Madras under Governor Sir Archibald Campbell (1786–89)
By C. S. Srinivasachari
Summary
This lengthy essay offers a detailed panorama of society, economy and administration in Madras during Sir Archibald Campbell’s governorship (1786–1789). At that time the city was still a fortified town: the western and northern sides of Black Town (now George Town) were bounded by bastioned walls with seventeen bastions and wide esplanades; Fort St. George had cisterns and bomb‑proof casemates, and water was piped from the Seven Wells. Europeans and affluent Indians increasingly lived in garden houses along Mount Road and in Egmore, while Black Town remained crowded and was divided into Muthialpetta and Peddanaickenpetta. Local society was split into right‑hand and left‑hand caste factions whose periodic clashes disrupted business. The article describes the vibrant “country trade”: agency houses such as Balfour & Spalding and Parry & Co. handled private commerce across the Bay of Bengal and to China; British captains competed with the Dutch for the spice trade; Penang was acquired to support this network. The East India Company’s revenues from trade were declining even as its territorial control expanded; the Madras government lived on borrowed funds, relying on transfers from Bengal and issuing bonds that paid up to 12 percent interest. When war with Tipu Sultan broke out in 1789, merchants and officials of every community profited by lending money or supplying provisions; contributions poured in from Armenians, Indo‑Portuguese, Hindus and Europeans, and the Madras mint worked overtime converting mixed gold and silver coins into standard pagodas and rupees. Campbell, following Governor‑General Cornwallis, attempted to curb corruption and reduce private trading by civil and military officers, but his efforts were hampered by entrenched interests. The essay also sketches leading personalities such as Andrew Ross, a powerful non‑official who became mayor, and James Amos, a self‑made merchant, illustrating how legal professionals and merchants dominated non‑official society. Through anecdotes about road improvements, plans for a pier, debates over police reforms and the financial impact of war, the article paints a vivid picture of Madras as a burgeoning colonial metropolis grappling with fiscal insolvency, private profiteering and social stratification on the eve of the third Mysore war.
Conclusion
The account of Madras in the late 1780s underscores how colonial power, commerce and local society were intertwined. Fortifications and waterworks coexisted with caste‑divided bazaars and emerging suburbs for Europeans. Private trade flourished through agency houses and “country captains”, while the East India Company’s official trade waned, leaving the administration dependent on borrowing. Governor Campbell’s reforms met resistance from officials whose fortunes derived from private concerns, and the outbreak of war with Tipu Sultan further blurred boundaries between public service and private profit. The essay concludes that Madras under Campbell was at once prosperous and financially precarious—a microcosm of the Company’s transition from merchant to sovereign.