Sir William Hay Macnaghten, 1st Baronet (24 August 1793 – 23 December 1841), was a British civil servant in India, who played a major part in the First Anglo-Afghan War.
A painting commissioned in the last year of Macnaghten's life, by James Atkinson
William was the second son of Sir Francis Macnaghten, Baronet, judge of the supreme courts of Madras and Calcutta, and was educated at Charterhouse. He went to Madras as a cadet in 1809, but in 1816 joined the Bengal Civil Service. He displayed a talent for languages and published several treatises on Hindu and Islamic law. His political career began in 1830 as secretary to Lord William Bentinck; and, in 1837, he became one of the most trusted advisers of the governor-general, Lord Auckland, with whose policy of supporting Shah Shujah against Dost Mahommed Khan, the reigning Amir of Kabul, Macnaghten became closely identified.[1]
He was created a baronet in 1840, and four months before his death was nominated to the governorship of Bombay.[2]
As a political agent at Kabul, he came into conflict with the military authorities and subsequently with his subordinate Sir Alexander Burnes. Macnaghten attempted to placate the Afghan chiefs with heavy subsidies, but when the drain on the Indian exchequer became too great, and the allowances were reduced, this policy led to an outbreak. Burnes was murdered on 2 November 1841; and under the elderly General William Elphinstone, the British army in Kabul degenerated into a leaderless mob.[3]
Portrait of Macnaghten from Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Kabul prisoners, and other subjects by Vincent Eyre
Macnaghten tried to save the situation by negotiating with the Afghan chiefs and, independently of them, with Dost Mahammad's son, Wazir Akbar Khan, by whom he was captured and, on 23 December 1841, Macnaghten was killed by Wazir Akbar Khan.[2] The exact circumstances of his death are unclear; Wazir Akbar Khan himself may have killed William Hay Macnaghten personally with the pistol that he was gifted by Macnaghten which is likely to be true, or he was killed because he was resisting after being captured and it was feared he would break free which is not likely to be true but there is a possibility that it could have been true.[4]
This soon became an inspirational story among the Afghans, with the disastrous retreat from Kabul and the Massacre of Elphinstone's army in the Khurd-Kabul Pass following. These events threw doubt on Macnaghten's capacity for dealing with the problems of colonial diplomacy.[2]
Worksedit
Macnaghten produced one of the principal editions of the Thousand and One Nights, known as the Calcutta II edition.[5]
Macnaghten appears in the first volume of the Flashman Papers, being depicted as ambitious, arrogant and a megalomaniac.
He also appears in To Herat and Kabul by G. A. Henty. He is pictured as a brave man, but clueless about Afghan politics. Henty places the blame for convincing Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of India, to place Shuja on the throne squarely on his shoulders.
^The Alif Laila or, Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Commonly Known as 'The Arabian Nights' Entertainments', Now, for the First Time, Published Complete in the Original Arabic, from an Egyptian Manuscript Brought to India by the Late Major Turner Macan, ed. by W. H. Macnaghten, vol. 4 (Calcutta: Thacker, 1839–42).
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Author:William Hay MacNaghten
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Principles of Mohammadan Law
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Macnaghten, Sir William Hay". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 264–265.
Prior, Katherine (2004). "Macnaghten, Sir William Hay, baronet (1793–1841)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17705. Retrieved 3 August 2006. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
william, macnaghten, baronet, august, 1793, december, 1841, british, civil, servant, india, played, major, part, first, anglo, afghan, painting, commissioned, last, year, macnaghten, life, james, atkinsoncontents, life, works, appearances, fiction, referencesl. Sir William Hay Macnaghten 1st Baronet 24 August 1793 23 December 1841 was a British civil servant in India who played a major part in the First Anglo Afghan War A painting commissioned in the last year of Macnaghten s life by James AtkinsonContents 1 Life 2 Works 3 Appearances in fiction 4 ReferencesLife editWilliam was the second son of Sir Francis Macnaghten Baronet judge of the supreme courts of Madras and Calcutta and was educated at Charterhouse He went to Madras as a cadet in 1809 but in 1816 joined the Bengal Civil Service He displayed a talent for languages and published several treatises on Hindu and Islamic law His political career began in 1830 as secretary to Lord William Bentinck and in 1837 he became one of the most trusted advisers of the governor general Lord Auckland with whose policy of supporting Shah Shujah against Dost Mahommed Khan the reigning Amir of Kabul Macnaghten became closely identified 1 He was created a baronet in 1840 and four months before his death was nominated to the governorship of Bombay 2 As a political agent at Kabul he came into conflict with the military authorities and subsequently with his subordinate Sir Alexander Burnes Macnaghten attempted to placate the Afghan chiefs with heavy subsidies but when the drain on the Indian exchequer became too great and the allowances were reduced this policy led to an outbreak Burnes was murdered on 2 November 1841 and under the elderly General William Elphinstone the British army in Kabul degenerated into a leaderless mob 3 nbsp Portrait of Macnaghten from Prison Sketches Comprising portraits of the Kabul prisoners and other subjects by Vincent EyreMacnaghten tried to save the situation by negotiating with the Afghan chiefs and independently of them with Dost Mahammad s son Wazir Akbar Khan by whom he was captured and on 23 December 1841 Macnaghten was killed by Wazir Akbar Khan 2 The exact circumstances of his death are unclear Wazir Akbar Khan himself may have killed William Hay Macnaghten personally with the pistol that he was gifted by Macnaghten which is likely to be true or he was killed because he was resisting after being captured and it was feared he would break free which is not likely to be true but there is a possibility that it could have been true 4 This soon became an inspirational story among the Afghans with the disastrous retreat from Kabul and the Massacre of Elphinstone s army in the Khurd Kabul Pass following These events threw doubt on Macnaghten s capacity for dealing with the problems of colonial diplomacy 2 Works editMacnaghten produced one of the principal editions of the Thousand and One Nights known as the Calcutta II edition 5 Appearances in fiction editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources William Hay Macnaghten news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Macnaghten appears in the first volume of the Flashman Papers being depicted as ambitious arrogant and a megalomaniac He also appears in To Herat and Kabul by G A Henty He is pictured as a brave man but clueless about Afghan politics Henty places the blame for convincing Lord Auckland the Governor General of India to place Shuja on the throne squarely on his shoulders References edit Chisholm 1911 p 264 a b c Chisholm 1911 p 265 Chisholm 1911 pp 264 265 Hopkirk Peter The Great Game p 256 The Alif Laila or Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night Commonly Known as The Arabian Nights Entertainments Now for the First Time Published Complete in the Original Arabic from an Egyptian Manuscript Brought to India by the Late Major Turner Macan ed by W H Macnaghten vol 4 Calcutta Thacker 1839 42 nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Author William Hay MacNaghten nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Principles of Mohammadan Law nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Macnaghten Sir William Hay Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 17 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 264 265 Prior Katherine 2004 Macnaghten Sir William Hay baronet 1793 1841 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 17705 Retrieved 3 August 2006 Subscription or UK public library membership required Baronetage of the United KingdomNew creation Baronet1840 1841 Extinct Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Hay Macnaghten amp oldid 1184200315, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
