The Great Fear of 1857: Rumours, Conspiracies and the Making of the Indian Uprising

355 Pages·2010·15.12 MB·English

by  Kim A. Wagner

THEGREAT FEAR
OF 1857
RUMOURS, CONSPIRACIES
AND THE MAKING OF
THE INDIAN UPRISING
KIM A. WAGNER
The Great Fear of 1857
The Past in the Present
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Francis Robinson, Royal Holloway, University of London
EDITORIAL BOARD
Beth Bailey, Temple University
C.A. Bayly, University of Cambridge
David Bindman, University College London
Peter Burke, University of Cambridge
John Carey, University of Oxford
Justin Champion, Royal Holloway, University of London
Peregrine Horden, University of Oxford and Royal Holloway,
University of London
Jonathan Riley-Smith, University of Cambridge
Jim Samson, Royal Holloway, University of London
Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, University of Cambridge
The Great Fear o f 1857
Rumours, Conspiracies
and the Making of the Indian Uprising
Kim A. Wagner
Peter Lang Oxford
First published in 2010 by
Peter Lang Ltd
International Academic Publishers
Evenlode Court, Main Road, Long Hanborough, Witney
Oxfordshire 0x29 8sz
United Kingdom
www.peterlang.com
Kim A. Wagner has asserted the right under the Copyright, Designs *
and Patents Act of 1988 to be identified as the Author of this Work.
© Peter Lang Ltd 2010
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form, by any electronic, mechanical or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior permission,
in writing, of the Publishers.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-906165-27-7
cover illustrations:
Front: watercolour by R. M. Jephson, 1858, reproduced with the kind permission of
Peter Harrington and the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library.
Back: a battle during the Uprising (Charles Ball, The History of the Indian Mutiny).
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission
for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologises for any errors or omissions
and would be grateful for notification of any corrections that should be incorporated
in future reprints or editions of this book.
Printed in the United Kingdom
by the MPG Books Group
Contents
\
List of Maps and Plates vii
List of Abbreviations ix
Glossary xi
Prologue: The Ghost of Mutiny Past XV
Preface and Acknowledgements XXV
Maps xxix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 The Greased Cartridges
27
Chapter 2 Barrackpore and Berhampore 45
Chapter 3 Rumours and Chapattis 61
Chapter 4 Mangal Pandey 79
Chapter 5 Arson at Ambala 99
Chapter 6 Meerut 107
Chapter 7 Alarm at Ambala 125
Chapter 8 The Outbreak 131
Chapter 9 Meerut Ablaze 141
Chapter 10 The World Turned Upside Down 151
Chapter 11 Meerut Aftermath 169
Chapter 12 To Delhi! 185
Chapter 13 The Fall of Delhi 199
Chapter 14 The Uprising 211
Chapter 15 The Great Conspiracy 225
Epilogue: 1857 Today 243
Notes 247
Select Bibliography 295
Index 305
Maps and Plates
\
Maps
1 Northern India in 1857 and the circulation of chapattis
(by KAW). xxx
2 Meerut, 10 May 1857 (by KAW). xxxi
Plates
The plates are to be found between pages 128 and 129.
1 Native recruits are turned into sepoys (Illustrated London News> 1857).
2 Sepoys practising with the new Enfield rifle (G. F. Atkinson).
3 The secret distribution of chapattis (Narrative of the Indian Revolt,
1858) .
4 The sepoys refuse to move against Mangal Pandey (H. Gilbert, The Story
of the Indian Mutiny, 1916).
5 The execution of a sepoy in early 1857 (Thomas Frost, Complete Narrative
of the Mutiny in India, 1858).
6 A fanciful depiction of the disarmament of the 19th Bengal Native Infantry
at Barrackpore (Charles Ball, The History of the Indian Mutiny).
7 A typical British station in India (G. F. Atkinson, Curry and Rice,
1859) .
8 The Sudder Bazaar in Meerut, early twentieth century (from collection
of KAW).
9 The death of Colonel Finnis (Narrative of the Indian Revolt, 1858).
viii
Maps and Plates
10 A bungalow is attacked by the sepoys at Meerut (Narrative of the Indian
Revolt, 1858).
11 The massacre at Meerut (Frost).
12 Europeans in hiding from the rebels (Ball).
13 A view of Delhi in 1857 (Ball).
14 The Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah (Ball).
15 The massacre of Europeans by Indian rebels. The uniforms and architecture
suggest that this image is actually based on a scene from a European
conflict (Ball).
16 The capture of Bahadur Shah by Captain Hodson (Ball).
Abbreviations
\
APAC Asia, Pacific, and Africa Collections (formerly
Oriental and India Office Collections), British
Library
BLC Bengal Light Cavalry
BNI Bengal Native Infantry
Depositions taken at Meerut Depositions taken at Meerut by Major G. W.
Williams (Allahabad, 1858)
FSUP S. A, A. Rizvi and M. L. Bhargava (eds.),
Freedom Struggle in Uttar Pradesh, I-V
(Lucknow: Publications Bureau, 1957-61)
MAS Modern Asian Studies
NLS National Library of Scotland
Selections George W. Forrest (ed.)> Selections from the
Letters, Despatches and Other State Papers
Preserved in The Military Department of
the Government of India, 1857-58 (Calcutta:
Military Dept. Press, 1893)
Trial Pramod K. Nayar (ed.), The Trial of Bahadur
Shah (Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2007)
Two Native Narratives Charles T. Metcalfe (trans.), Two Native
Narratives of the Mutiny in Delhi (Westminster:
A. Constable and Co., 1898)