| Claude Martine Wade | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 3, 1794 Bengal |
| Died | October 21, 1861 (aged 67)[1] Bath[1] |
| Occupation | Soldier |
| Spouse | Jane Selina Nicholl[2] |
| Parents | Lt. Col. Joseph Wade and Maria Ross[2] |
Colonel Sir Claude Martin(e) Wade C.B. Agent to the Governor- General for the Affairs of the Punjab and North-West Frontier, 1823-1840[3]. He managed relation between the British and important rulers in India like Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja, King of Afghanistan. He was one of the first to "force the Khyber pass."
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Claude Martin Wade was born in 1794 to a Joseph Wade and his wife[4] in the British Army in India. He was named after a childless French adventurer and "renaissance man" Claude Martin[2]. The reason for this is not known and Claude died leaving his immense fortune, in the manner of a childless man, to charity.
Wade was appointed a cadet in the Bengal service of the East India Company in 1809.[2] 1823 diplomatic agent at Ludhiana,[1] taking over from a Captain Murray[3] In 1835, Claude was in charge of relations with Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[1] Col. C. M. Wade, was able to win the confidence of Maharaja Ranjit Singh through mutural regard and understanding which greatly helped to change the relations between the two Governments from undisguised hostility to close friendship and accord.[3]
In the 1830s, the British decided to replace Dost Mohammad Khan by Shah Shuja on the Kabul throne.[3] A tripartite Treaty of 1838 was drafted between the British, Shah Shuja and Ranjit Singh. The Lahore ruler signed the treaty on June 26, 1838, but the Governor-General, Lord Auckland before signing it sent the draft to Shah Shuja at Ludhiana through Macnaughten, Wade and Mackeson. The Shah objected to various articles, but he secured various assurances from the British Government, and on July 17, 1838, the mission left Ludhiana with the signed treaty. Shah Shuja raised his contingent of 6,000 at Ludhiana, and through the combined help of the British and the Sikhs he was placed on his ancestral throne on August, 7, 1839
Claude's special mission in 1838 to Peshawur to join the Sikh army with Shahzada Timoor meant he was (amongst) the first to force the Khyber pass.[1] In 1845 he married the Jane Selina, eldest daughter of Captain Thomas Nicholl of the Bengal Horse Artillery.[2] She and their son Claude FitzRoy (barrister) survived him.[1][2] In 1848 he had his last appointment as political agent for the vast area of Malwa[1]
In 1839, Wade was knighted[5] and made an Companion of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath [6].
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Wade, Claude Martine". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.