Henry Vansittart
Encyclopedia
Henry Vansittart was the English
Governor of Bengal
from 1759 to 1764.
Vansittart was born in Bloomsbury
in Middlesex
, the third son of Arthur van Sittart (1691–1760). His father and his grandfather, Peter van Sittart (1651–1705), were both wealthy merchant
s and director
s of the Russia Company. Peter, a merchant adventurer, who had migrated from Danzig
to London about 1670, was also a director of the East India Company
. The family name is taken from the town of Sittard
in Limburg
, the Netherlands
. They settled at Shottesbrooke
in Berkshire
.
Educated at Reading School
and at Winchester College
, Henry Vansittart joined the society of the Franciscans, or the Hellfire Club
, at Medmenham
. His elder brothers, Arthur and Robert
, were also members of this fraternity.
In 1745, at the age of thirteen, he entered service of the East India Company
as a writer and sailed for Fort St David
in Madras. Here he showed himself very industrious, made the acquaintance of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
and rose rapidly from one position to another, although he spent three years back in England from 1751. He returned to India in 1754 and became a member of the Council of Madras in 1757. He helped to defend the city against the French
in 1759, and was appointed to replace Clive, on his recommendation, as President of the Council and Governor of Fort William
in Bengal
in November 1760.
He arrived in Bengal in July 1760, finding himself in a difficult political position, including a serious lack of funds. He deposed the Nawab of Bengal
, Mir Jafar
, and replaced him with his son-in-law, Mir Kasim, a circumstance which increased the influence of England in the province. He was, however, less successful in another direction. Practically all the company's servants were traders in their private capacity, and as they claimed various privileges and exemptions this system was detrimental to the interests of the native princes and gave rise to an enormous amount of corruption. Vansittart sought to check this, and in 1762 he made a treaty with Mir Kasim, but the majority of his council were against him and in the following year this was repudiated. Reprisals on the part of the subadar were followed by war
and, annoyed at the failure of his Pacific schemes, the governor resigned on 28 November 1764 and returned to England.
To defend his conduct in Bengal, Vansittart published three volumes of papers as A Narrative of the Transactions in Bengal from 1760 to 1764 (London, 1766). His conduct was attacked before the Board of Directors in London, but events seemed to prove that he was in the right, and in 1769 he became a director of the company, having in the previous year been elected to a seat in Parliament
for Reading
.
Clive had returned to India and exposed the rampant corruption. Vansittart, Lord Scruton and another official were sent to India to examine the administrative problems and reform the whole Government in India. The mission left England in September 1769, visited Cape Town in December 1769, but the ship in which he sailed was lost at sea.
Vansittart had married Amilia, daughter of Nicholas Morse
, Governor of Madras, in 1754. They lived at Foxley's Manor in Bray
. The youngest of his five sons was Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley
, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer
from 12 May 1812 to 31 January 1823. Another son, Robert Vansittart
, scored the first recorded cricket
century in India, 102 for Old Etonians v. Rest of Calcutta in 1804.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
Governor of Bengal
Governor of Bengal
From 1690, a governor represented the British East India Company in Bengal, which had been granted the right to establish a trading post by the local rulers, the nawabs of Murshidabad, who were nominal vassals of the Mughal emperor in Delhi....
from 1759 to 1764.
Vansittart was born in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
in Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, the third son of Arthur van Sittart (1691–1760). His father and his grandfather, Peter van Sittart (1651–1705), were both wealthy merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s and director
Technical director
The Technical Director or Technical Manager is usually a senior technical person within a software company, film studio, theatrical company or television studio...
s of the Russia Company. Peter, a merchant adventurer, who had migrated from Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
to London about 1670, was also a director of the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. The family name is taken from the town of Sittard
Sittard
Sittard is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg, which is the southernmost province of the Netherlands.On the east Sittard borders on Germany . It has some 48,400 inhabitants . Sittard is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen...
in Limburg
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. They settled at Shottesbrooke
Shottesbrooke
Shottesbrooke is a hamlet and civil parish administered by the unitary authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. The parish has an area of and had a population of 154 at the 2001 census.-Geography:...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
Educated at Reading School
Reading School
Reading School is a state-funded, selective academy school for boys in the English town of Reading. It is notable for tracing its history back to the school of Reading Abbey, making it one of the oldest schools in England. There are no tuition fees for day pupils, and boarders only pay for food and...
and at Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, Henry Vansittart joined the society of the Franciscans, or the Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club
The Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century, and was more formally or cautiously known as the "Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe"...
