The tenure of Lord Amherst, Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William, came to an end on this day. He was the last British administrator to be called so. Following him, after William Butterworth Bayley’s short tenure as acting Governor-General, Lord Bentinck took over and was appointed the first Governor-General of India.
Amherst served as British envoy at the court of Naples, after which he was sent to China in 1816 to negotiate business terms. But he refused to perform in the imperial court the kowtow, an act of obeisance that requires touching the forehead to the ground. This led to a failed mission, but was perhaps instrumental in adding a very useful word to the English language.
Amherst assumed charge as Governor-General of the Fort William Presidency on August 1, 1823. He presided over the First Burmese War, bringing it to a close in 1826 with the annexation of Arakan, Tenasserim and Assam.
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