Causes of the Revolt of 1857: Economic, Political and Administrative
Modern History › The Revolt of 1857 · Topic 10.1
The Revolt of 1857 burst out of the cumulative discontent of rulers, sepoys, zamindars, peasants, traders, artisans, pundits and maulvis. Its economic causes were the revenue settlement, moneylenders and the ruin of handicrafts; the political causes were annexation policies; the administrative cause was corruption and absentee, alien rule.
7 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · The Revolt of 1857
At a Glance
- What it is The long-term economic, political and administrative causes of the 1857 revolt
- Economic Revenue settlement, moneylenders, ruin of artisans, one-way free trade, loss of zamindar rights
- Political Effective Control, Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse, humbling of the Mughals
- Administrative Corruption and absentee sovereignty
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: The Revolt of 1857
Where Does It Fit?
This is the first topic of the category on the Revolt of 1857. The previous category told the pre-1857 uprisings. This topic gives the economic, political and administrative causes of the larger revolt. The next topic covers the socio-religious causes, outside events and the discontent of the sepoys. Previous topic: Weaknesses of the Pre-1857 People’s Uprisings.
What Was the Simmering Discontent?
In 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, the British laid the first step towards power in northern India, and in 1857 took place the major revolt, a product of the character and policies of colonial rule after 1757. The cumulative effect of British expansionist policies, economic exploitation and administrative innovations over the years had adversely affected the positions of all: rulers of Indian states, sepoys, zamindars, peasants, traders, artisans, pundits and maulvis. The simmering discontent burst in the form of a violent storm in 1857 which shook the British empire in India to its very foundations.
The century between 1757 and 1857 had not been peaceful. It saw sporadic popular outbursts in the form of religio-political violence, tribal movements, peasant uprisings, agrarian riots and civil rebellions, as told in Genesis and Causes of People’s Resistance to Company Rule. Enhanced revenue demands, even in famine years, caused anger. Movements against local moneylenders often turned into rebellion against the Company, because the moneylenders had the support of the police. The causes of the revolt, like those of earlier uprisings, came from all aspects of daily life, cutting across all sections and classes.
What Were the Economic Causes?
The colonial policies of the Company destroyed the traditional economic fabric of Indian society.
| Group | Effect of Company policy |
|---|---|
| Peasantry | Never really recovered from the disabilities of a new and highly unpopular revenue settlement; impoverished by heavy taxation, they borrowed from moneylenders and traders at usurious rates, who often evicted them for non-payment |
| Moneylenders and traders | Became the new landlords, while landless peasantry and rural indebtedness continued; the older zamindari system was forced to disintegrate |
| Artisans and handicraft workers | Annexation cut off their patrons, the native rulers and nobles, and British policy discouraged Indian handicrafts and promoted British goods; no modern industry replaced what was destroyed |
| Trade and mercantile class | Crippled by high tariffs on Indian goods and low tariffs on British imports; by the mid-nineteenth century exports of cotton and silk textiles had practically ended |
| Zamindars | Land rights were often forfeited by frequent use of the quo warranto; in Awadh, the chapter says 21,000 taluqdars had their estates confiscated |
Karl Marx observed in 1853 that the British had broken up the Indian handloom, destroyed the spinning wheel, shut Indian cottons out of the European market and then flooded the home of cotton with British cottons. The one-way free trade and refusal to impose protective duties against machine-made goods killed Indian manufacture. The ruin of industry increased the pressure on agriculture and land, which could not support everyone, and led to the general pauperisation of the country.
In Awadh, the storm centre of the revolt, the dispossessed taluqdars, the chapter says, were left without income, “unable to work, ashamed to beg”, and seized the opportunity of the sepoy revolt to try to regain what they had lost. Awadh’s annexation is told in Annexation of Awadh.
What Were the Political Causes?
The Company’s greedy policy of aggrandisement, accompanied by broken pledges and promises, resulted in contempt for the Company and loss of political prestige. It also caused suspicion in the minds of almost all the ruling princes through policies such as Effective Control, Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse. The right of succession was denied to Hindu princes. The first two policies are told in The Policy of Ring-Fence and Subsidiary Alliance, and the third in Doctrine of Lapse.
The Mughals were humbled too. Prince Faqiruddin died in 1856, and Lord Dalhousie had recognised his succession conditionally. Lord Canning then announced that the next prince on succession would have to renounce the regal title and the ancestral Mughal palaces, in addition to the renunciations agreed upon by Faqiruddin.
The collapse of rulers, the erstwhile aristocracy, also hurt those sections of society that drew their sustenance from cultural and religious pursuits.
What Were the Administrative Causes?
