The expansion of the British Empire in the 19th century required a fast and reliable system of communication to enable the British government in London to issue instructions and receive information quickly. The Indian Mutiny of 1857, followed by the annexation of India in 1858, emphasised this need. By 1856, cables had been laid linking Britain with North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. A scheme to lay a cable through Mesopotamia to the head of the Persian Gulf failed when the Turks refused to grant permission.