William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst
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The Right Honourable The Earl Amherst GCH PC |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William | |
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In office 1 August 1823 – 13 March 1828 |
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| Monarch | George IV |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by |
John Adam As Acting Governor-General |
| Succeeded by |
William Butterworth Bayley As Acting Governor-General |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
14 January 1773 Bath, Somerset |
| Died |
13 March 1857 (aged 84) Knole House, Kent |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Hon. Sarah Archer (1762–1838) (2) Lady Mary Sackville (1792–1864) |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
William Pitt Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, GCH, PC (14 January 1773 – 13 March 1857) was a British diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Governor-General of India between 1823 and 1828.
Born at Bath, Somerset, Amherst was the son of William Amherst and Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Paterson. He was the grand-nephew of Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, and succeeded to his title in 1797 according to a special remainder in the letters patent. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.
In 1816 he was sent as ambassador extraordinary to the court of China's Qing dynasty, with a view of establishing more satisfactory commercial relations between China and Great Britain. On arriving at Pei Ho (Baihe, today's Haihe), he was given to understand that he could only be admitted to the Jiaqing Emperor's presence on condition of performing the kowtow, a ceremony which Great Britain considered degrading (a view that was not shared by either the Netherlands nor Russia, which also traded with China), and which was, indeed, a homage exacted by a Chinese sovereign from his tributaries. To this, Amherst, following the advice of Sir George Thomas Staunton, who accompanied him as second commissioner, refused to consent, as Macartney had done in 1793, unless the admission was made that his sovereign was entitled to the same show of reverence from a mandarin of his rank. In consequence of this, he was not allowed to enter Peking (Beijing), and the object of his mission was frustrated.
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