Colonial Uprising

The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 occured in India. The sepoys, who were Indians trained by the British as soldiers, revolted against their Indian overlords and the British East India Company. The sepoys heard rumors that the cartridges for their new Enfield rifles were greased with lard and beef fat. The cow is sacred to the Hindus and the Muslims cannot have pork, so they mutinied. Although the mutiny was initially spontaneous, it quickly became more organized and the sepoys even took over the cities of Delhi and Kanpur. This mutiny was harshly crushed by the British on September 20, 1857.