Excellent video I wish more people who studied history were as objective as you are you tell Both sides of the story not just one Please keep up the good work
@@rajsinghji-84 You become tiresome, Mr. Rajput. It's really not for you, being of an heritage far more infamous than any Brit, to lecture anyone. If my ancestors were so nasty, what would that make yours, as their jack-boots - as you would term them? Very few Rajputs mutinied, sweetheart. Best wishes, nonetheless.
The Cawnpore Massacre features in Fraser's "Flashman in the Great Game", and as always Flashy is in the thick of things, despite his best endeavours to the contrary. Fraser's attention to historic detail is stunningly impressive. How he weaves it all into a rollocking tale of misadventure is a great literary achievement - a hallmark of the "Flashman" series of novels.
Indian history books especially school books are silent about these horrible massacres. They only make passing references about killing of women and children in the heat of the battle. Your description of events has shaken my belief on people who we Indians consider as heros.
Even Nana Sahib and Mahakarnika were looking out for their own interests. If you look at which political parties benefited the most from a negative portrayal of the British, one can see why the history books covered these massacres like that.
They are still Heros to Billions of Indians including me. If I could go back in time. I will participate in this incredible act. No wonder everyone hates you Br*****s.
In the original Errol Flynn "Charge of the Light Brigade," it featured a version of Cawnpore massacre. Of course, in the movie, it happened before the Crimea War. So much for accuracy. Great Video Chris. I really enjoy being subscribed to your channel
True enough. Additionally, in the Warhammer 40k novel, "Imperial Glory" by Richard Williams, one of the focal points of background lore for the protagonist regiment, the Brimlock Dragoons, is a mutiny by several units during the siege of a world called Cawnpore, sparked by a brutal officer named Carmichael. It took me some time to realize that the story in that novel is very heavily influenced by Britain's colonial wars of the Victorian era, specifically in Afghanistan, India and South Africa. It's a decent read.
One wonders why they called the movie "The Charge of the Light Brigade"...it has nothing to do with it until the last few minutes and then the connection is highly tenuous. An early example of history being rewritten.
Another great episode. Even handed and fair account of one of the saddest parts of the revolt. Much appreciated and I am really looking forward to the next episode on this subject.Thank you for all your hard work.
Thank you for your remarkable storytelling. Growing up in the states, I was taught nothing of "The Indian Mutiny" you describe. How shocking to learn about the details. My God, the suffering of the innocents! When the oppressed become the oppressors, watch out.
Another great video mate. Can't wait for you to cover the Queen of Jhansi. Did you know there is a poem called "jhansi Wali Rani" (the queen from jhansi) that is taught even today in schools. Further, 1857 mutiny/rebellion/war of independence is not known in great detail to most. However you're doing a great job covering it in such a balanced way. I'd love to see you cover the Jalian walah bagh incident sometime. I believe it's very important to know history as it happened with an unbiased lense. Only then can we forgive the sins of our past and get along with each other better. Just to accept that wrongs were done, and crimes were committed, is bigger than any monitary sum as compensation.
The Rhani (Queen) of Jhansi is coming soon. Need to get siege of Lucknow out of the way first. I will cover the Amritsar Massacre at some stage later thgis year (along with the Black Hole of Calcutta).
Thanks for covering this, my (British) family lived in the affected regions during the munity and it was still practically in living memory for my great-grandma who raised my mum. I imagine it would've weighed heavily on the minds of all the Britons living in India after 1858. The massacre of cawnpore was certainly never forgotten in our family and I'm glad to see it getting some coverage. Rest in peace to all the innocents lost.
@@FilesdocumentsAndreposit-kr3vb Unfortunately I do not. My great gran had the family bible (and thus most of the family records and photographs) buried with her. Indeed my mum had to reconstruct our family tree herself, finding confirmation and records online that my 4x Great Grandpa + family was indeed in the area during the mutiny. The story of cawnpore was taugt to my mum as a child by my great grandma. Though interestingly she blamed the Muslims
@@Dryhten1801 also... there's a big deal that I am getting about Indian men of that era being extraordinarily tall. Especially the gangetic plains were said to be inhabited by extremely tall men. There are few records if you dig deeper. And also , there's this special record that says that Scottish highlanders were specifically called to counter these gigantic tall sepoys of India. Interestingly enough, both these indo aryan gangetic plains men and the Scottish highlanders have same paternal Y haplogroup R1a1a Z93
One of the darkest moments in Indian history, along with Jallianwala Bagh. Indian historians only prefer to show things from our perspective, this is not mentioned in any school textbooks in India. History should be taught from an unbiased perspective.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. History also has consequences and it is not beyond the realms that General Dyer believed that another Indian uprising could result in another Cawnpore massacre. I don’t support his actions at Amritsar but you can see a warped logic.
