1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Technically you're getting two days in history today 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: because we're running two episodes from the History Vault. I 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:11,040 Speaker 1: hope you enjoy. Hi. I'm Eves and welcome to this 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a show that uncovers history one 5 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: day at a time. The day was March fifty seven. 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: India was under control of the British East India Company 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,160 Speaker 1: and Britain's rule was becoming more troublesome to Indian people. 8 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: The British were changing up the social structure drastically, and 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: many Indians were growing disillusioned with the East India Company's activities. 10 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: Dissension was bubbling among sea boys, or Indian soldiers serving 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: in the British Army. So on this day, a twenty 12 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: nine year old sea boy named Mango Pandy attacked two 13 00:00:55,160 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: British officers. Unrests have been brewing for a while. The 14 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: East India Company entered India in the seventeenth century on 15 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 1: the pretense of trading, but by the early eighteenth century 16 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: the company's role in India had transformed to be more political. 17 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: At the time of the Sepoy Rebellion in the eighteen fifties, 18 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: the East India Company was really flexing its muscle as 19 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: an extension of British imperialism. Politics, the economy, and culture 20 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,559 Speaker 1: were subject to the whims of the British. There weren't 21 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: that many British people who actually lived in India, at 22 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: least not nearly as many as there were Indians, but 23 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,959 Speaker 1: Indian royalty had entered into deals with the East India 24 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: Company that they believed would benefit them and their states. 25 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: India was divided into states, and the British were given 26 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,559 Speaker 1: the power to have troops and British residents in each date. 27 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: In return, the British would ensure royal Indian families would thrive. 28 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: But the British motivations weren't so straightforward. As British influence 29 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: grew stronger in India, the East India Company weakened the 30 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: power of Indian leadership and attempted to dismantle Indian cultural traditions. 31 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: James Andrew Brown, Ramsay Marquis and tenth Earl of Dalhousie 32 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: was a key figure in this dramatic expansion of British 33 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: power in India. When Lord Dalhousi became the Governor General 34 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: of India, he instituted aggressive policies as he believed in 35 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: the superiority of the West. He championed Western education in India, 36 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: developed a transportation system, instituted telegraph lines, and instituted social 37 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: reforms like suppressing female infanticide and encouraging education for girls. 38 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: But the most controversial part of his political career in 39 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: India was his aggressive imposition of British administration throughout India. 40 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: Under his oversight, the East India Company annexed many Indian 41 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: states under the doctrine of laps. Provinces still had royal rulers, 42 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: and when one of those rulers had no biological air, 43 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: the ruler could ask the British government if he could 44 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: adopt a son to be his successor. But when Dalhousie 45 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: came along, he realized that he could refuse this permission 46 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: to adopt, so there would be a lapse in the 47 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: line of succession and Britain could swoop in an annex 48 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: the territory. This was a sketty policy, subject to abuse, 49 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: but the British used it to acquire more land and power. 50 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: Dalhousie used the doctrine of laps in the state of 51 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: out in eighteen fifty six, when the East India Company 52 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: deemed the ruler incompetent and took control of the state. 53 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: This didn't sit well with many of the sepoys, who 54 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: were from the highest casts and out as they lost 55 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: rank and privilege in the transition of power. As many Brahmins, 56 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: or people of the highest Hindu cast lost money and 57 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: power when they were supplanted by British officials, they grew 58 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: more and more unhappy with the East India Company. On 59 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: top of all this, some Indians suspected the British were 60 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: planning to convert everyone to Christianity and all of the 61 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: new social reforms were up ending Indian society. The sepoys 62 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: were also facing singular problems, as some felt slighted by 63 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: low pay and some were being passed over for promotions 64 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: in favor of white soldiers. But the straw that probably 65 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: broke the camel's back was the issuance of infilled rifles. 66 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: A rumor spread that the rifles cartridges had been lubricated 67 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: with lard from pigs and cows, as Hinduism considers cows 68 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: sacred and Islam prohibits eating beefs. The fact that soldiers 69 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:30,360 Speaker 1: had to bite the ends of the cartridges to load 70 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: the rifles was a huge issue and seen as offensive, 71 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: so on March twenty nine, eighteen fifty seven, Mangal Pandy, 72 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,839 Speaker 1: a Brahmin seapoy, decided to protest this potentially malicious action 73 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: and kicked off the uprising by shooting a British sergeant 74 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: major and a lieutenant. Pandy was arrested, found guilty, and 75 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: sentenced to death by hanging in April. Seapoys were built 76 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: by refusing to use their guns and were severely punished, 77 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: but by May the uprising had turned violent. Sepoys in 78 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: South India largely sided with the British, but many in 79 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: the Bengal Army mutinied. Off duty British officers and civilians 80 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: were killed. The British fought back by killing sea poys 81 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: with bayonets and even sometimes shooting them out of cannons, 82 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: and they murdered Indian civilians. These devastating and bloody battles 83 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: lasted into eighteen fifty eight, with major incidents at Delhi, 84 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: Conpoor and Lucknow, but in the end the British military 85 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: established control by slowly and strategically retaking cities after the 86 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: rebellion had quieted. The rebellion ended on July eighteen fifty eight, 87 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: after more than a year of brutal battles, the rebels 88 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: had not achieved their goal of gaining their independence from Britain. 