Causes of Indian Mutiny

The Indian Mutiny, which occurred in 1857, was the consequence of a number of problems that had arisen as a result of the British occupation of India. It began as a mutiny of the sepoys, a class of soldiers. However, it soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions in the northern and central parts of India. The British occupation caused political, economic and cultural problems in India. This led to disharmony between the two sides.
Political forces were a main cause of the Indian Mutiny, that were through overpowering from the British rule. Nationalism had brought a great sense of pride to the conquering nation, where it was seen as both fashionable and right to conquer a nation. This had led to the arrival of the British East India Company where it had strongly implanted itself in the Sub-continent after the victory over Nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Plassey fought in 1757. This continued with the English defeating many other forces and brightened the prospects of the company in the country. Many problems had arisen with the rule of the British, where they had enforced extremely heavy taxes upon the India people as well as new land revenue systems had ruined many peasant farmers, which had caused both political and cultural discontent within the Indian people. The doctrine of lapse and the annexation of Oudh by Dalhousie struck at the traditional ways of life and caused hatred throughout the Indian Sub-continent. This had meant that the rulers of each Indian State had lost their land as they had no male heirs. Problems relating to religion had also occurred when the new Enfield rifle was introduced to replace the old musket where the cartridge was heavily greased with animal fat containing both Cows and pigs, which were seen as both sacred and unclean from the Hindus and Muslims respectively.
Religious and cultural forces such as the spreading of Christianity and the suppression of traditional practices contributed greatly to the First War