@@TheHistoryChapEuropeans excessive imagination of artificial threats of the future !! The same rehortic is continuing presently regarding China and Russia !!
@@TheHistoryChap I agree with your view pertaining to Dyer, but i feel terrible as to why the soldiers who were indians, choose to obey dyer. in school we were taught about the retribution given to sepoys, with the image of the sepoys being tied to cannon fire and then blasted away. There is no mention of Kanpur massacre, it is a very dark history, the teachers would also tell us that the british too faced hostilities, and no further details would be told.
Thank you again Mr Green. Illuminating our incredible history in such a balanced and factual manner, a style that seems to have disappeared in recent times. Your work is so appreciated. Thank you , Derek.
... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
If that’s true, then you can forget about it today under their dictator Narendra Modi!… He blames everyone else for India’s abject failures except for himself and his supporters!
As an Indian, I feel that the massacre of Bibhighar, the massacre of women and children by Nana Saheb was shameful and barbaric. May their souls rest in peace.
as a young Indian student with an amateur interest in History and part of the Bengali Military heritage , i particularly left out the Indian British Era as most of the time i only received one sided information, be it in my school history books and other sources and as result i never was able to connect the dots, atrocities were committed by us and i am not scared of saying this as an Indian, as we as well need to learn the repercussions and reasons for it and do better .Your video sir, this right here sets the record straight and im thankful for the unbiased and raw reality of such conflicts and now honestly i might as well shift my focus from the American War of Independence to the Indian British conflicts . I guess i gotta subscribe now😆
Honestly an unbelievably talented historian, the excrutiating detail you go into like the '8 shells a second' and '4 surivors on the one boat that got away' are top notch.. Also got the paper 1 of the A Level in 3 days, and your videos on empire provide a nice, more relaxed reivision strategy, thank you.
Im from india 🇮🇳 as indian i know my histrory but thanks for giving information about my history. Cownpore know days known KANPUR famous city for education in North India.
@@bclassic2474 it is a major polluter along Ganges, but because of it's historical prosperity it has very old and well established educational institutions, some came after independence, some are from colonial period, but certainly Kanpur is the most prominent educational hub in Uttar Pradesh (Indian State previously known as United Provinces in colonial Period). But sad to see the downfall of Kanpur nowadays, it is not making any advancements, the growth in Kanpur has stagnated, old manufacturing units dying, no new development, no investment in this region. I have been to that well and seen the Church from outside, the region around well has now converted to a Community Park known as Nana Rao Park, and the church is interestingly not open to public.
Thank you Chris for the 3rd and final part, really enjoyed; it's nice to relive the memories of History, l can only just remember the lessons we had about life in India under the East India Company some 55y years ago, l like history
Very informative and unbiased video. Though I doubt whether it was really Tatya Tope who was responsible for bibighar massacre. The rebels were hard to control and could have taken this heinous action on their own. Whatever the case, such genocide should have never happened.
@@TheHistoryChap Could you please also create a video on second anglo maratha war. I searched for it online but found very less informative videos. Would love to hear about Wellesley's feats in your voice
Proud of these Heros.. they tried their level best to defend Motherland from unwanted invaders.. Remember The Sacrifice of Nana Saheb, Tatya Tope & all unsung heroes of Indian freedom struggle.. 🙏
Well here in India I thought only British killed civilians and Indian freedom fighters only killed army generals and top government officials. But no Indian fighters killed tons of British civilians, women, children as well. So here in India only fabricated history is taught in schools. Indians did enough civilians killing as well.
Simply another excellent piece Chris ! For years my knowledge of the mutiny was confined to the two novels “the siege of krishnapur” and “Dando on Delhi ridge” recently I’ve started researching it properly and this is a proper kick start for me, how about a feature on William Hall VC ?
