The East India Company: Corrupt Governance and Cruelty in India, 1806-1814

The first Earl of Minto, Sir Gilbert Elliot Murray Kynynmound, served as governor-general of India from 1807 to 1813. This collection is drawn from his personal papers during his time as the premier of the East India Company (EIC). Amongst these documents you will find extensive correspondence with other officials, papers from the EIC’s political department, papers from its secret department, and files pertaining to the earl’s tenure as president of the Board of Control.

The collection offers valuable insights into the upper echelons of the EIC during a period when it was consolidating its influence throughout the Indian subcontinent, having established governance of the wealthy region of Bengal during the late eighteenth century. It has been widely asserted that the EIC’s administration of India during the early nineteenth century was characterised by corruption, cruelty, and exploitation of the indigenous population, as well as the natural resources of the Indian subcontinent. The EIC extracted revenue and its policies are deemed to have exacerbated poverty, famine, and instability, all of which contributed to the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny of 1857–1858. Following the suppression of this uprising, the rule of the EIC in India was superseded by that of the British crown.

This collection is a rich resource for students and researchers wishing to explore the development and influence of the once powerful East India Company. It will also appeal to those interested in the broader histories of the British empire, India, and Pakistan.

At its peak, the English East India Company was by far the largest corporation of its kind. It was also larger than several nations. It was essentially the de facto emperor of large portions of India, which was one of the most productive economies in the world at that point.

Emily Erikson, Yale University

Insights

The papers of the EIC’s political department contained in this collection cover the years 1807 to 1813. They include correspondence with the governor-general's agents.

As governor-general of India, Minto oversaw the trial of the first Chief Justice of Bengal, Sir Elijah Impey. Impey was accused of judicial murder after having a tax collector, Maharaja Nandakumar, hanged. It was suspected that the charge against Nandakumar were false. Thus, Impey was placed on trial. This collection includes the earl’s notes on the Nandakumar trial, alongside notes on alleged nepotism and corruption. The collection also includes copies of Minto’s speeches in relation to Impey’s impeachment.

A series of letter books contain the earl’s correspondence with the directors of the EIC. This material grants key insights into the company’s aims and activities. The correspondence covers issues such as army morale, the protection and renewal of the EIC’s trading rights, and disaffection within the Madras army.

The papers of the EIC’s secret department cover the years 1808 to 1813. They contain correspondence concerning relations with France during the Napoleonic Wars.