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Warren Hastings FRS (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-general of Bengal in 1772–1785.
Jan 31, 2015 · In 1773, Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of Bengal and had administrative powers over all of British India. The arrival of Warren Hastings in Bengal as Governor of the presidency of Fort William in 1772 proved to be a turning point.
- Overview
- Early life
- Governorship of Bengal
- Political rivalries
Warren Hastings (born December 6, 1732, Churchill, near Daylesford, Oxfordshire, England—died August 22, 1818, Daylesford) the first and most famous of the British governors-general of India, who dominated Indian affairs from 1772 to 1785 and was impeached (though acquitted) on his return to England.
The son of a clergyman of the Church of England, Hastings was abandoned by his father at an early age. He was brought up by an uncle, who gave him what was probably the best education then available for a boy of his inclinations, at Westminster School in London. Hastings showed great promise as a schoolboy and seems at Westminster to have acquired the literary and scholarly tastes that were later to give him a serious interest in Indian culture and civilization. His school days were, however, cut short by his uncle’s death in 1749. He was then taken away from school and granted a writership (as the junior appointments in the East India Company were called), and in 1750, at age 17, he sailed for Bengal.
In 1750 British contact with India was still the monopoly of the East India Company, which was engaged in buying and selling goods at small settlements in Indian ports. As one of the company’s servants, for the early part of his career Hastings was employed in the company’s commercial business. But after 1756 the outlook for both the company and its servants was radically altered. The company became involved in hostilities in India both with the French and with Indian rulers, and under Robert Clive its army was able to depose the nawab, or Indian governor, of Bengal at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Although the company did not at this stage intend to set itself up as the actual ruler of the province, it was now so powerful that the new nawabs became its satellites. Thus, the servants, including Hastings, began to be drawn more and more into Indian politics. Hastings served as the company’s representative at the court of the nawabs of Bengal from 1758 to 1761 and then on the company’s Council, the controlling body for its affairs in Bengal, from 1761 to 1764. His career was cut short, however, by bitter disputes within the Council. Finding himself in a minority, Hastings resigned from the company’s service and returned to England in 1765.
Short of money, Hastings sought service in India again. In 1769 he was appointed second in Council in Madras. Two years later he received his great opportunity when he was sent back to Bengal as governor in charge of the company’s affairs there. Since he had last been in Bengal, the disintegration and demoralization of the normal Indian government ...
Hastings’s period of undisputed power in Bengal came to an end in 1774 with changes in the company’s government. He acquired the new title of governor-general and new responsibilities for supervising other British settlements in India, but these powers had now to be shared with a Supreme Council of four others, three of whom were new to India. The ...
Warren Hastings was the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William, Bengal. He was the first Supreme Council of Bengal and the first ‘de facto Governor-General of India’ from 1773 to 1785. Hastings was accused of corruption in the year 1787; after a long trial he was acquitted in 1795.
Oct 12, 2022 · Warren Hastings is famous for being the first Governor-General of the East India Company, appointed in 1774. He was infamously impeached by Parliament for corruption but was acquitted after a long and public trial.
- Mark Cartwright
- Warren Hastings attempted to reduce corruption in the East India Company (EIC) and allow Indians to rule themselves under the company's suzerainty,...
- Warren Hastings left India in 1785, and he then faced impeachment by Parliament on charges of corruption, charges for which he was ultimately acqui...
In 1774, Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William, hence, the first head of the Supreme Council of Bengal. Other members of the council included Lt. General John Clavering, George Monson, Richard Barwell and Philip Francis.
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May 25, 2021 · The first governor-general of Bengal was Warren Hastings. He is regarded as one of the country’s most influential colonial governors. Hastings reinforced British power in Bengal as governor (1772-1774) and later as Governor General (1774-1785), and made significant administrative improvements.
