The Most Honourable The Marquess of Dalhousie KT PC |
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Governor-General of India | |
In office 12 January 1848 – 28 February 1856 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister |
Lord John Russell The Earl of Derby The Earl of Aberdeen The Viscount Palmerston |
Preceded by | The Viscount Hardinge |
Succeeded by | The Viscount Canning |
President of the Board of Trade | |
In office 5 February 1845 – 27 June 1846 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | Sir Robert Peel |
Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Clarendon |
Personal details | |
Born |
22 April 1812 Dalhousie Castle, Midlothian |
Died |
19 December 1860 (aged 48) Dalhousie Castle, Midlothian |
Citizenship | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
Spouse(s) | Lady Susan Hay (d. 1853) |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie KT PC (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), styled Lord Ramsay until 1838 and known as The Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman, and a colonial administrator in British India. He served as Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856.
To his supporters he stands out as the far-sighted Governor-General who consolidated East India Company rule in India, laid the foundations of its later administration, and by his sound policy enabled his successors to stem the tide of rebellion. To his critics, he stands out as the destroyer of both the East India Company's financial and military position through reckless policies. His critics also hold that he laid the foundations of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and led the final transformation of profitable commercial operations in India into a money-losing colonial administration. His period of rule in India directly preceded the transformation into the Victorian Raj period of Indian administration. He was denounced by many in Britain and India on the eve of his death as having failed to notice the signs of the brewing Indian Rebellion of 1857, having aggravated the crisis by his overbearing self-confidence, centralizing activity, and expansive annexations.
James Andrew Broun-Ramsay was the third and youngest son of George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie (1770–1838), one of Wellington's generals, who, after being Governor General of Canada, became Commander-in-Chief in India, and of his wife Christian née Broun of Colstoun, Haddingtonshire (East Lothian).