Indian Historians call it the " First War of Independence" Never mind the fact that there were no subsequent "wars of independence" 1857 was a sepoy mutiny that snowballed into a widespread mayhem with individual kings jumping in to , basically, grind their own axe. There was no centralized command structure and no common game plan. Indian subcontinent was a mass of kingdoms and principalities, big and small , and each was technically an independent country. The concept of a united India really blossomed in the late 1800s when Allan Octavian Hume founded the Indian National congress in the 1880s. Annie Besant would also join the Indian National Congress and become President circa 1917 / 1918. But fact remains that the 1857 war / mutiny brought out the worst barbaric and brutal demons in what were essentially human beings. Both sides competed with each other in the most heinous cruelty . Sadly, some 150 something years later we still havent learnt of the futility of legalized mass murder ....................... aka WAR
Wrong, the term BharatVarsha dates back to ancient Mahabharata times and there are sanskrit and Tamil text which resemble that they had close affinity with each other, other than Hindu principles. A.O hume came very late in picture and sorry brits weren't the ones who united they rather extorted Indian masses to their favor
@@trigcat3107 There is no factual evidence that Mahabharat and Ramayan actually happened. Mythology is always a mix of fact and fiction. Now, Ramayana supposedly happened 40 to 70 Thousand years ago. That is the time when Neanderthals roamed the planet. So were the Ramayan characters neanderthals ??? Read actual established history and not invented history that RSS loves to peddle.
In the movie The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) there is an scene in the river, very similar to your description. Obviously inspired by this event. One of those who escapes is Errol Flynn.
Just wanted to say that you've been killing lately Chris; not that you don't always put out quality content at a steady clip! Maybe I feel this way because this topic is one that I know little about; needless to say, my American education didn't cover the Sepoy Rebellion, or really any Victorian era English colonialism. Hopefully this comment helps appease the Algorithm Gods; keep up the good work!
The American education system make them the most ignorant people in the whole world. Americans think that the US is the whole world and the rest of the world is some other planet not worth their precious time to waste to know about. May be this is the reason they are hated all over the world except for some European countries
@@TheHistoryChap Nor I, Chris. The Raj was touched upon, no more. But - giving my age away - I had a history teacher who had been in the Indian Civil Service in the late '30s. He was 'head-of-table during school mealtimes. A most engaging and capable man: the sort of teacher who 'inspires'. I'm still interested nearly half-a-century on. I sincerely hope that you similarly-create such lasting interests. I believe you will.
Following your videos of the Indian Mutiny closely as i`m the great great great great grandson of Col William Havelock (14th Light Dragoons) and older brother of Gen Sir Henry Havelock.
Now that is a pretty cool family tree. The best I have uncovered is that one of my ancestors married one of the Huggins painters (They painted images of the EIC ships).
I have recently found your channel and liked each of the videos I've seen thus far. Your balance, fairness and depth gives me confidence of your accuracy. One aspect I'm happy to see, and often rare to many short, homemade (for lack of a better word) docs on RU-vid, is your use relevant graphics. The pictures you use are directly related to the content you're describing. In other videos the makers will use pictures only very vaguely specific to the subject matter, which leaves one very doubtful they're seeing the actual person, place or thing being discussed. Thank you for the care and detail you put into your videos. It's why I've now subscribed.
Your history programs are presented in such a profession manor turning one's interest into wanting to enjoy your other videos as well. So full of fascinating detailed facts. Viewing your videos can become habit forming! Great job, keep up the good work!
Well being an Indian listening to the revolt makes think about what the Britishers did to my nation, it wasn't theirs in first place. I won't call them heroes.. ("A burglar ransacks your house and stubs his toe, well you can call it sacrifice on both ends, well that's not an acceptable argument") -.Sashi Tharoor Perhaps it was the first time ever that company got to taste it's own medicine. Not a bias but a reality, hate will lead to more hate. I have nothing against British people now as my country surpass the GDP of our colonizer reminding of the legacy by an indian origin PM.
India was an invention of British that which shashi tharoor didnt teach you. Without them, there would never have been a united India but only several rival countries within the subcontinent. Btw 1.4 billion country surpassing 60 million country GDP isn't a big deal. Infact it shows failure that Indian took so long to make it because it was governed by corrupt leaders for so long.
Well I'm Indian and yes it wasn't their place. But I'm more disappointed with the selective history we're taught at schools. They say no British civilians were murdered and only army officials and generals or government heads were targetted. False! They killed countless British women and children's as well. Why put a screen over dark side of our fighters and only highlights British atrocities?? Secondly, GDP?? What's the population of British?? Hardly anything compared to India. It's obvious a big populous country like us will surpass them. The question is when are we going to surpass them in GDP/capita?? That's the actual way of measuring it.
