24. The Great Rebellion of 1857 brought the company to its end
In 1857 troops of the EIC throughout India rose in rebellion against their British masters. The troops – known as Sepoys – gave the rebellion its most widely used name the Sepoy Mutiny. In India, it is known as the First War of Independence. At the time of the rebellion, more than 300,000 Sepoys were in the EIC armies, which were divided into three separate entities, the Bombay Army, Madras Army, and the Bengal Army. About 50,000 British troops were divided between the three armies, also employed by the EIC. The Bengal Army contained a large number of Sepoys who were higher-caste natives. The rebellion began in the Bengal Army.
It was rapidly and brutally suppressed by the EIC using Sepoy troops which remained loyal to the EIC. During the rebellion, religious strife emerged and massacres of prisoners and civilians were frequent. Atrocities were perpetrated by all sides and were widely reported in the press in Great Britain, where sentiment against the Indians hardened. But in the aftermath of the rebellion, sentiment turned against the EIC and its administration of India. In August, 1858, the British government enacted the Government of India act of 1858, transferring the control of India to the British Crown.