The Indian Rebellion of 1857 occurred as the result of an accumulation of factors over time, rather than any single event. The major events to constitute to it were as follows:

1. The doctrine of Lapse: The Company had interfered with a traditional system of inheritance in the name of Doctrine of Lapse, which refused to recognise the adopted children of princes as legal heirs. Many of the Nobility had lost titles and domains under the Doctrine of Lapse and felt that the company had taken away their birthright.

2. Company Rules and Regulations: The second group, the taluqdars, had lost half their landed estates to peasant farmers as a result of the land reforms that came in the wake of annexation. It has also been suggested that heavy land-revenue assessment in some areas by the British resulted in many landowning families either losing their land or going into great debt to money lenders and providing ultimately a reason to rebel; money lenders, in addition to the Company, were particular objects of the rebels' animosity.

3. A general Anger: The justice system was considered to be inherently unfair to the Indians. The official Blue Books, *East India (Torture) 1855–1857*, laid before the House of Commons during the sessions of 1856 and 1857, revealed that Company officers were allowed an extended series of appeals if convicted or accused of brutality or crimes against Indians.