I am an Indian and I was taught in school that Nana Sahib and Tantya Tope were great Indian Freedom fighters who tried their best to free us from British atrocities but now after hearing what he did and what a monster he was I don't think I'll ever be able to look at him as a respectable freedom fighter.
@@TheHistoryChap Yep, the WW2 funny moustache man (the Fascist one, not the communist one) actually gave refuge to one of our freedom fighters Netaji SC. Bose.
@@TheHistoryChap man dont feel sorry for them these f00kers were our enemies they deservedit. well you might say iam screwed up in the head but every time i read about these d0gs getting killed either by the yankees in american independence war or by their defeats at the hands of french iam delighted afterall even my great grandfather fought for 2 years at the burma front during second world war against these brits in the indian national army
Great vid ! As a young lad growing up in the 50’s and 60’s , hearing the words , “ Black hole of Calcutta “was quite common. I am fascinated by the little personal details , like at the end of this vid ! Did you ever hear of the two English ladies who walked into the British Embassy in Kabul at the beginning of the 1900’s ? Survivors of the retreat from Kabul in the 1830’s ? And please ,could you recommend a good book about the “ Mutiny “ ? I have read the Booker prize winning “Siege of Crishnapore “ . Great book for details !
Have you read Byron Farwell’s Books Armies of the Raj and Queen Victoria’s Soldiers. Both are incredibly comprehensive works cover this time period and subjects.
I must say as an American my favorite British history subject is India. That's how I got into collecting Victorian campaign medals. I just found a meanee medal at a show in Los Angeles for $200 named, plus a Mutiny Delhi medal 2 weeks ago $250 named😊
There had been other civilian massacres before Cawnpore - notably that at Jhansi on 8th June. Also, the promise of safe passage that turned out to be a lie is eerily reminiscent of the situation during the retreat from Cabul/ Kabul in 1842...
We have a Lucknow Place and Havelock Street in West Perth in Western Australia. The effect on the British all over the world was truly devastating. The feelings of treachery and disloyalty, palpable. When I grew up in the 1950's we were still taught about the mutiny.
The bengal army consisting mostly of upper caste Brahmans and Rajputs along with Muslims from Awadh was used to conquer the Sikhs and Gorkhas who had occupied Garhwal and Kumaon. The East India Company then recruited these warriors in large numbers. (Sikhs and Gorkhas)The Bengal Army ,which had mutinied ( ,because of the issue of cartridges greased with beef and pork tallow, which had to be opened by biting of the end, before loading of the newly issued Enfield rifle) was crushed with Sikh and Gorkha troops , who took this opportunity to avenge their earlier defeat by these Bengal Army regiments. The British stopped further recruitment from eastern u.p. and Bihar , and those soldiers who managed to escape the vengence of the British became outlaws, surviving in the rugged ravines and forests of Bundelkhand. Many of them migrated to south india and settled down there.
Would love to know your thoughts on the origins of the Begum's manifest hatred towards her helpless prisoners. One could call it psychopathic, but one would like to try to understand her merciless determination to exterminate everyone in the Bibighar.
Not sure why she had this view. Her lover also hated the British. It seems that his mother might have been one of their “camp followers” and he was ashamed and loathed them in equal measure.
The gory details as explained could happen only in North India especially states like UP and Bihar, even now the other states people think of them as lawless and treacherous.
@@vamshikallem948 They are lions when dealing with women and children but when it comes to real men they turn out to be wet pussy cats running for dear life to as far as Turkey to Nepal.
The character of Cpt. Gordon, an Irish despised by the Anglos and beloved by the locals who also forms a relationship with an Indian woman, in the 2005 Indian movie "The Ballad of Mangal Pandey" is heavily influenced by Sir Hugh Wheeler
@@TheHistoryChap furthermore the sepoy mutiny and a siege through not specified are part of the plot in an episode of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes by the title of the crooked man which is the tale of a soldier that was captured and forced to endure years of torture and slavery resulting in severe deformities. It's fascinating how close and dear India was to the heart of people just a century ago especially looking at it through Doyle's writings where everyone who is anyone has been in India serving in some capacity.
So many Britons went to India to serve the company ,the civil service or the military and as a consequence many were born there and lived their whole lives there in the 250 years of its colonisation and today after so many years since 1947 there are few left and it seems so remote now but they are still around,famously actress Joanna Lumley who was born in India.her father was an administrator of a region I believe,but that time is drawing to a close and soon it’ll be just for the history books .I’m sure there are Anglo Indians around still but not sure where they consider home.
