VELLORE MUTINY

(May 10, 1806), outbreak against the British by South Indian troops, who broke into the fort at Vellore, where the sons of Tippu Sultan of Mysore had been lodged since their surrender at Seringapatam in 1799. The outbreak, though it was encouraged by the Mysore princes, was caused basically by resentment at changes in headgear and shaving style and the prohibition of ornaments and caste marks. Little effort was made by the British to reassure the men or listen to their grievances, and about 130 British troops were killed before the fort was recovered, within hours, by a force under Colonel Robert Gillespie. The affair alarmed the British because of its connection with the Mysore princes, who were thereupon removed to Calcutta. William Bentinck, the governor of Madras, was recalled for what was really the negligence of the commander in chief.