CBSE Class 8 Answered

Following are the economic causes of the uprising of 1857:

1. In order to consolidate their hegemony over India, the British Government bought cheap raw material from India and then flooded the Indian markets with their finished goods. This had a devastating impact on the Indian cottage industries as the Indian artisans and craftsmen spiraled into unemployment. Slowly but surely, poverty increased manifold in the Indian hinterland, forcing the peasantry into indebtedness.
2. The land revenue settlements imposed by the British Government led to farmers having to borrow heavily from moneylenders and zamindars. Despite this, it was difficult to make ends meet and produce had to be extracted out of the land without following precautions to preserve the nutrients of the soil. As a result, the farmers had to borrow further and eventually lose their land to the moneylender or the zamindar.
3. The British administration turned India into an agricultural economy by forcing the peasantry to grow only those crops (like indigo) which suited the operation of the British economy.
4. When the Indian states were taken over by the Company government, the zamindars and the talukdars were also relieved of their estates. This turned the zamindari class, which had till then been loyal to the British, against the Company government. The annexation of states also resulted in the artisans, poets, musicians and other courtiers losing their livelihood.