06 May - The British East India Company disbanded the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry

 

On May 6, 1857, the British East India Company disbanded the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, also known as the "Bengal Light Infantry." whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Indian Independence.This event took place against the backdrop of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Indian Independence.

The 34th Regiment was one of the native infantry regiments in the Bengal Army, which was composed primarily of Indian soldiers serving under British officers. The decision to disband this regiment came amidst growing tensions and unrest among Indian soldiers within the Bengal Army, triggered by various factors including perceived grievances related to recruitment policies, military regulations, and the use of cartridges rumored to be greased with animal fat that offended religious sensibilities.

The disbandment of the 34th Regiment was part of the British East India Company's efforts to contain the rebellion and maintain control over its military forces. However, these measures ultimately failed to quell the widespread discontent among Indian soldiers, leading to widespread mutinies and uprisings across northern and central India.

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 had far-reaching consequences, leading to significant political, social, and administrative changes in India. It ultimately resulted in the end of the rule of the British East India Company and the beginning of direct rule by the British Crown through the Government of India Act 1858, which established the British Raj.

 

06 May - Cancellations

 

One of the earliest objections to Rowland Hill's idea for a gummed label that indicated prepayment of postage was the fear that such a label could be soaked off and reused. A postage stamp is one of the simplest examples of a bearer certificate-anyone who possesses it can use it to mail a letter and the fear of reuse was very real. Postage of a British penny in 1840, when wages of a pound a week would support a family of four with ease, was the equivalent of perhaps $5 today so such fear had a real basis in fact. The first stamps were cancelled with Maltese cross cancellations which provided a sometimes disfiguring obliteration and the town from which the letter was posted placed its date and town stamp that was used in the stampless cover period on the same letter next to the stamp. This procedure was followed in the United States when they began to issue stamps except that the type of cancellation that was used was left to the individual postmasters. That is why throughout the Nineteenth century American postal history provides such a rich array of cancellations as many postmasters carved their own fancy cancels out of cork and used them to cancel stamps. Today, cancellations are town and date stamps primarily used to show when and where the letter was mailed for postal delivery purposes. With self adhesive stamps the issue of reuse has become  moot as the stamps are very difficult to remove from an envelope without damaging them.