Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley

Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley was the governor-general who pursued rapid expansion of British power in India. He promoted subsidiary alliances, directed the war against Tipu Sultan and encouraged campaigns that reduced Maratha independence.

Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley also held the offices or ranks of Marquess of Wellesley, Baron Wellesley, Governor-General of India, and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley belonged to the House of Wellesley and operated within Kingdom of Great Britain. Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley was born in County Meath and died in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Lawrence James’s Raj places Richard Wellesley among the governors-general who transformed the East India Company from a commercial power into an expansionist territorial state, particularly through subsidiary alliances and war against Mysore and the Marathas. David Donachie’s An Officer’s Justice uses Company service and British military authority in India to bring Wellesley’s imperial system into the world of its fictional officers. Mark Griffin’s Land of Two Rivers follows the same expanding British order through Bengal, where the policies of men such as Wellesley reshape administration, patronage and the opportunities available to soldiers and civilians.