The annexation by the British not only displaced the Nawab but also dispossessed the taluqdars of Awadh. The countryside of Awadh was dotted with the estates and forts of taluqdars who for many generations had controlled land and power in the countryside. Before the coming of the British, taluqdars maintained armed retaincrs, built forts, and enjoyed a degree of autonomy, as long as they accepted the suzcrainty of thc Nawab and paid the revenue of their taluq. Some of the bigger taluqdars had as many as 12,000 foot-soldiers and even the smaller ones had about 200. The British were unwilling to tolerate the power of the taluqdars. Immediately atter the annexation, the talugdars were disarmed and their forts were destroyed. The sepoys had complained for decades over low evels ofpay and-the-eifienłty of geting a leave. In the 1840s, when the sepoys who had a friendly relationships with the British officers then began to change. The officers developeda sense of superiority and startcd treating the sepoys as their racial inferiors, Tding roughshod over thetr sensibttirtes. Abuse and physical violence became common and thus the distance between sepoys.and officers grew. Trust was replaced by suspicion. The episode of the grcased cartridges was a classic example of this.
