White Mutiny: British Military Culture in India

by Peter Stanley

Overview

In the White Mutiny of 1859-61—the largest revolt the British army ever faced—European troops operating on behalf of the East India Company rebelled against their transfer to the service of the Queen of England. Through an analysis of the White Mutiny, Peter Stanley provides a portrait of emerging working-class consciousness among the troops and reveals how the British army, the preeminent icon of English imperialism, first maintained, then lost, control over a vast and generally hostile sub-continent.
In cantonment offices in Meerut and Calcutta, we find unimpaired the class distinctions and aspirations of contemporary Britain. Penetrating the hidden worlds of the barrack room and the officers' mess, White Mutiny demonstrates the intimate relationship between the military and the social history of British culture in India, and how awareness of each can enrich the other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814780831
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	05/01/1998
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

A military historian working at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Peter Stanley is editor of What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? and author of Bomber Command, Air Battle Europe, 1939- 1945.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A pioneering piece of social history."

-James Walvin,University of York

"Stanley's reconstruction of the 'culture' of his officers and men—their careers, relationships, expectations, living conditions—is fascinating. Stanley writes clear, concise, and often witty English. After the jargon-ridden, polysyllabic obfuscation of so much 'new' history, his concern for his readers comes as a delightful relief."

-Clive Dewey,University of Leicester

Editorial Reviews

"A pioneering piece of social history."

James Walvin

"Stanley's reconstruction of the ‘culture' of his officers and men—their careers, relationships, expectations, living conditions—is fascinating. Stanley writes clear, concise, and often witty English. After the jargon-ridden, polysyllabic obfuscation of so much ‘new' history, his concern for his readers comes as a delightful relief."

Clive Dewey

"A pioneering piece of social history."

-James Walvin,University of York

"Stanley's reconstruction of the ‘culture' of his officers and men—their careers, relationships, expectations, living conditions—is fascinating. Stanley writes clear, concise, and often witty English. After the jargon-ridden, polysyllabic obfuscation of so much ‘new' history, his concern for his readers comes as a delightful relief."

-Clive Dewey,University of Leicester

From the Publisher

An exploration of the largest revolt the British army ever faced and its implications to the military establishment in India and the rest of the Empire. The focal event is the transfer of troops from the East India Company to the Queen's control. The author uses soldiers' diaries, biographies, Parliament records and other material to convey the feelings of the men involved in the situation and document the social history of His or Her Majesty's Army in the 19th century. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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