Cornwallis: Soldier and Statesman in a Revolutionary World

Description

The first biography of Charles Cornwallis in forty years—the soldier, governor, and statesman whose career covered America, India, Britain, and Ireland Charles, First Marquis of Cornwallis  (1738–1805), was a leading figure in late eighteenth-century Britain. His career spanned the American War of Independence, Irish Union, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the building of the Second British Empire in India—and he has long been associated with the unacceptable face of Britain’s colonial past.   In this vivid new biography, Richard Middleton shows that this portrait is far from accurate. Cornwallis emerges as a reformer who had deep empathy for those under his authority, and was clear about his obligation to govern justly. He sought to protect the population of Bengal with a constitution of written laws, insisted on Catholic emancipation in Ireland, and recognized the limitations of British power after the American war. Middleton reveals how Cornwallis’ rewarding of merit, search for economy, and elimination of corruption helped improve the machinery of British government into the nineteenth century. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Epigraph Contents Illustrations MAPS Preface Part I AMERICA ONE An Irresistible Impulse TWO The Call of Duty THREE Implementing Britain’s Southern Strategy FOUR Taking the War to the Enemy FIVE Reckoning at Yorktown Part II INDIA SIX The Search for a New Role SEVEN Governor-General of Bengal EIGHT Setting the Agenda NINE The Programme Gathers Pace TEN An Unwelcome War ELEVEN Clipping Tipu’s Wings TWELVE Completing the Mission Part III EUROPE THIRTEEN Minister of the Crown FOURTEEN Bringing Peace to Ireland FIFTEEN Attempting Peace with France SIXTEEN Last Call Appendix: Organisation of the British Army, c. 1760–1800 Endnotes Bibliography Index