Warren Hastings British India’s First Governor General, 1950 Postcard
A 1950 postcard of Warren Hastings the first Governor-General of British India. He was definitely one of the most important personalities of colonial India. Under his governorship, the British dominions in India were conserved and greatly extended. The British supremacy in the Indian sub-continent is acknowledged to his skill.
His professional career began in the East India Company as a writer in 1749. Well-educated and of scholarly drive, Hastings rose to become the first Governor-General of Bengal. Which gave him considerable control over the whole of the subcontinent. But he was not without any detractors. Despite his reputation as an able administrator and commander.
He turned around the East India Company’s long-ailing finances to a healthy level. He helped subdue armed conflicts against the British. His subordinates were a bit over-critical of his handling of administration and his sternness. They got him indicted on various charges of embezzlement, fraud, abuse of power, and so on. Warren Hastings was recalled back to England where he was put on trial. Which lasted seven years. But in the end, he was cleared of all charges. He never returned to India thereafter.
Read more Hastings, Warren (1732–1818).
Did you know- at the time there were four principal powers in India- the British, the Marathas, Tipu Sultan, and the Nizam.
From the collection- Vintage Raja Ravi Varma “Shivaji” Oleograph Print., Old Courthouse Street Calcutta – Old Photo 1880., Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Bombay or Mumbai – Old Print., Bombay Municipal Building & Vintage Car – Old Photo
