In 1857, the British East India Company’s high-handed management of India provoked a rebellion. It began in the army, and widened out to become a more general protest against foreign rule. It was not a democratic revolution but an attempt to protect and restore traditional Indian values, supported by Muslims and Hindus alike.

The rebellion was doomed from the start, because the Indian rebels had no common cause save a nostalgia for a past without substance. Many Indians supported the British and others fell to in-fighting. War crimes were committed on both sides; the historian looking for noble deeds must look to individuals, for few will be found among the commanders.

One heroic exception was Lakshmi Bai, Rani of Jhansi, a young widow who fell, wearing a warrior’s dress, while leading from the front. However, the rebellion was suppressed and the British moved swiftly to prevent any repeat. Control of India was transferred from the Company to the Crown, and Queen Victoria sat upon the throne of the Mughal Emperors.

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