OCR A-Level History A H505
Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016Unit group 1
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107Unit group 1
Y103: England 1199–1272Unit group 1
Y104: England 1377–1455Unit group 1
Y105: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VIIUnit group 1
Y106: England 1485–1558: The Early TudorsUnit group 1
Y107: England 1547–1603: The Later TudorsUnit group 1
Y108: The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660Unit group 1
Y109: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760Unit group 1
Y110: From Pitt to Peel 1783–1853Unit group 1
Y111: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918Unit group 1
Y112: Britain 1900–1951Unit group 1
Y113: Britain 1930–1997Unit group 1
Y201: The Rise of Islam c.550–750Unit group 2
Y202: Charlemagne 768–814Unit group 2
Y203: The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192Unit group 2
Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405Unit group 2
Y205: Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570Unit group 2
Y206: Spain 1469–1556Unit group 2
Y207: The German Reformation and the Rule of Charles v 1500–1559Unit group 2
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598Unit group 2
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case StudiesUnit group 2
Y210: Russia 1645–1741Unit group 2
Y211: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739Unit group 2
Y212: The American Revolution 1740–1796Unit group 2
Y213: The French Revolution and the Rule of Napoleon 1774–1815Unit group 2
Y214: France 1814–1870Unit group 2
Y215: Italy and Unification 1789–1896Unit group 2
Y216: The USA in the 19th Century: Westward Expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890Unit group 2
Y217: Japan 1853–1937Unit group 2
Y218: International Relations 1890–1941Unit group 2
Y219: Russia 1894–1941Unit group 2
Y220: Italy 1896–1943Unit group 2
Y221: Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963Unit group 2
Y222: The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993Unit group 2
Y223: The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995Unit group 2
Y224: Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999Unit group 2
Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800Unit group 3
Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066Unit group 3
Y303: English Government and the Church 1066–1216Unit group 3
Y304: The Church and Medieval Heresy c.1100–1437Unit group 3
Y305: The Renaissance c.1400–c.1600Unit group 3
Y306: Rebellion and Disorder Under the Tudors 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y307: Tudor Foreign Policy 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y308: The Catholic Reformation 1492–1610Unit group 3
Y309: The Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453–1606Unit group 3
Y310: The Development of the Nation State: France 1498–1610Unit group 3
Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783Unit group 3
Y312: Popular Culture and the Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th CenturiesUnit group 3
Y313: The Ascendancy of France 1610–1715Unit group 3
Y314: The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919Unit group 3
Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945Unit group 3
Y316: Britain and Ireland 1791–1921Unit group 3
Y317: China and Its Rulers 1839–1989Unit group 3
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964Unit group 3
Y319: Civil Rights in the USA 1865–1992Unit group 3
Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965Unit group 3
Y321: The Middle East 1908–2011: Ottomans to Arab SpringUnit group 3
Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965
Depth study: British India: The War of 1857 and its consequences to 1876 — causes, course and consequences of the rebellion
- 3 things to know
- Unit group 3
Overview
Recall questions on British India in 1857, the Doctrine of Lapse and Awadh, religious and military grievances, the outbreak, Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow, the defeat of the rising, the Act of 1858, the Proclamation, reorganisation and interpretations.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Explain the Doctrine of Lapse and why it caused resentment.
How was the rebellion finally defeated?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Describe how British India was governed in 1857.
Model answer
The East India Company still administered the three presidencies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras through its own civil service and armies, supervised by the Board of Control in London and headed in India by the Governor-General, Canning; around a quarter of a million Indian sepoys served under some 40,000 European troops, and roughly a third of the subcontinent remained under princely rulers bound by subsidiary treaties.
- 2
Explain the Doctrine of Lapse and why it caused resentment.
Model answer
Dalhousie's rule that a princely state without a natural heir lapsed to the Company denied the long-established Hindu right of adoption, and its use to absorb Satara, Jhansi and Nagpur, together with the removal of the Nana Sahib's pension, convinced Indian rulers that no treaty or custom would be honoured once annexation was convenient.
- 3
Why was the annexation of Awadh in 1856 so damaging?
Model answer
Awadh was taken not for lack of an heir but on the grounds of misgovernment, which broke a treaty of alliance and dispossessed the Nawab, his court and the taluqdar landholders; it also struck at the Bengal Army, since a very large share of its high-caste sepoys came from Awadh and lost the privileges and legal standing they had enjoyed there.
- 4
Which British reforms fed fears about religion and caste?
Model answer
The banning of sati, the campaign against thuggee, the legalisation of widow remarriage in 1856, the extension of missionary activity and English education, and the coming of railways and the telegraph, which mixed castes in shared carriages, all suggested a settled intention to Christianise and remake Indian society.
- 5
What were the specifically military grievances of the sepoys?
Model answer
Pay and allowances had been eroded, notably the loss of extra batta for service outside Bengal, promotion depended on seniority rather than merit, European officers were increasingly distant and contemptuous, and the General Service Enlistment Act of 1856 required new recruits to serve overseas, which threatened high-caste men with the loss of caste.
- 6
What was the immediate trigger of the rising in 1857?
Model answer
The new Enfield rifle used cartridges that had to be bitten open, and the rumour spread that they were greased with cow and pig fat, defiling Hindus and Muslims alike; Mangal Pandey's attack on his officers at Barrackpore in March 1857 and the punishment of sepoys at Meerut for refusing the cartridges lit the fuse.
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Every question in Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965, on a schedule.
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