The supply mutiny of eighteen fifty seven was a turning
point in Indian history. Some people have even called it the first Indian war of
independence. Never before in the history of British colonization of India had
people rebelled on such a large scale. Some historians even regard the revolt of 1857 as the biggest armed resistance to colonialism in the
world in the nineteenth century. But, of course, the British were not going to let
go of the golden bird so easily. Despite facing initial setbacks, they fought
back. In the beginning of the revolt, the British soldiers were outnumbered. To
remedy this, reinforcements were brought in from England and more soldiers arrived
from England along with elephants to carry ammunition and cart loads of cannons. New laws were passed so that rebelling soldiers could be convicted easily at
trial. The British then stormed the centers of the revolt. Dandy was recaptured
from the rebels in September of 1857, just three months after
the revolt broke out. The last of the Mughals, Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried in
court and sentenced to life in prison. Both he and his wife, begum Zeenat
Mahal, were sent to prison in Burma in October 1858. Bahadur Shah Zafar died in prison in Burma in November 1862. The
rebellion, however, did not die with the capture of Delhi. People continued their
fight against the British. They took the British two years of fighting to
suppress the rebellion. Lucknow was captured in march 1858. Rani Lakshmi
bai was defeated and martyred in June 1858. Rani Avanti Bai was also
killed in battle. The peasant
leaders were captured, tried and hanged in April 1859. The
victories against the British had encouraged more people to join the rebellion
initially but these defeats began to demotivate people. The British also tried
to win back the trust of the people. Landholders who were loyal to the British
were allowed to retain their traditional rights over their lands and those who had
rebelled were asked to submit to the British. They were told that if they hadn't
killed any Europeans, they would be safe and continue to have rights over their
lands. Despite these promises, hundreds of sepoys, rebels, rajas and nawabs were
tried and executed.
In
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