The Indian Uprising of 1857

The Indian Uprising of 1857 remains a deeply politicized event. It is often remembered as a nationalist Uprising in India, a ‘First War of Independence’, and condescendingly referred to in the UK as a ‘mutiny’ of Indian soldiers. This chapter looks at the Uprising and its international and local effects. It was foundational to the creation of the colonial state in India and changed imperial governance structures globally, with the British forever aware of the possibility of anti-colonial resistance and governed with greater brutality as a result. Conceptually, I argue that a granular reading of the Uprising, defined as an emphasis on the texture of the event itself, must focus on colonial violence. Moreover, this violence should disrupt the broad strokes historical narratives that International Relations (IR) rests upon. Indeed, the 1857 Indian Uprising demonstrates to us the colonial genealogy of the international, and the extreme violence that underpins it.