Rampant corruption in the Company’s administration, especially among the police, petty officials and lower law courts, was a major cause of discontent. Many historians hold that the rampant corruption seen in India today is a legacy of Company rule. The character of British rule also gave it a foreign and alien look in Indian eyes, a kind of absentee sovereignty.
As an analytical point, the three groups of causes reinforced one another. Economic policy took away the livelihood and land of different classes, political policy took away the rulers’ status, and administrative failure left no honest forum for redress. A person ruined by revenue, a ruler deprived of a state and a landholder cheated in court all met the same alien government, which is why the revolt drew from so many sections. The social, religious and military causes follow in Socio-Religious Causes, Outside Events and Sepoy Discontent.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Core Mains question The causes of 1857 are one of the most repeated questions
- Classification The economic, political and administrative divisions are standard
- Link to earlier topics Subsidiary Alliance, Lapse and Awadh come together here
What Came Next?
The next topic covers the socio-religious causes, outside events and the discontent of the sepoys. Next topic: Socio-Religious Causes, Outside Events and Sepoy Discontent.
Key People and Terms
- Revenue settlement The Company’s system of fixing and collecting land revenue
- Quo warranto A legal process used to challenge land rights, used often against zamindars
- Taluqdar A landholder of Awadh whose estates were confiscated
- Effective Control A policy of tightening British control over Indian states
- Absentee sovereignty Rule by an authority that is far away and alien
- Pauperisation General impoverishment
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Economic: revenue settlement, moneylenders, ruin of handicrafts, one-way free trade.
- In Awadh, 21,000 taluqdars had estates confiscated (chapter figure).
- Political: Effective Control, Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse.
- Mughals: Canning required the next prince to give up the title and palaces.
- Administrative: corruption and absentee sovereignty.
Do Not Confuse With
- Cause and spark These are long-term causes; the greased cartridge was the spark
- Faqiruddin and Bahadur Shah Faqiruddin died in 1856; Bahadur Shah Zafar was the emperor in 1857
- Economic and administrative Economic: revenue, trade; administrative: corruption, alien character
Memory Hook
Revenue, trade and titles ruined; courts and police corrupt.
Mains Angle
Questions ask for the causes of the Revolt of 1857. These points add depth.
- Wide base Almost every section was affected
- Awadh The storm centre had the largest class of dispossessed landholders
- Prestige Broken pledges cost the Company political respect
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Examine the economic and political causes of the Revolt of 1857.”
How to Answer
- Background Simmering discontent after 1757.
- Economic Peasants, artisans, merchants, zamindars.
- Political Annexation policies and the Mughals.
- Conclude Show how the groups joined together.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the economic causes of the Revolt of 1857?
The new revenue settlement and moneylenders ruined the peasantry, annexation and trade policy ruined artisans, tariffs crippled the merchant class, and zamindars lost land rights. In Awadh, the chapter says, 21,000 taluqdars had their estates confiscated.
What were the political causes of the Revolt of 1857?
The Company's policy of aggrandisement, broken pledges, Effective Control, Subsidiary Alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse created suspicion among princes. The right of succession was denied to Hindu princes, and the Mughal heir was told to give up the title and palaces.
What were the administrative causes of the Revolt of 1857?
Rampant corruption in the Company's administration, especially among the police, petty officials and lower courts, was a major cause of discontent. British rule also seemed foreign and alien, a kind of absentee sovereignty, in the eyes of Indians.
How did British economic policy hurt Indian artisans?
Annexation of states cut off the patronage of rulers and nobles, British policy discouraged Indian handicrafts and promoted British goods, and one-way free trade killed Indian manufacture. Skilled craftsmen had few alternative jobs, because modern industries did not develop.
Why were Awadh taluqdars important in 1857?
Awadh was the storm centre of the revolt. The chapter says 21,000 taluqdars had their estates confiscated and were left without income. They seized the opportunity of the sepoy revolt to oppose the British and try to regain what they had lost.
How did the Mughal succession affect the Revolt of 1857?
After Prince Faqiruddin died in 1856, Lord Canning announced that the next prince would have to renounce the royal title and the ancestral Mughal palaces. This humbled the Mughal house, and Bahadur Shah Zafar became the symbolic head of the revolt in 1857.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 In Awadh, about 21,000 taluqdars had their estates confiscated, according to the chapter.
Awadh was the storm centre of the revolt.
2 One-way free trade killed Indian manufacture.
British goods paid low duties while Indian goods paid high ones.
3 Lord Dalhousie announced that the next Mughal prince would give up the royal title and palaces.
Lord Canning announced it.
4 Rampant corruption among the police and lower courts was an administrative cause of the revolt.
The rule was also seen as alien.
5 The Doctrine of Lapse increased the trust of Indian princes in the Company.
It caused suspicion among the princes.
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