summarized from Wikipedia: On this day in 1857, a major uprising in India began against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power, including military forces, on behalf of the British Crown. The initial action sparking the uprising was a mutiny of Company sepoys (native, meaning in this case South Asian, troops in European service). The uprising spread across the Ganges area and Central India, continuing until it was put down 20 June 1858. Some of the causes included invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes, Company officials demolishing temples and mosques, and scepticism about British claims that their rule offered material improvement to the Indian economy.