, at Medmenham
Medmenham
Medmenham is a village and civil parish in the Wycombe district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the River Thames, about three and a half miles southwest of Marlow and three miles east of Henley-on-Thames....
. His elder brothers, Arthur and Robert
Robert Vansittart (jurist)
Robert Vansittart was an English jurist, antiquarian and rake.-Life:Elder brother of Henry Vansittart, who was to go on to become Governor of Bengal, he grew up in Shottesbrooke in Berkshire and was educated at Winchester College and Trinity College, Oxford, becoming a fellow of All Souls College,...
, were also members of this fraternity.
In 1745, at the age of thirteen, he entered service of the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
as a writer and sailed for Fort St David
Fort St David
Fort St. David was a British fort near the town of Cuddalore, a hundred miles south of Madras on the Coromandel Coast of India.-History:It was bought from the Mahrattas by the British East India Company in 1690. Robert Clive served as the governor of Fort St David in 1756.The ruins of Fort St David...
in Madras. Here he showed himself very industrious, made the acquaintance of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...
and rose rapidly from one position to another, although he spent three years back in England from 1751. He returned to India in 1754 and became a member of the Council of Madras in 1757. He helped to defend the city against the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1759, and was appointed to replace Clive, on his recommendation, as President of the Council and Governor of Fort William
Fort William, India
Fort William is a fort built in Calcutta on the Eastern banks of the River Hooghly, the major distributary of the River Ganges, during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after King William III of England...
in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
in November 1760.
He arrived in Bengal in July 1760, finding himself in a difficult political position, including a serious lack of funds. He deposed the Nawab of Bengal
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawabs of Bengal were the hereditary nazims or subadars of the subah of Bengal during the Mughal rule and the de-facto rulers of the province.-History:...
, Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar
-Notes:# "Riyazu-s-salatin", Ghulam Husain Salim - a reference to the appointment of Mohanlal can be found # "Seir Muaqherin", Ghulam Husain Tabatabai - a reference to the conspiracy can be found...
, and replaced him with his son-in-law, Mir Kasim, a circumstance which increased the influence of England in the province. He was, however, less successful in another direction. Practically all the company's servants were traders in their private capacity, and as they claimed various privileges and exemptions this system was detrimental to the interests of the native princes and gave rise to an enormous amount of corruption. Vansittart sought to check this, and in 1762 he made a treaty with Mir Kasim, but the majority of his council were against him and in the following year this was repudiated. Reprisals on the part of the subadar were followed by war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
and, annoyed at the failure of his Pacific schemes, the governor resigned on 28 November 1764 and returned to England.
To defend his conduct in Bengal, Vansittart published three volumes of papers as A Narrative of the Transactions in Bengal from 1760 to 1764 (London, 1766). His conduct was attacked before the Board of Directors in London, but events seemed to prove that he was in the right, and in 1769 he became a director of the company, having in the previous year been elected to a seat in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
for Reading
Reading (UK Parliament constituency)
Reading was a parliamentary borough, and later a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire....
.
Clive had returned to India and exposed the rampant corruption. Vansittart, Lord Scruton and another official were sent to India to examine the administrative problems and reform the whole Government in India. The mission left England in September 1769, visited Cape Town in December 1769, but the ship in which he sailed was lost at sea.
Vansittart had married Amilia, daughter of Nicholas Morse
Nicholas Morse
Nicholas Morse the great-grandson of the British statesman and revolutionary Oliver Cromwell and served as the last President of Madras before the Battle of Madras and the French occupation of Fort St George and its surroundings in 1746....
, Governor of Madras, in 1754. They lived at Foxley's Manor in Bray
Bray, Berkshire
Bray, sometimes known as Bray on Thames, is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It stands on the banks of the River Thames, just south-east of Maidenhead. It is famous as the village mentioned in the song The Vicar of Bray...
. The youngest of his five sons was Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley
Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley
Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley PC, FRS, FSA was an English politician, and one of the longest-serving Chancellors of the Exchequer in British history.-Background and education:...
, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
from 12 May 1812 to 31 January 1823. Another son, Robert Vansittart
Robert Vansittart
Robert Vansittart may refer to:*Robert Gilbert Vansittart , British diplomat*Robert Vansittart , British jurist and member of the Hellfire Club...
, scored the first recorded cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
century in India, 102 for Old Etonians v. Rest of Calcutta in 1804.