Charles James Napier
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General Sir Charles James Napier (August 10, 1782 – August 29, 1853) was a British general and Commander-in-Chief in India. The city of Napier, New Zealand, is named after him. He is famous for conquering Sindh province now in present-day Pakistan.[1]
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[edit] Biography
A quote for which Napier is famous involves a delegation of Hindu locals approaching him and complaining about prohibition of Sati, often referred to at the time as suttee, by British authorities. This was the custom of burning widows alive on the funeral pyres of their husbands. The exact wording of his response varies somewhat in different reports, but the following version captures its essence:
- "You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."
The most important epoch in Sir Charles Napier's life was yet to come, and in 1842, at the age of 60, he was appointed as Major-General to the command of the Indian army within the Bombay presidency. Here Lord Ellenborough's policy led Napier to Sindh, for the purpose of quelling the Amirs or Muslim Rulers of the region, who had made various hostile demonstrations against the British government after the termination of the Afghan war. His campaign against these chieftains resulted, after the victories of Meanee and Hyderabad, in the complete subjugation of the province of Sindh, and its annexation to eastern dominions. This is when he is said to have despatched back to headquarters a short, famous message, "Peccavi" – Latin for "I have sinned" - a pun on Sindh. Later proponents of British rule over the East Indians justified the conquest thus: "If this was a piece of rascality, it was a noble piece of rascality!"
He was appointed Bombay Presidency governor by Lord Ellenborough. His administration did not please the directors of the East India Company, and he accordingly returned home in disgust, but was sent out again by the acclamatory voice of the nation, in the spring of 1849, to reduce the Sikhs to submission. On arriving once more in India, he found that the object of his mission had already been accomplished by Lord Gough. He remained for a time as commander-in-chief (C-in-C); quarrelled with Lord Dalhousie, the governor-general; then throwing up his post, he returned home for the last time. Broken down with infirmities, the result of his former wounds in the Peninsular campaign, he expired about two years later at his seat of Oaklands, near Portsmouth, in August 1853, at the age of 71.
[edit] Memorials
The city of Napier in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand is named after Sir Charles Napier. The suburb of Meannee commemorates his victory in the Indian sub-continent.
The city of Karachi in Sindh (Pakistan) has s street, Napier Road named after him.
A statue in honour of Sir Charles Napier by George Cannon Adams is on a pedestal in Trafalgar Square, London.
[edit] See also
- Father Colonel George Napier (1751–1804); Mother Lady Sarah Bunbury , nee Lennox (1745–1826)
- Brother Sir George Thomas Napier (1784–1855), Commander-in-Chief of the Army in the Cape Colony
- Brother Sir William Francis Patrick Napier (1785–1860), soldier and military historian
[edit] Further reading
- Sir Charles James Napier (1782-1853), a detailed biography
- Sir Charles James Napier (1782–1853)
- Memorials & Monuments in the Royal Garrison Church Portsmouth
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ General Napier should not be confused with his cousin Admiral Charles Napier (naval officer). The admiral visited his cousins in the Peninsula and this can lead to confusion.
| Military Offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Gough |
Commander-in-Chief, India 1849–1851 |
Succeeded by Sir William Maynard Gomm |
