View of the Red Fort, Delhi, 1850 circa (miniature on ivory)

View of the Red Fort, Delhi, 1850 circa. Miniature, watercolour on ivory, artist unknown. The Red Fort (or La Qila) was built between 1638 and 1648. In 1857 it was the residence of Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862) the last Mughal Emperor of India, dubbed the ‘King of Delhi’ by the British. Immediately after the start of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858), the sepoys from Meerut had gone to the fort to ask for the emperor’s support. They were joined by thousands of Delhi civilians, Hindu and Moslem alike. Faced with an armed mob inside his palace, the emperor had little choice but to become the reluctant figurehead of the rising. After suppressing the mutiny and overthrowing Zafar, the British took over the fort and used it as the headquarters of the Indian Army. They also demolished many of the buildings within the fort complex and destroyed the buildings outside that were within 500 metres of its walls. This created an open ground around it that could easily be swept by artillery. These changes were aimed at subjugating a population that the British claimed had forfeited their trust.