The Indian Mutiny

Jessie's Dream (The Relief of Lucknow), 1858 By Frederick Goodall (1822-1904) Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, UK. (Enlarge image)

By the 1850s the British East India Company's rule of India seemed secure. But relations were deteriorating as resentment against the British grew.

The Indian Mutiny (or the First Indian War of Independence as it is now known in India) was an armed uprising in northern and central India from 1857-58. It was the first united movement against British rule in India.

Left: The horrors of the Mutiny inspired many artists. This dramatic scene shows the heroic end of the famous 90-day siege at Lucknow. Jessie was the wife of a soldier. At the height of the siege, she dreamt of hearing the bagpipes of Scottish troops coming to the rescue.

Detail from Home Again, 1858.

Many of the East India Company's practices were considered a threat to Indian religious and cultural customs. Tax changes had brought grievances and military reforms challenged the status of the sepoys (Indian soldiers). Resentment grew and unrest sparked into armed rebellion. News of bloody sieges at Cawnpore and Lucknow and the violent deaths of British women and children created uproar in Britain.

Right: Many Indian soldiers remained loyal to the British during the uprising. O'Neil illustrates this by including an Indian soldier (a sepoy) in Home Again.

Engraving of the docks at Gravesend, Kent in 1831

40,000 British troops were sent to India to suppress the uprising. Many left from Tilbury and Gravesend like the soldiers in Eastward Ho! When O'Neil painted their poignant departure, he created a stark contrast to the well-reported terrors awaiting them, of which the public would have been well aware.

After the rebellion's brutal suppression, the East India Company was dissolved. For the first time India was subject to direct British rule. Indian independence was finally achieved in 1947.

For more information on the Indian Mutiny visit the National Army Museum.