The Great Mutiny

New York: The Viking Press. Near Fine in Very Good+ dust jacket. 1978. First Edition. Hardcover. 0670349836 . DJ and boards show very light shelf wear.; A bright, solid book, dustjacket in Mylar, unclipped. B&W illustrations, glossary of terms used, chronological table, extensive notes & references, bibliography and index.; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 472 pages; In May 1857 3 regiments mutinied and went on a rampage in Meerut, near Delhi. It soon spread to all the Northwestern provinces - anyone of European descent was a target, British soldiers and their families, primary targets. Buildings were burned down and many were slaughtered. The sepoys vastly outnumbered the the British soldiers. "The final spark was provided by the ammunition for the new Enfield Pattern 1853 rifled musket. These rifles, which fired Minié balls, had a tighter fit than the earlier muskets, and used paper cartridges that came pre-greased. To load the rifle, sepoys had to bite the cartridge open to release the powder. The grease used on these cartridges was rumoured to include tallow derived from beef, which would be offensive to Hindus, and lard derived from pork, which would be offensive to Muslims." It was much more complicated than this of course. One only need to read this well researched history to understand. .