Viceroys in India

The British government came to India for trading after getting the trading Rights charter from queen Elizabeth in the year 1600. With its dominance and trade across the world, the small island nation turned out to be the largest empire on which the sun never sets.

The reason was its bureaucracy. A strong Bureaucratic hold at the ground level was able to exploit the country fully and it was this hold that led to establishment of this colonies. These colonies earlier were headed by Governor Generals and Viceroys.

Three Major Ranks of the British Empire

• Governor General of Bengal

The Governor General of Bengal held the control of other presidencies of Bombay and Madras as well. The post of Governor General of Bengal came after passing of the Regulating act of 1773 and according to this act, the Bombay ad Madras Governor worked under the Governor of Bengal. The first Governor General of Bengal was the Lord Warren Hastings. The tenure of this post was from1773 to 1833

• Governor General of India 

This bureaucratic post came in the year 1833 post passage of the Charter act of 1833. The first Governor General of India was Lord William Bentick. This post reported to the Court of directors of the East India Company. The tenure of this post lasted from 1833 to 1858.

• Viceroy 

The post came after the Revolt of 1857 and the company rule was removed from India. It came in by the Government of India act of 1858 which made the Indian territory directly under the contribution of the British Crown. The passage of the Government of India Act of 1858 changed the name of the post of Governor General of India to Viceroys of India. These are appointed directly by the British government and the first Viceroy was Lord Canning.

Viceroys and Events 

Some of the Viceroys and the events under their rule: 

• Lord Canning 

The term of Lord Canning started in the year 1856 and ended in the year 1862. Events like the Revolt of 1857 happened under his term. The establishment of three universities at Bombay, Madras and Calcutta occurred in 1857. The passage of the Indian Councils Act of 1861 and the charter of 1858 took in his term. The major feature of his term was the abolition of the East India company control over the Indian territory and the transfer of power to British crown via the Government of India Act of 1858 which also known as Good Governance Act.

• Lord John Lawrence 

His tenure started in the year 1864 till the year 1869. The major highlight of his tenure was the Bhutan War of 1865 and the establishment of High court’s at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras in the year 1865.

• Lord Wavell

His tenure started from the 1944 till the yarr 1947.some major events were the Coming of CR Formula in 1944, the Wavell plan and the Simla Conference. The Direct action day and the Cabinet Mission of 1946 also came in during his tenure and the most significant achievement of the India under his tenure was the announcement of the end of British rule by Atlee.

• Lord Willingdon

His tenure was from 1931 rill the year 1936.The major act – Government of India act of 1935 was passed  in his tenure and the  round table conference the second and third occured.

• Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten

He was born on 25 June 1900 in England. He was known as Prince Louis of Battenberg till 1917 and was a member of the British Royal Family. He Joined the royal navy in 1916 had worked with the royal navy during the second World War and was appointed as the supreme allied commander in the year 1943.  He had served as the viceroy of British India from 21 February 1947 to 15 august 1947 and saw the partition of British India into India and Pakistan. He had then served as the first governor general of India then in the year 1955 he was made the First Sea Lord, the position held by his father some 40 years ago. Major events in his tenure include the June third policy, Coming of Radcliffe commission and India’s Independence.

First Indian Governor General

• Chakravarti Rajagopalachari

He is also known as Rajaji. He was born on 9 December 1878 in Tamil Nadu. He was a lawyer by profession but left his practice, served as the last governor general of India and the first Indian to serve this post, also he was the founder of the Swatantra party which was a split of the Indian National congress which later merged with the Bharatiya Lok dal. He was the last Governor General of India and also the first Indian.

Portuguese viceroy

Francisco de Almeida was the first Viceroy of Portuguese to India. He was soldier and explorer. He resided at Cochin and came to India to monopolise spice trade in east. Various post and treaties like the treaty of Malacca was signed under him 

Conclusion

The start of British rule in India came with the coming of the East India company. It was a trading unit and slowly to manage the affairs of the Indian territory various bureaucratic posts Like the governor general and later the Viceroy came. The strong hold and the vast empire of the British government was due to the Viceroys and governor General that kept the on-ground situation favourable for the British crown and its development. Thus Viceroy was a crucial office for the British government.