Streynsham Master
| Sir Streynsham Master | |
|---|---|
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| Agent of Madras | |
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In office 27 January 1678 – 3 July 1681 |
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| Preceded by | Sir William Langhorne, Bt |
| Succeeded by | William Gyfford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 October 1640 Landon, Kent, England |
| Died | 28 April 1724 (aged 83) Lancashire, England |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Leigh |
| Children | 3 |
| Occupation | East India Company agent |
| Signature |  |
Sir Streynsham Master (28 October 1640 – 28 April 1724) was one of the 17th century pioneers of the English East India Company. He served as the Agent of Madras from 27 January 1678 to 3 July 1681 and is credited with having introduced the first administrative reforms in the Madras Government.
Returning to England, in 1692 he bought the Codnor Castle estate and for the rest of his life divided his time between Derbyshire and London.
Streynsham Master had a distinguished career in the East India Company (EIC) right from his early days. He served as the Acting President of the Company's factory at Surat during the visit of the factory's President Gerald Aungier to the new colony at Bombay. After the return of Aungier, Master served for some time as a member of the EIC Council. In 1670 he led the English in the successful defence of Surat from the Marathas. In 1676, even before the then Agent Sir William Langhorne's removal from power, Master was nominated in advance as the next Agent of Madras in the case of emergency. In the meantime, until the end of Langhorne's tenure, Master served for a time as the Agent of the Company's factory at Masulipatnam and then Bengal where he was tasked with introducing a new administrative system for the factories on the Hooghly River; lastly he was sent back to Fort St. George to take office as the second member of the EIC Council.
In August 1678, the Maratha Emperor Shivaji sent an army of 1,500 horse to capture Poonamallee. While the Maratha army camped near Kanchipuram, news reached the Council at Fort St George by means of the Company's spies that the Marathas intended to proceed upon Madras, Sadras and Pulicat. However, the information proved to be false as the Maratha troops immediately returned to the north from whence they came after the siege of Poonamallee.
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