89 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: India didn't get there until nineteen forty seven, after a 90 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: long and arduous two hundred years of British rule, but 91 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: they did cause some stepbacks that were wired some major 92 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: changes in India. The East India Company was put out 93 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: in India, came under direct control of the British Crown, 94 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: and armies, which have been largely Indian before were reorganized 95 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: to include mainly British troops and a number of diverse 96 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: Indian soldiers. That way, there was less of a chance 97 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,919 Speaker 1: for the troops to organize a mutiny. The prospect of 98 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,599 Speaker 1: converting Indians to Christianity was squashed, and Britain even began 99 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: meeting with Indian representatives on cultural issues. But even though 100 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: the British had rolled back the imposition of some social measures, 101 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: Britain expanded their administration in India and Western systems continued 102 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 1: to influence the Indian subcontinent. I'm each jeffco and hopefully 103 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 104 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: did yesterday. You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram and 105 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: Facebook at t d I h C podcast We'll see 106 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: you tomorrow. Hey everyone, it's Eves and welcome to another 107 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: episode of This Day and History Class, a podcast that 108 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: brings you a little nugget of history every single day. 109 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 1: The day was March twenty nine, nine Malagassi nationalists launched 110 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: an uprising against the French colonial government in Madagascar. The 111 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: Malagassi are people of Indonesian and African origin who live 112 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: in Madagascar. Malagassi rulers had long attempted to resist British 113 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: and French influence in Madagascar, but France annexed Madagascar by 114 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: force in eighteen ninety six. In August of that year, 115 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: the island off of the southeast coast of Africa officially 116 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: became a French colony once the French were in power, 117 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: where they took over administration and the economy, but resistance 118 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: to French rule continued upon French colonization. The Minal Lamba Rebellion, 119 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: for instance, began in eighteen ninety five as people in 120 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: central Madagascar fought European influence. More opposition to French rule 121 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: emerged across the colony, but the French quailed a lot 122 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: of the opposition. Still, nationalist groups formed as people grew 123 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: more opposed to foreign influence. Madagascar was occupied by the 124 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: British and South Africans in nineteen forty two, and during 125 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: the Second World War the living conditions of the Malagassi 126 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: got even worse. Workers were exploited through forced labor. Rice 127 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: was requisitioned for the war, leading to famine, and tens 128 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: of thousands of Malagassis were conscripted into the French army. 129 00:08:55,679 --> 00:09:01,319 Speaker 1: So nationalist sentiment continued to grow and early nineteen forty six, 130 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,719 Speaker 1: after World War Two ended, two Malagasi nationalists who were 131 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:10,199 Speaker 1: elected to represent Madagascar at the first French Constituent Assembly, 132 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 1: as well as a Malagassi writer, formed the Democratic Movement 133 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: from Malagassi Renewal and Paris. The political party advocated Malagasy 134 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: self government within the French Union. Two of the leaders 135 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: of the party proposed legislation in the first Constituent Assembly 136 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: of the Fourth French Republic that would make Madagascar politically 137 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 1: independent from France. The legislation was strongly opposed by the 138 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: French government. Colonial Secretary Marius Mute declared a war against 139 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 1: the Malagasi independence movement. The US government criticized the actions 140 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: of the French, but the conflict escalated as nationalists were 141 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:55,080 Speaker 1: moved to action. The Party of the Marginalized of Madagascar 142 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 1: formed in June of nineteen forty six in opposition to 143 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: the Democratic Movement for Malagasi Renewal. A lot of the 144 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: members of the party were from coastal communities and were 145 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 1: the descendants of people who were formerly enslaved by the 146 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: Marina people. The Marina people are a Malagasi ethnic group 147 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: whose rulers had a lot of political power in Madagascar 148 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 1: in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Party of 149 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: the Marginalized Madagascar had Francis support and was not nationalist 150 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 1: at first, though it eventually supported gradual independence. On March seven, 151 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:35,400 Speaker 1: ninety seven, the leaders of the Democratic Movement for Malagasi 152 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: Renewal called for the Malagazi people to remain peaceful so 153 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: that they could secure a path to Madagascar's independence, but 154 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: on the evening of March twenty nine, Malagazi nationalists executed 155 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: surprise attacks on the eastern and southern part of the island. 156 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:56,719 Speaker 1: They attacked a French military garrison, plantations and other places, 157 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: and they arrested people who had sided with colonial authority. 158 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:05,080 Speaker 1: The uprising soon gained more supporters and spread north on 159 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: the island, but the conflict turned extremely violent. France acted 160 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: with force against insurgents, who were armed mainly with spears 161 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 1: and knives. The French government dissolved the democratic movement from 162 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 1: Malagassi Renewal and its leaders were sentenced to death, later 163 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: commuted to life imprisonment. By the end of nineteen forty eight, 164 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: French forces had effectively suppressed the uprising. The death toll 165 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:36,199 Speaker 1: is disputed, but some tens of thousands of Malagassi combatants 166 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:41,079 Speaker 1: and civilians were killed. Around five hundred and fifty French 167 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: civilians and government troops were killed. Madagascar, then known as 168 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: the Malagassi Republic, gained full independence in nineteen sixty I'm 169 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: Eve Jeffcote and hopefully you know a little more about 170 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:59,079 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. And if you want 171 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: to send us a not on social media, you can 172 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,319 Speaker 1: hit us up on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at t 173 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,320 Speaker 1: D I HC podcast. You can also send us a 174 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: message via email at this Day at I heart media 175 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks again for listening to the podcast. Hope 176 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: you're staying safe and see you again tomorrow. For more 177 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: podcasts from i Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 178 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.