White mutiny
Encyclopedia
The term White Mutiny may refer to one of three things:
control operating in India. One comprised those units of the British Army
serving tours of duty in India and known as the "Queen's" army; the other were the units of the East India Company (EIC). The Company's troops were a mixture of "European" regiments of Britons recruited specifically for service in India and "Native" regiments recruiting from the locality with British officers.
The Queens Army was the sovereign
crown's military force. The British Army officer class was characterized by Officer
s who had "Purchased commission" and then risen by further purchase, seniority or battlefield commission. The positions of officers of the European regiments were not bought by purchase but advancement was normally by seniority. In both armies promotion could be accelerated by losses or transfers on active service.
Units of the EIC received batta
extra allowances of pay to cover various expenditures relating to operations out of the home territories while British Army units did not. Officers of the British Army
were senior to those of the same rank in the EIC.
The dissimilarities in the physical makeup of these two forces lead to many cultural differences in how they operated and how they viewed each other. These cultural differences lead to deep misunderstandings between the two forces.
After the mutiny of native units of the Company's forces in 1857, the Crown took over the affairs of the Company. With the takeover of the Company's activities its units were transferred to the Crown.
The laws were quite clear and the legality of the transfer was well established, but by ignoring the "Humanity" of the people it affected, the officers and men of the "European Forces" were alienated to the point of open mutiny. Aggravating the condition was the still unsettled Indian rebellion of 1857
. The White Mutiny of the "European Forces" was seen as a potential undermining of the already rocky British rule in India with a potential of inciting renewed rebellion among the 'still excited population throughout India'.
The White Mutiny was highly successful in meeting its aims. The demands of the "European Forces" officers and men were centralized around a demand for either an enlistment bonus/bounty or release from their obligations. In this aim they were highly successful in achieving a free and clear release. However, the events that occurred at some of their installations were such that it eventually destroyed any possibility of the "European Forces" being generally accepted into the "Queens Army". These events included open rebellion and physical violence both on the part of the men and the officers of the "European Forces".
- A form of nonviolent protest, usually military, where personnel who object to stupid or ridiculous orders follow them exactly, pointing out the ineptitude of their commander by doing precisely what he ordered. A soldier ordered to drive a vehicle through a patch of mud he knows the vehicle cannot navigate might go ahead and drive it through, and allow it to become trapped. The hope is that when the operation is a spectacular failure, the commander will be shown up as the fool he really is.
- The dissolution of the "European Forces" of the BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Honourable East India Company in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
during the mid 19th century in the wake of the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
- Another incident which occurred in India in 1766: a 'White mutiny' among British brigadiers, on occasion of their reduced military allowances, which was suppressed by Robert Clive.
Background
Until 1861 there were two separate military forces under BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
control operating in India. One comprised those units of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
serving tours of duty in India and known as the "Queen's" army; the other were the units of the East India Company (EIC). The Company's troops were a mixture of "European" regiments of Britons recruited specifically for service in India and "Native" regiments recruiting from the locality with British officers.
The Queens Army was the sovereign
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
crown's military force. The British Army officer class was characterized by Officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
s who had "Purchased commission" and then risen by further purchase, seniority or battlefield commission. The positions of officers of the European regiments were not bought by purchase but advancement was normally by seniority. In both armies promotion could be accelerated by losses or transfers on active service.
Units of the EIC received batta
Batta
-Anglo-Indian military use:Batta is an Anglo-Indian military term, probably derived from the Canarese bhatta , meaning a special allowance of pay made to officers, soldiers, or other public servants in the field....
extra allowances of pay to cover various expenditures relating to operations out of the home territories while British Army units did not. Officers of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
were senior to those of the same rank in the EIC.
The dissimilarities in the physical makeup of these two forces lead to many cultural differences in how they operated and how they viewed each other. These cultural differences lead to deep misunderstandings between the two forces.
After the mutiny of native units of the Company's forces in 1857, the Crown took over the affairs of the Company. With the takeover of the Company's activities its units were transferred to the Crown.
"Mutiny"
In the negotiations of the terms for the transfer the Governor General, Canning, did not give the "European Forces" notice of their transfer to the "Queens Army". Another was a result of Canning's legalistic interpretation of the laws surrounding the transfer. A third was in the misunderstanding that stemmed from cultural differences between the two forces, a misunderstanding that was aggravated by influential articles printed by British periodicals of the time. Articles that wrongly painted the "European Force" as undisciplined, unhealthy, and mutinous in nature.The laws were quite clear and the legality of the transfer was well established, but by ignoring the "Humanity" of the people it affected, the officers and men of the "European Forces" were alienated to the point of open mutiny. Aggravating the condition was the still unsettled Indian rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
. The White Mutiny of the "European Forces" was seen as a potential undermining of the already rocky British rule in India with a potential of inciting renewed rebellion among the 'still excited population throughout India'.
The White Mutiny was highly successful in meeting its aims. The demands of the "European Forces" officers and men were centralized around a demand for either an enlistment bonus/bounty or release from their obligations. In this aim they were highly successful in achieving a free and clear release. However, the events that occurred at some of their installations were such that it eventually destroyed any possibility of the "European Forces" being generally accepted into the "Queens Army". These events included open rebellion and physical violence both on the part of the men and the officers of the "European Forces".
In popular culture
- In Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's book The Number Of The BeastThe Number of the Beast (novel)The Number of the Beast is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1980. The first edition featured a cover and interior illustrations by Richard M. Powers...
it is presented as form of non violent protest. - A synonym for "Malicious Obedience"
External links
- http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2006/03/the_racial_ideo.php
- http://www.nyupress.org/books/White_Mutiny-products_id-1146.html
- http://www.pacchips.com/10/Malicious%20Obedience.htm