2. Discuss the economic causes of the Revolt of 1857.
3. Why were the sepoys in the British army discontented with the EEIC?
4. What was the immediate cause of the Revolt of 1857?
Answers
Answer:
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 had diverse political, economic, military, religious and social causes.
An uprising in several sepoy companies of the Bengal army was sparked by the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle February, 1857. Many sepoys believed that the cartridges were greased with cow and pig fat. Loading the Enfield required tearing open the greased cartridge with one's teeth. This would have insulted both Hindu and Muslim religious practices; cows were considered holy by Hindus, while pigs were considered unclean by Muslims. Underlying grievances over British taxation and recent land annexations by the British East Indian Company (BEIC) were ignited by the sepoy mutineers, and within weeks, dozens of units of the Indian army joined peasant armies in widespread rebellion. The old aristocracy, both Muslim and Hindu, who were seeing their power steadily eroded by the BEIC, also rebelled against British rule. Another important source of discontent among the Indian rulers was that the British policies of conquest had created unrest among many Indian rulers. In the decade prior to the rebellion, the BEIC imposed a 'doctrine of lapse' (of Indian leadership succession), and the policy 'subsidiary alliance' both of which deprived Indian ruler.
Answer:
(2) The most important cause of popular discontent was the British policy of economically exploiting India. This hurt all sections of society. The peasants suffered due to high revenue demands and the strict revenue collection policy.
(3) 1) The sepoys, who were Indians trained by the British as soldiers, heard rumors that the cartridges for their new Enfield rifles were greased with cow and beef fat. ... 2) They were discontented because their salaries & opportunities of promotion were not equal to those of British soldiers
(4) The immediate cause of the Indian Revolt of 1857 was a seemingly minor change in the weapons used by the British East India Company's troops. The East India Company upgraded to the new Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle, which used greased paper cartridges
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