The Revolt of 1857 is often referred to as the First Was of Indian Independence. For the first time in the history of colonial rule, there was a PAN India struggle to oust the foreign government. The Revolt was however swiftly suppressed by the English authorities. Complete Step by Step Answer - The factors which led to the onset of revolt is multifaceted. There were several religious, social, political and economic causes which had set into motion an atmosphere of general hatred towards the foreign government. However, the immediate factor which led to the outburst of the rebellion was the rumour about the cartilage of the Enfield Rifle being made out of cow and pig fat. The revolt started in Meerut, and from there spread like a fire engulfing almost all of North India. The revolt saw the soldiers, peasants and even many local rulers, princes and dispossessed Zamindars fight against what they called the firangi rule. However, after some initial setbacks, the Britishers brutally suppressed the revolt and swiftly regained all lost territories. There were many reasons for this. Firstly, the revolt lacked planning and unity. Even though there were a lot of localised rebellions spread over a wide area these were not coordinated or organised. There were local leaders but the revolt lacked a National level leader who could unite all the forces and use them effectively to the enemy's detriment. As opposed to this, the British troops were well organised and managed by talented leaders such as Havelock, Outram and Campbell. The Indian side was poorly trained and not well armed, whereas the highly disciplined British troops were armed to the teeth with weapons. In general, the organisational and military superiority of the British forces made it very easy for them to suppress the revolt. Secondly, Indian leaders did not have a common foresight or plan as to what they would do after the revolt ended. They had not placed much thought on how they would run the government after the Britishers were ousted. Thirdly, not all sections of Indian society participated in the revolt. The rebellion was limited to North India. The Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras did not take part in the revolt and neither did the Sikh soldiers. As a result of all these factors, the revolt of 1857 was easily suppressed. Note - The main causes of the failure of the Revolt of 1857 firstly the lack of unity, planning and efficient leadership on the Indian side and secondly the organisational and military superiority of the English side who was led by very able and experienced generals.