India, during the British Raj, saw many administrators, both good and bad. Charles Metcalfe is counted among the good ones. Metcalfe’s name is written in history books used in Indian schools and colleges as a Britisher who helped Indians.
Metcalfe only had his work to speak for him, since he certainly was not known for his good looks or horse-riding. What he did like to do was read. Voltaire, Aristotle, Rousseau, he read them all. When he entered the civil services job in India, in 1801, he did not quite like parting with his alma mater, Eton College.
However, Metcalfe was quite successful as a civil servant. In 1809, he negotiated the Treaty of Amritsar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who built the first Sikh Empire, was planning to conquer Bengal and other eastern regions. However, the British stopped him, and he had to concede.
The Treaty of Amritsar established Metcalfe as a good negotiator. From 1811 to 1818 and from 1825-1827, he ruled Delhi. After that, he was a member of the Supreme Council. After Lord William Bentinck retired, Metcalfe stood in as Governor-General of India.
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