Princess Diana reportedly was the descendent of an Anglo-Indian union. Merle Oberon had Indian heritage that she tried to keep hidden. Other famous people of Anglo-Indian descent are Vivien Leigh, Ben Kingsley, and George Orwell.
Thank you, for touching on this most tragic and haunting history of this 19th century conflict, with sensitivity and objectivity. Wars bring out the best and worst behavior within humanity. Sadly, horrific atrocities continue to happen in the wars of the 20th and 21st centuries with the current wars in Syria, Ukraine and other places. Humankind never learns from history and tends to repeat the sins of the past.
@@abhinavpankaj4798 What comes before affects what comes later. You don't need wars for massacres. Jallianwala Bagh wasn't tragic... it was murder. As much as I dislike Wiki, this does give some background on it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre
Another excellent episode. The retribution the British Army and Government brought against the mutineers, (“remember Cawnpore!”), may have been disproportionate, but it was definitely “effective”…for want of a more suitable word.
@@douglasherron7534 for every British dead (who invited you to come to India anyway) a thousand Indians died in famines and massacres thanks to the British
Excellent video, as always, and a great choice of subject. Interesting detail, that the rift between British and Indians became bigger, as more British women arrived. I'd never understood where that "aloofness" came from. After all, what's the point of spending a big part or most of your life in a country where you despise the locals and their customs? Thank you!
Very interesting thank you. I worked in the foreign and commonwealth office. Their were many paintings,(like the releif of Lucknow). and pictures of india, the garrisons, garrison lists, administration documents, administration agents, missionary stations, hospitals, schools, and the indian civil service. A very interesting subject. Thank you for bringing this back to the public eye.
The Indians were no strangers to savagery, but that was unforgivable! How often we see surrender end in tragedy. But to massacre woman & children, still I'm sure revenge was ten fold, although sadly a whole lot more innocent people died. As the bible tells us, " the tender mercy's of the wicked is cruelty"!
@@htcone6467 Man up & apologise for the awful massacred women & children perpetrated by fanatics, you apologising for them says you are just as bad as the killers.
@@htcone6467 The empire was mostly won with gold and trade deals. Generally by finding compliant local rulers and stuffing their pockets with Gold. You did notice that this started becasue a local ruler who was kept in place didnt think he was being given his fair due? If they had to use the army thing had gone bitterly wrong.
I've read about the Sepoy Mutiny many years ago. After the mutiny was suppressed with much violence and bloodshed all around, the British launched a wave of retribution throughout the former mutiny region. The Indians named that time, "The Devil's Wind". When Nana Sahib, his supporters, mutinying sepoys, and the rest butchered the surrendered British soldiers and their women and children, this brought to an end any possibility of a remotely civilized suppression of the mutiny. The British would not encounter this same magnitude and degree of savagery and brutality in war until they faced the fanatical Japanese Army in World War Two.
icreasingly impressed by your programmes. You aren't quite Richard Holmes but far far better than the ' my dad works in media..'..Dan Snow well done mate enjoy ya programmes and have seen you get better thumbs up and power to ya
You have a very good voice - clear, well-enunciated, clearly settled in your natural register and modulation. No "too strong" accent. Good pacing and thank you, thank you, thank you for the Absence of background music. So often the music is overwhelming, distracting and degrading of the narrator. Well done and thank you. Cheers!
The boats didn't have their rudders (a fact which would doom them) which suggests that it was all planned in advance. The British also got the same account independently from multiply mutineers they questioned about the massacre being ordered to start. On top of this the period history book I was just reading said that wheeler was killed separately from everyone else as he was carried due to injury (don't know how reliable that is however as it's very much a popular history rather than a first hand or more dry account). It should be noted that the vengeance was much less than many military men wanted, later on in the conflict pardons were offered and a good deal of the personal accounts condemn them and the civil service who came up with them. Also both British and Indian troops were deeply effected by Cornpore (or cowpor as I generally call it despite the claim that that is an outdated version turning up in a letter from around this time period, I like the fact that it gives it connection to cowpens, another momentous event in shaping the future of the British empire), the European military families were a small society in India and even if one wasn't somehow related though marriage to someone else you would almost certainly know them or of them, with so many being killed almost every soldier of long service would have had to a great or lesser extent have know someone (and probably many someone's) who were killed, this is one of the reasons why all concept of mercy were largely abandoned, if you were an officer looking at that house or well and knowing that your sister-in-law and her children ended up there or if you were a common soldier (Indian or European) who had bobbed one of those children up and down on your knee and let them play with your hat while resting when passing through the station then it becomes very apparent why the reaction was raw undiluted guttural rage. It likewise made the issue of who was on the side of justice self explanatory not only to the British but to everyone around them (and as it was largely emotional anyone who disagreed was libel to actual danger of being killed or savaged), from a purely political perspective it was basically the biggest gift to the British cause the rebels could have given and it basically sunk any actual hope of the rebellion succeeding.
