This coloured engraving shows an assemblage at the Travancore royal court with James Outram and his staff and Maharaja of Travancore, Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1814-1860). General James Outram was appointed as a political agent in Lucknow in 1854 and became the region’s first commissioner after the annexation of Oudh State. He was a British… Read more »
The Revolt of 1857 was a large-scale display of active resistance against the British East India Company. It was the first time British dominance on the Indian subcontinent was so evidently called into question. The book illustrates and describes the uprising, narrated by Colin Cambell, Commander-in-Chief in India (1846-1853), mostly based on official letters, dispatches… Read more »
This albumen photograph is of Sir Henry Tombs (1825-1874) as captured by Felice Beato. Tombs was born on 10th November 1825 in Calcutta, India. His father, Major General John Tombs, was a soldier and commanded the 3rd Bengal Cavalry at the Siege of Bhurtpore from 1824. Sir Henry completed his education and entered the Royal… Read more »
We review rare books from our collection that document the Uprising of 1857 from a decidedly British point of view
Sir Henry Tombs was gazetted to the Bengal Artillery as a Second Lieutenant and served in the First and Second Anglo-Sikh wars, as well as the Uprising of 1857. More about the Uprising here and fascinating insights from the frontlines and on the ground by Prof. Rudrangshu Mukherjee here. Felice Beato was a European photographer renowned… Read more »
The map shows the route the army of Tantia Topi took when escaping after being defeated at Gwalior. Tantia Tope, an employee of the Peshwa Bajirao, was a prominent leader of the 1857 Uprising. For a while, he made Gwalior his stronghold, from which he was defeated by Colin Campbell. He kept escaping the British… Read more »
The map traces a decisive battle between the British forces led by Colin Campbell and Tantia Tope, an old associate of Nana Sahib. In November 1857, Tantia Tope, who had been active in Central India with the Gwalior Contingent, headed towards Kanpur to recapture it. They were defeated by the British army and Tantia Tope… Read more »
This map was published by William Mackenzi, London, showing the plan of the city of Lucknow and highlighting the routes taken by British troupes to carry out relief operations. The red lines mark the routes of the operations led by General Havelock, Colin Campbell and James Outram, accompanied with dates. Prominent locations and areas of… Read more »
The Sarmaya collection holds an extensive range of Felice Beato’s work depicting the aftermath of the Uprising of 1857 in places like Delhi, Lucknow and Kanpur, which bore the brunt of the violence. The devastation of Kashmere Gate in Delhi was one of the landmark moments that marked the beginning of the revolution’s end. Felice… Read more »