The East India Company

The history of British involvement in India and the Far East following the departure of Rainier, until the Congress of Vienna in 1815, can be illustrated by the east India Company's story.

The Court of Directors' disapproval of Wellesley's expansionist policies led to his recall just months after Rainier's departure. His successor, Lord Cornwallis, lasted less than three months before illness carried him away. An experienced Company administrator, Sir George Barlow, followed. As a firm believer in the merits of economy and trade, his relationship with Pellew was not a warm one. Company debts had trebled between 1793 and 1808, primarily because of the war and expansionist policies in India, and Barlow wanted to spend as little as possible. With his mercantile background he probably did little to persuade the Calcutta merchants not to send their letter of complaint to the Admiralty concerning Pellew's failure to protect their ships. His priorities also ensured there were no combined operations to extend the Company's possessions.

Lord Minto succeeded to the governor-generalship in 1807; a more expansive man than Barlow, he cooperated with both Pellew and his successor, Drury, to capture Mauritius and Java. Moreover he also paid close attention to the defence of India's northern frontiers, sending ambassadors to both Persia and Afghanistan and signing a peace treaty with the Sikhs of the Punjab. Through the conduct of war in the Far East, it was clear that the role of the Company had become more one of politics than trade.