'Capture & Death of the Shahzadaghs', 1857

Coloured lithograph from 'The Campaign in India 1857-58', a series of 26 coloured lithographs by William Simpson, E Walker and others, after G F Atkinson, published by Day and Son, 1857-1858.

On 21 September 1857, Lieutenant (later Major) William Hodson received the surrender of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Moghul Emperor, after the fall of Delhi. The next day he arrested three of the royal princes (shazadas) in front of a large crowd outside the city walls. In one of the most notorious incidents of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859), Hodson then shot them in cold blood after they had freely given up their arms. Although the entire royal family had surrendered peacefully, several more of the Emperor's sons were tried and hanged for 'rebellion'.