Warren Hastings, oil painting by Tilly Kettle; in the National Portrait Gallery, London. [Credit: Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London]
(born Dec. 6, 1732, Churchill, near Daylesford, Oxfordshire, Eng.—died Aug. 22, 1818, Daylesford) British colonial administrator in India. He worked for the English East India Company from 1750, rising to membership in its council in Bengal (1761–64) and Madras (now Chennai; 1769).
As governor of Bengal (1772–74), he moved the central government to Calcutta (now Kolkata) under direct British control and remodeled the justice system. In 1774 he acquired the new title of governor-general, with responsibilities for supervising other British settlements in India. His powers were shared with a council of four, several of whom tried to blame Hastings for the continuing abuses of power by Englishmen. From 1777 to 1783 he sought to counter the instability created by the fall of the Mughal Empire and tried to maintain peaceful relations with neighbouring states but was drawn into the Maratha Wars. This disrupted the company's trade and antagonized opinion in England, as did several dubious ventures Hastings entered into to raise extra funds. In 1785 he left India at peace and retired to England. In 1786 Edmund Burke introduced an impeachment process against him on charges of corruption; after a trial that lasted from 1788 to 1795, Hastings was acquitted.
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