WARREN HASTINGS (Governor General of British India: 1773-85)

Warren Hastings – Brief Introduction

1. Warren Hastings (1732 – 1818) became the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal) in 1772 and the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1774 till he resigned in 1785.
2. He started his career as a writer (clerk) in the East India Company at Calcutta in 1750.
3. In 1758, he became the British resident at Murshidabad, the capital of Bengal, after Mir Jafar was installed as the Nawab after the Battle of Plassey.
4. During his term, the First Anglo-Maratha war and the second Anglo-Mysore war were fought.
5. The Regulating Act of 1773 was passed during his term.
6. He supported Sir William Jones in the formation of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1785.

Important Works

• Regulating Act 1773
• Pitts Act 1784
• Rohilla War 1774
• 1st Maratha war 1775-82 and Treaty of Salbai 1782
• 2nd Mysore War 1780-84 & Treaty of Mangalore
• Abolished dual system of admin
• Divided Bengal in districts and appointed collectors & revenue officials
• Diwani & Faujdari Adalat
• Asiatic Society of Bengal 1784
• Wrote introduction to 1st English translation of Gita by Charles Wilkins.
• Deprived Jamindars of judicial power & records mandatory.

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