Queen Victoria: Proclamation concerning India

Audience

The document itself, which begins with the words “Proclamation by the Queen in Council to the Princes, Chiefs, and People of India,” announces its chief audience. The purpose of the document was to announce to the people of India that the British government was assuming control of the nation's Indian colonies, removing them from the administration of the British East India Company. A secondary audience included those members of the British administration who urged that harsh measures be taken against those who had taken part in the Sepoy Revolt. The queen made it clear that harsh measures would not be taken and that Indians who returned to their duty would be treated with clemency. The document also made it clear to interested parties throughout the world that Indian matters would now fall under the purview of the Crown and Parliament rather than the British East India Company.