India during the nineteenth century

From company to raj and the age of reform
1801          Annexation of the Carnatic and part of the state of Oudh
1813          end of the EICo’s monopoly over Indian trade
1828-35     Governor-generalship of Lord William Bentinck; suppresses traditional Indian customs (i.e., sati)
1834          T. B. Macaulay drafts a new penal code based on Utilitarian principles
1835          Macaulay’s Minute on Education; English becomes the language of instruction in all Indian schools
1848-56     Governor-generalship of Lord Dalhousie; enacts further reforms (removes impediments to the spread of
                    Christianity and allows Hindu widows to remarry)
1849          Annexation of the Punjab
1856          Complete annexation of the Oudh
 

The Mutiny/Uprising
1857          the British introduce new Enfield riffles to the army
                 May 10 -- outbreak of the Indian Uprising; sepoys from the Meerut mutiny and march to Delhi; they install the
                 Mughal emporer as their leader; receive support from discontented landed magnates and peasants around Delhi.
                 May-July -- the revolt spreads to the north and west of Delhi; the mutineers take the major military stations in Oudh and
                 the North-West Provinces
                 main areas of revolt:
                    in the Delhi region and Oudh
                    in Awadh (east); landowners, peasants, and artisans join forces; imprison British troops in the residency of Lucknow
                    in central India; local leaders inflicted a severe defeat on the British garrison at Kanpur (Cawnpore)
                 Lord Canning assembles a sizeable force at Calcutta and begins to restore British control
                 21 Sept -- the British retake Delhi

1858          toward the end of the year, the British finally extinguish the revolt in Oudh
                 July -- Canning declares an end to the war
                 sporadic guerilla warfare continues
                 abolition of the East India Company
 

Troubles in Afghanistan
1874           in Britain, the Conservatives come to power under Disraeli; negotiations with the Amir of Afghanistan
1878           Sept -- the viceroy, Lord Lytton, leads a regiment of Lancers into Afghanistan; turned back
1878           Disraeli declares war on Afghanistan
1878-80      Anglo-Afghan War; General Roberts defeats the Afghan forces
1879           Jul -- British envoy installed at Kabul
                  Sept -- mutinous Afghan soldiers murder the envoy; army returns
1880           in Britain, the Liberals come to power under Gladstone; negotiate a settlement that allows the British to control
                    Afghan foreign politicy in return for a British subsidy
1885           Russian troops defeat the Afghan army and occupy Penjdeh; arbitration resolves the crisis
1907           the Russians withdraw