DETAILED PROFILES — GOVERNOR-GENERALS OF BENGAL (1773–1833)

DETAILED PROFILES — GOVERNOR-GENERALS OF BENGAL (1773–1833)

1. Warren Hastings (1773–1785)

• First Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act of 1773, which also created a Supreme Council of four members (Hastings + 4 councillors) and the Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774, first Chief Justice: Elijah Impey).
• Faced strong opposition within his own council (Philip Francis) — famous duel with Francis.
• First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) — ended with the Treaty of Salbai (1782), maintaining status quo for 20 years.
• Rohilla War (1774) — helped Nawab of Awadh subdue the Rohillas, a controversial episode used later in his impeachment.
• Annexed Benaras affairs and had disputes with Raja Chait Singh and the Begums of Awadh — both became key charges in his impeachment.
• Pitt's India Act, 1784 was passed near the end of his tenure, introducing the system of dual control (Court of Directors for commercial affairs + Board of Control for political affairs).
• Founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal was actually founded by William Jones in 1784 during Hastings's tenure (not by Hastings himself, but under his governorship).
• Resigned in 1785; on return to England, was impeached (1788) on charges of corruption and misgovernance — trial lasted 7 years (1788–1795), he was acquitted but financially ruined.
• Note: Hastings is regarded as the founder of British administrative system in India, though the title "Governor-General of India" formally began only in 1833; he was "Governor-General of Bengal" (technically also referred to as Governor-General of Fort William).

Quick Revision:

• Regulating Act — 1773
• Treaty of Salbai — 1782 (ended First Anglo-Maratha War)
• Impeachment — 1788–95, acquitted

2. Sir John Macpherson (1785–1786, acting)

• Officiated between Hastings and Cornwallis; no major reforms; often skipped in short lists but occasionally appears in "who succeeded whom" questions.

3. Lord Cornwallis (1786–1793)

• Known as the "Father of Civil Service in India" — organized and modernized the civil services; introduced covenanted civil service.
• Permanent Settlement of Bengal, Bihar, Odisha (1793) — fixed land revenue permanently; zamindars made owners of land, responsible for fixed revenue to the state.
• Cornwallis Code (1793) — based on the principle of separation of powers; separated revenue administration from the judiciary; introduced the concept that "the government would do no wrong."
• Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92) against Tipu Sultan — ended with Treaty of Seringapatam (1792); Tipu ceded half his territory.
• Reorganized police system — district police (thana) system introduced.
• Prohibited Indians from holding high posts (Europeanization of services).
• Returned to India a second time in 1805 as GG but died shortly after arrival (at Ghazipur) — sometimes tested as a trick question.

Quick Revision:

• Permanent Settlement — 1793
• Cornwallis Code — 1793 (separation of revenue and judicial administration)
• Treaty of Seringapatam — 1792 (Third Anglo-Mysore War)
• Called "Father of Civil Service in India"

4. Sir John Shore (1793–1798)

• Followed a policy of strict non-intervention in the affairs of Indian states.
• Charter Act of 1793 was passed during his tenure (renewed Company's charter for 20 years).
• Battle of Kharda (1795) — Marathas defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad; Shore did not intervene, reflecting his non-intervention policy, which was criticized by British merchants and expansionists.
• Set up the framework that Wellesley would later reverse.

5. Lord Wellesley (1798–1805)

• Architect of the Subsidiary Alliance System — Indian rulers had to accept British troops in their territory, pay for their maintenance, dismiss foreign (especially French) nationals, and accept a British Resident; in return, Britain protected them but rulers lost sovereignty in foreign affairs. Hyderabad (Nizam) was the first state to accept it (1798).
• Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) — Tipu Sultan killed defending Seringapatam; Mysore kingdom restored to Wodeyar dynasty under British protection.
• Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) — fought against Scindia and Bhonsle; Peshwa Baji Rao II had already accepted subsidiary alliance via Treaty of Bassein (1802).
• Founded Fort William College, Calcutta (1800) for training Company officials in Indian languages and administration (later criticized/closed by Court of Directors).
• Extremely expansionist — called himself "Bengal Tiger"; recalled by the Court of Directors due to the high costs of his wars.

Quick Revision:

• Subsidiary Alliance — introduced by Wellesley
• Treaty of Bassein — 1802 (with Peshwa Baji Rao II)
• Fort William College — 1800
• Tipu Sultan killed — 1799 (Fourth Anglo-Mysore War)

6. Sir George Barlow (1805–1807)

• Caretaker/interim Governor-General.
• Vellore Mutiny (1806) — first major sepoy mutiny before 1857, triggered by new dress regulations offending religious sentiments of Hindu and Muslim sepoys.

7. Lord Minto I (1807–1813)

• Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab — fixed the Sutlej river as the boundary between British territory and the Sikh Empire.
• Charter Act of 1813 passed near the end of his tenure — ended the Company's trade monopoly in India (except tea and trade with China); allowed Christian missionaries into India; provided Rs. 1 lakh annually for education.

8. Lord Hastings / Marquess of Hastings / Lord Moira (1813–1823)

• Anglo-Nepal War (1814–1816) — ended with Treaty of Sugauli (1816); British gained Kumaon, Garhwal, Shimla region; Gorkhas confined largely to present-day Nepal; recruitment of Gorkha regiments began.
• Pindari War (1817–1818) — suppressed the Pindaris (marauding bands) in Central India.
• Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818) — decisively ended Maratha power; Peshwaship abolished; Peshwa Baji Rao II pensioned off to Bithur; Maratha territories annexed/reorganized into Bombay Presidency.
• Followed the policy of "Subordinate Isolation" — a step further than subsidiary alliance, isolating Indian states from any foreign contact whatsoever, even among themselves.
• Promoted education, founded Calcutta (Hindu) College (1817) with Indian reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Quick Revision:

• Treaty of Sugauli — 1816 (Anglo-Nepal War)
• Peshwaship abolished — 1818 (Third Anglo-Maratha War)
• Policy: Subordinate Isolation

9. Lord Amherst (1823–1828)

• First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) — ended with Treaty of Yandaboo (1826); Britain gained Assam, Manipur, Arakan, Tenasserim.
• Capture of Bharatpur (1826) — last major fort to fall to British arms in this period, proving British invincibility myth to Indian rulers.

10. Lord William Bentinck (1828–1833 as GG of Bengal; continued 1833–1835 as GG of India)

(Detailed under Governors-General of India section below, since his most famous reforms — Sati abolition, English Education — span both titles.)

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