Consequences of the Indian Mutiny on the British Empire

The Indian Mutiny caused a lot of change in the British Empire and their attitudes towards Indians. The experiences they gained during their time in India helped Britain reevaluate their strategies and methods of governing their other colonies.

A prime instance of this case is, after the Indian Mutiny had ended, the experience and knowledge in indirectly distributed to the British presented many opportunities for qualified the settlers and officials the job of colonial governors during the imperial crises. British colonies such as New Zealand were heavily impacted from the Indian Mutiny. This is because the Indian uprising provided many British settler and officials the experience to help develop their specific role in the British crown which consequently provided them with further opportunities to exercise these skills for future causes such as the imperial crises; (Taranaki Wars, please see impacts on New Zealand).  Bender explicitly stated: “The uprising in India in 1857 offered an opportunity for both settlers and officials to discuss the appropriate role of colonial governors in imperial crises.”  The Indian Mutiny also indirectly affected other British colonies as the British Crown would appoint their own people who were campaigned in the Mutiny of 1857 to take the role of colonial governors. If there were any benefits from this historical event, it is that it boosted British administration as the aftermath of the Mutiny gave Britain more options to elect their colonial governors.  

While the Indian rebellion and fight against the British government did provide some benefit them, they did not hold back towards the Indians as their attitudes quickly shifted from “relative openness to insularity and xenophobia” quoted by the U.S Library of Congress. This is a clear demonstration of Britain’s ignorant attitudes towards the Indians. Furthermore, “private clubs where the British gathered for social interaction became symbols of exclusivity and snobbery that refused to disappear decades after the British had left India.” This further builds onto the claim as British activity rapidly became a symbol of segregation even after Britain left India enforces the negative British attitude on India and its people. The sense of segregation and exclusivity developed complex perception and emotional reaction to such a degree of patriotism. And it was at this point, the patriotism (also refer nationalism) established the Independence campaign for India.

The Indian Mutiny had stirred major controversy during its coverage on British media. Streets claimed that British coverage on the Indian Mutiny exaggerated India’s acts as inhumane and barbarous where others would argue (mentioned above) that India were not fighting against the anti-colonial sentiment, but were fighting against them, in attempt to defend their religion and cultural identity. These false accounts by the British caused an ‘emotive’ and ‘vengeful’ response by the British public. It is stated by Heather Streets, that without this corrupt act of propaganda depicted to the British public, they would not have received the support and sympathy from back home. Heather also stated: “On the British side, this was in large part due to the fact that English-language accounts of the Rebellion framed it in terms of a savage attack on British women and children, who were allegedly being raped and murdered by fanatic soldiers in alarming numbers.” These were the type of fictitious content Britain was broadcasting to the British public to put it all in perspective. These claims immediately impacted Britain’s attitude and views towards Indians, as they were shown the rebellion ‘dramatically increased racial antagonism.’ Furthermore, the heavy coverage on the Indian Mutiny in British media was also a significant moment for British history as this coverage was the first time the “events of an imperial conflict to reach a truly ‘mass’ audience in Britain.” This fundamentally revolutionized British propaganda strategies as it introduced Britain’s mass media outlets, which would be extremely helpful to them for future imperial notifications to be showcased to both Britain and its colonies.