The less reliable source I spoke about is The Tale of the Indian mutiny by William Henry Fitchett. The personal accounts are varied and all of the one's I have read are kindle editions published by Normanby Press, most of the one's which touch on Cowpore are mostly talking about controversies at the time, whether the women were dishonored before death and the exact state of the house (an account which was almost certainly embellished considerable had been published and it seems like they were mostly focused on responding (indirectly for the most part) to it and also attempting to dispute general rumours which got about at the time itself), with them talking about there having been no possibility of children being hung on meathooks and the like as had got around a great deal at the time. Cononel George Bruce Malleson has an extensive history but I can only presume it is one of the more reliable as it bored me to tears, however that's the only one of Normanby's on the Indian mutiny I haven't read unless I missed one somewhere, if I recall there is one by Mowbray Thompson which is not published by them but pertains directly to cowpore so that also might be good. I can't give you page numbers or the like as I've been causally reading them over the past year. As many of them are just compilations of diary entries and letters from the period they give you a very good view of people's perspectives at the time.
Flashman And The Great Game is a great book that gives a window into the absolutely hideous violence committed by both the rebels and the British. May all the dead from the 1857 war rest in peace. 😔
According to some Indian historians, the first shot was fired from the boat. But, anyway, whatever the truth, it was a most despicable event. The other one was simply ghastly. The Bibi, the mastermind, without whom the butchers wouldn't have arrived, however somehow escaped!
The Anglo Indian community is little remembered or discussed. They were a key part of British India, both in the civil service and particularly in the railways. Many left after partition, to the UK, Canada and Australia.
Oxford professor M. MacMillan's "Women of the Raj" (1988) explains how 19th century British women in India introduced social divisiveness and prejudice. Sadly, 19th century Feminists and the morality of Muslim leaders remain lessons to be remembered today. Cawnpore should never be forgotten.
Hi Chris, very well narrated as always. On a side note I used to live in the Havelok ward in Portsmouth, i had absolutely know idea why it was called that but a quick search shows me that it was a district of Southsea laid out after 1857, with roads named after soldiers who took part in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny in that year. More or less unchanged to this date as memory recalls. It used to be pronounced "Hav e lock", whether that is right or wrong I have no idea!! Look forward to the next installment. Have a great weekend and good luck from Spain!!
20:56 Also, this had been used in medieval times against master-gunners who were captured. Due to extreme losses and near-magical nature of chemical reactions, operating cannons was still considered to be part of the 'black arts', so that plus the casualties they had inflicted meant that master-gunners were often executed by tying them to their own cannons and firing them.
Though the main protagonists at Cawnpoor were high cast Hindu Bramin Marathas. As at Meerut, the first regiment to mutiny at Cawnpoor was Muslim, the 2nd Bengal Light Cavalry from Oudh. At Lucknow it was the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr which was the signal to revolt.
It is interesting to note that the sepoy mutiny transformed into a rebellion led by regional rulers and was eventually taken over by globalist JIHAD. The accounts related to the fight for Delhi attests to the above fact, where uzbeks and turks were found lying dead.
I highly recommend the novel ‘Blood of an Englishman’ by William Clive and ‘ Our Bones Are Scattered’ by Andrew Ward about this despicable and infamous act of brutal mass murder. God praise Sir Henry Havelock and General Neill and all the gallant Britons who crushed the mutiny.
I thought i remember reading that Havelock had given order not to take retribution, before he left to Lucknow but they didn't obey him. Also, it was largely covered up in Britain to avoid backlash.
The point of strapping people to cannons and blowing them apart was that their bodies would never be able to be put back together and so they would not be reborn. It was a Hindu punishment; the Muslims believe that, if you die in battle, then you automatically go to heaven.
Their is a beautifull book on the subject called The flight of the pigeons written by Ruskin Bond which was later made into a beautifull movie called Junoon in 1978 by the famous Film Director Shyam Benegal. It is a must see movie, do not miss it.
