I should have reviewed this yesterday as it was the 150th anniversary of the start of this event. It marked a turning point in the British occupation of India as no longer were things as peaceful and cooperative as they were in the many years previous.

There were several things that led up to the unrest. One was that British officers no longer tried to learn the language or understand the ways that their Indian troops lived. They didn't care about things like that and tended to live separate from their men in European enclaves. There was also this British arrogant superiority in that they felt the Indian people were not worthy of positions of authority and looked upon them as people who somehow needed to be ruled. Finally, there was religion. This was probably the largest part of the puzzle. As happens so often, the British were making an effort to convert the Indian people from their staple Muslim and Hindu religions over to the totally alien religion of Christianity. The differences were exacerbated by unfounded rumors that the troops were being subverted with beef and pork greased cartridges.

Anyway, once religion gets into the mix, everything else goes out the window and so the rumors spread through the East India Company controlled Army, resulting in whole units refusing to follow orders or deserting over to the cause of the insurgents. The result was a brutal and horrifying rebellion in which both sides performed unspeakable acts of brutality against not only the other side's military forces, but against any civilians, including women and children, who got in their way. In fact, the vast majority of mutineers were killed in one way or another by the British at the end of the uprising. This left a lot of bad feelings on both sides, something that, despite some reforms on the part of the British, never really left the populace and made their bid for independence after WWII even more of a certainty.

The author takes us through the entire time period by providing historical origins, then listing the opposing forces and providing the unredressed grievances that eventually led to the mutiny. Then there is a chronological portrayal of the war itself; one that became more and more brutal and bloody. There is a section on one particular officer, Brevet-Major OHSG Anson of the 9th Lancers to show how the war affected the soldiers. Another is from the eyes of a British civilian caught in the mess and we hear of Amy Horne and the massacre at Cownpore. The final months of the war and how the mutiny affected the state of affairs afterwards. This ends with a look at why the mutiny failed and British reforms to try to prevent a similar occurance.

Overall, a fascinating look into an important part of British and world history. A perfect primer for those wanting to know more about this event and one I can highly recommend.

May 2007

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