British Imperial Geography and the Raj

British rule in India shifted from a chartered trading company to direct Crown government as a consequence of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also called the Sepoy Mutiny or, by Indian nationalist historiography, the First War of Independence, which began among sepoys of the Bengal Army and spread to besiege British garrisons at Delhi, Lucknow, and Cawnpore before being suppressed by 1858. The Government of India Act of 1858 dissolved the East India Company, which had governed since receiving Bengal's revenue rights (diwani) in 1765, and transferred authority to the British Crown, with the Governor-General now also serving as Viceroy; Lord Canning held both offices during the transition. In 1876, the Royal Titles Act granted Queen Victoria the additional title Empress of India, proclaimed at the Delhi Durbar organized by Viceroy Lord Lytton on 1 January 1877, formally cementing India's status as the centerpiece of the British Empire.