Philip Meadows Taylor
Encyclopedia
Colonel Philip Meadows Taylor CSI
(September 25, 1808 – Menton
May 13, 1876), an Anglo-Indian
administrator and novelist, was born in Liverpool
, England
.
At the age of fifteen he was sent out to India
to become a clerk to a Bombay merchant. The merchant was in financial difficulties, though. In 1824, Taylor gladly accepted a commission in the service of the Nizam
of Hyderabad
, to which service he remained devotedly attached throughout his long career. He was speedily transferred from military duty to a civil appointment, and in this capacity he acquired a knowledge of the languages and the people of southern India which has seldom been equalled.
He studied the laws, geology
, and the antiquities of the country, being one of the foremost early experts on megalith
s. He was alternately judge, engineer, artist, and man of letters. While on furlough in England in 1840, he published the first of his Indian novels, Confessions of a Thug
, in which he reproduced the scenes which he had heard about the Thuggee
cult, described by the chief actors in them. This book was followed by a series of tales, Tippoo Sultaun (1840), Tara (1863), Ralph Darnell (1865), Seeta (1872), and A Noble Queen (1878), all illustrating periods of Indian history and society, and giving a prominent place to the native character, for which and the native institutions and traditions he had a great regard and respect. Seeta in particular was remarkable for its sympathetic and romantic portrayal of the marriage between a British civil servant and a Hindu widow just before the Indian Mutiny. Taylor himself had married Mary Palmer, the Eurasian
granddaughter of William Palmer, the East India Company
's Resident at Hyderabad (who had married "one of the Princesses of the Royal House of Delhi"). Returning to India he acted from 1840 to 1853 as correspondent for The Times
. He also wrote a Student's Manual of the History of India (1870).
About 1850, Meadows Taylor was appointed by the Nizam's government to administer, during a long minority, the principality of the young Raja Venkatappa Nayaka
He succeeded without any European assistance in raising this small territory to a high degree of prosperity. Such was his influence with the natives that during the Indian Mutiny in 1857, he held his ground without military support.
Colonel Taylor, whose merits were now recognized and acknowledged by the British government of India – although he had never been in the service of the Company
– was subsequently appointed Deputy Commissioner of the western "Ceded Districts
". He succeeded in establishing a new assessment of revenues that was both more equitable to the cultivators, and more productive to the government. By perseverance he had raised himself from the condition of a half-educated youth, without patronage, and without even the support of the Company, to the successful government of some of the most important provinces of India, 36000 square miles (93,239.6 km²) in extent and with a population of more than five millions.
On his retirement from service in 1860 he was made a CSI, and given a pension. Due to health problems towards the end of his life, he returned and spent time in India, before dying in Menton
, Southern France.
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
(September 25, 1808 – Menton
Menton
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
May 13, 1876), an Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
administrator and novelist, was born in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
At the age of fifteen he was sent out to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to become a clerk to a Bombay merchant. The merchant was in financial difficulties, though. In 1824, Taylor gladly accepted a commission in the service of the Nizam
Nizam
Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...
of Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, to which service he remained devotedly attached throughout his long career. He was speedily transferred from military duty to a civil appointment, and in this capacity he acquired a knowledge of the languages and the people of southern India which has seldom been equalled.
He studied the laws, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, and the antiquities of the country, being one of the foremost early experts on megalith
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...
s. He was alternately judge, engineer, artist, and man of letters. While on furlough in England in 1840, he published the first of his Indian novels, Confessions of a Thug
Confessions of a Thug (novel)
Confessions of a Thug is an English novel written by Philip Meadows Taylor in 1839 based on the Thuggee cult in British India. Ameer Ali, the anti-hero protagonist of Confessions of a Thug, was said to be based on a real Thug called Syeed Amir Ali , whom the author was acquainted with.Confessions...
, in which he reproduced the scenes which he had heard about the Thuggee
Thuggee
Thuggee is the term for a particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers in South Asia and particularly in India.They are sometimes called Phansigar i.e...
cult, described by the chief actors in them. This book was followed by a series of tales, Tippoo Sultaun (1840), Tara (1863), Ralph Darnell (1865), Seeta (1872), and A Noble Queen (1878), all illustrating periods of Indian history and society, and giving a prominent place to the native character, for which and the native institutions and traditions he had a great regard and respect. Seeta in particular was remarkable for its sympathetic and romantic portrayal of the marriage between a British civil servant and a Hindu widow just before the Indian Mutiny. Taylor himself had married Mary Palmer, the Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
granddaughter of William Palmer, the East India Company
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...
's Resident at Hyderabad (who had married "one of the Princesses of the Royal House of Delhi"). Returning to India he acted from 1840 to 1853 as correspondent for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. He also wrote a Student's Manual of the History of India (1870).
About 1850, Meadows Taylor was appointed by the Nizam's government to administer, during a long minority, the principality of the young Raja Venkatappa Nayaka
Raja Venkatappa Nayaka
Surapur in the present Gulbarga district was ruled by Beda Nayakas who had given tough resistance to Aurangzeb. The British appointed Philip Meadows Taylor as its Resident and Regent when the ruler there died, leaving a young prince Venkatappa...
He succeeded without any European assistance in raising this small territory to a high degree of prosperity. Such was his influence with the natives that during the Indian Mutiny in 1857, he held his ground without military support.
Colonel Taylor, whose merits were now recognized and acknowledged by the British government of India – although he had never been in the service of the 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...
– was subsequently appointed Deputy Commissioner of the western "Ceded Districts
Ceded Districts
Ceded Districts is the name of an area in the Deccan, India that was 'ceded' to the British East India Company by the Nizam in 1800. The name is still in sparse current use....
". He succeeded in establishing a new assessment of revenues that was both more equitable to the cultivators, and more productive to the government. By perseverance he had raised himself from the condition of a half-educated youth, without patronage, and without even the support of the Company, to the successful government of some of the most important provinces of India, 36000 square miles (93,239.6 km²) in extent and with a population of more than five millions.
On his retirement from service in 1860 he was made a CSI, and given a pension. Due to health problems towards the end of his life, he returned and spent time in India, before dying in Menton
Menton
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
, Southern France.
External links
- Philip Meadows Taylor. The story of my life, by M. Taylor. Ed. by his daughter (A.M. Taylor). Oxford University, 1882
- Philip Meadows Taylor. Confessions of a Thug. Oxford University Press, 1839.
- Philip Meadows Taylor. Tippoo Sultaun; a tale of the Mysore war C K Paul, 1880.