of India. Reforms were instituted, which included tolerance of religion and the recruitment of Indians into the civil service. While the reforms sought to avoid further rebellions through conciliation, the British military in India was also strengthened. Historians have noted that the British government never actually intended to take control of India, but when British interests were threatened the government had to step in. The embodiment of the new British rule in India was the office of the Viceroy.
1876- Empress of India
- The importance of India, and the affection the British crown felt for its colony, was emphasized in 1876 when Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli declared Queen Victoria to be "Empress of India."British control of India would continue, mostly peacefully, throughout the remainder of the 19th century. It wasn't until Lord Curzon became Viceroy in 1898, and instituted some very unpopular policies, that an Indian nationalist movement began to stir. The nationalist movement developed over decades and of course, India finally achieved its independence in 1947.