Jhansi was a Maratha-ruled princely state, and the king's widow Rani Lakshmi Bai protested when her adopted son was not accepted as the legal heir and Jhansi was annexed by the British under the Doctrine of Lapse. When war broke out, Jhansi quickly became a centre of the rebellion. A small group of Company officials and their families took refuge in Jhansi fort, and the Rani negotiated their evacuation.
However, when they left the fort they were massacred by the rebels over whom the Rani had no control; the Europeans suspected the Rani of complicity, despite her repeated denials.
