Did the British use sepoys?

Yes, the British used sepoys in India, in some periods well over 200,000.

What was the purpose of the sepoy?

The purpose of the sepoy was to act as a non-ranked infantryman.

Why did the British call it the Sepoy Mutiny?

The British-named Sepoy Mutiny of 1857-8 in India was so called because the violence began with mutineer sepoys in the East India Company army. The rebellion then spread to include other social groups.

Sepoy Timeline

Definition

A sepoy was an Indian soldier in the armies of various states and European trading companies in the Indian subcontinent and then, from the second half of the 19th century, in the British Indian Army. Recruited from many different population and religious groups, sepoys came to dominate the British armed forces in the subcontinent, even if they were not permitted to become officers until the 20th century. The term sepoy continues to be used for ordinary infantry in several armies today.

More about: Sepoy

Timeline

1526 - 1857
Sepoys are recruited by the Mughal Empire.
1757
The East India Company forms the 1st Bengal Native Infantry, the first sepoy battalion.
Jul 1806
East India Company sepoys mutiny in Vellore, southern India against their British officers.
1857 - 1858
The Sepoy Mutiny (aka The Uprising or First Indian War of Independence) against the East India Company.
1895
The old East India Company sepoy units are universally absorbed into the British Indian Army. Indians are now theoretically elgibile to become officers.

Sepoy

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Timeline