The British, after battling in Rawalpindi in 1845 had captured Rani Jind Kaur, the widow of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (the former Ruler of Punjab) - this caused the collapse of Sikh rule and, when the British marched into the Murree area, the local tribes at first welcomed them. However, many of the tribes soon considered that they had exchanged one form of occupation for another and events elsewhere in India also encouraged an uprising.