John Munro, 9th of Teaninich - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 05:01, 4 July 2022
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	{{EngvarB\|date=May ~~2022~~}}		{{EngvarB\|date=May 2017}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=May ~~2022~~}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=May 2017}}
	{{Infobox military person		{{Infobox military person
	\| honorific_prefix = Major-General		\| honorific_prefix = Major-General
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	Munro held various appointments on the Staff, and was private secretary and interpreter to successive Commanders in Chief in India.<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/><ref name="MunroIveagh">{{cite book \|last1=Monroe \|first1=Horace \|title=Foulis Castle and the Monroes of Lower Iveagh \|date=1926 \|publisher=Mitchell Hughes and Clarke \|location=London \|pages=13–14 \|url=https://electricscotland.com/webclans/m/FoulisCastle1.pdf}}</ref> He was personally acquainted and in regular correspondence with Colonel [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington\|Arthur Wellesley]], later Duke of Wellington, during the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War\|Mahratta War]].<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/> He also served alongside his distinguished namesake [[Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet]] (of Lindertis). John Munro assisted in quelling the [[Vellore Mutiny]] and was soon afterwards appointed [[Quartermaster general\|Quartermaster-General]] of the Madras army, directly from the rank of captain, at the early age of 27 years.<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/>		Munro held various appointments on the Staff, and was private secretary and interpreter to successive Commanders in Chief in India.<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/><ref name="MunroIveagh">{{cite book \|last1=Monroe \|first1=Horace \|title=Foulis Castle and the Monroes of Lower Iveagh \|date=1926 \|publisher=Mitchell Hughes and Clarke \|location=London \|pages=13–14 \|url=https://electricscotland.com/webclans/m/FoulisCastle1.pdf}}</ref> He was personally acquainted and in regular correspondence with Colonel [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington\|Arthur Wellesley]], later Duke of Wellington, during the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War\|Mahratta War]].<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/> He also served alongside his distinguished namesake [[Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet]] (of Lindertis). John Munro assisted in quelling the [[Vellore Mutiny]] and was soon afterwards appointed [[Quartermaster general\|Quartermaster-General]] of the Madras army, directly from the rank of captain, at the early age of 27 years.<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/>

	As Quartermaster-General, Munro was asked in 1807 by the then commander-in-chief [[John Cradock\|Sir John Craddock]] to compile a confidential report on the Tent Contract, an allowance to Madras Army officers to be paid equally in peace and war and regarded by them as part of their emoluments. Munro's report pointed out that the contract gave officers "strong inducements to neglect their most important duties".<ref name="StormConquest">{{cite book \|last1=Taylor \|first1=Stephen \|title=Storm and Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1808-10 \|date=2016 \|publisher=Faber and Faber \|location=London \|isbn=978-0571224678 \|url=https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571224678-storm-and-conquest.html}}</ref> Craddock agreed with Munro's recommendation that it be discontinued and replaced by enhanced [[batta]]. The implementation of these changes added to the discontent simmering amongst officers of the Madras Army, already resentful at being less well rewarded than those of the [[Bengal Army]]. Moreover, the report was leaked; fellow officers who read it inferred that their honour had been impugned, and charged Munro with conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.<ref name="AsiaticRegister1811">{{cite book \|last1=Samuel \|first1=E \|title=The Asiatic Annual Register or a View of History of Hindustan and of the Politics, Commerce and Literature of Asia, Volume 11 \|date=1811 \|publisher=Cadell & Davies \|location=London \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/asiaticannualre03samugoog/page/n381 245]–271 \|url=https://archive.org/details/asiaticannualre03samugoog}}</ref> The episode occurred during a period of dispute between the Madras civil government and the new commander-in-chief, Lieut-General [[Hay MacDowall\|Hay Macdowall]], who, no longer ''ex-officio'' a member of the governing council, had given notice of his resignation. On 20 January 1809, some months after the appeal from his officers, and despite his impending departure, Macdowall had Munro arrested, leaving the supposed court martial to be heard by his successor. A week later, on the eve of departure Macdowall was reluctantly compelled to release Munro from arrest on the orders of the Governor [[Sir George Barlow, 1st Baronet\|Sir George Barlow]]. Together with his Adjutant-General, Col. Francis Capper (who was probably responsible for leaking Munro's report),<ref name="StormConquest"/> Macdowall boarded the [[East Indiaman]] [[Lady Jane Dundas (1800 EIC ship)\|''Lady Jane Dundas'']] for England, issuing as he did so a General Order which reprimanded Munro for making a direct appeal to the Governor.<ref name="AsiaticRegister1811"/> Capper's deputy Major Thomas Boles, who had signed the order on behalf of the departing commander-in-chief, was suspended for doing so. The perceived unfair treatment of Boles, who was only acting on a superior's order, was the subject of a memorial by officers led by [[Arthur St Leger (soldier)]], who was then also dismissed; the continuing repercussions of these events led to the 1809 "White Mutiny" by officers of the Madras Army.<ref name="WhiteMutiny">{{cite book \|last1=Cardew \|first1=Alexander Gordon \|title=The White Mutiny \|date=1929 \|publisher=Constable \|location=London \|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.276122/page/n1 \|accessdate=23 October ~~2022~~}}</ref> The ''Lady Jane Dundas'', with Macdowall and Capper aboard, was lost off the Cape of Good Hope in March 1809.		As Quartermaster-General, Munro was asked in 1807 by the then commander-in-chief [[John Cradock\|Sir John Craddock]] to compile a confidential report on the Tent Contract, an allowance to Madras Army officers to be paid equally in peace and war and regarded by them as part of their emoluments. Munro's report pointed out that the contract gave officers "strong inducements to neglect their most important duties".<ref name="StormConquest">{{cite book \|last1=Taylor \|first1=Stephen \|title=Storm and Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1808-10 \|date=2016 \|publisher=Faber and Faber \|location=London \|isbn=978-0571224678 \|url=https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571224678-storm-and-conquest.html}}</ref> Craddock agreed with Munro's recommendation that it be discontinued and replaced by enhanced [[batta]]. The implementation of these changes added to the discontent simmering amongst officers of the Madras Army, already resentful at being less well rewarded than those of the [[Bengal Army]]. Moreover, the report was leaked; fellow officers who read it inferred that their honour had been impugned, and charged Munro with conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.<ref name="AsiaticRegister1811">{{cite book \|last1=Samuel \|first1=E \|title=The Asiatic Annual Register or a View of History of Hindustan and of the Politics, Commerce and Literature of Asia, Volume 11 \|date=1811 \|publisher=Cadell & Davies \|location=London \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/asiaticannualre03samugoog/page/n381 245]–271 \|url=https://archive.org/details/asiaticannualre03samugoog}}</ref> The episode occurred during a period of dispute between the Madras civil government and the new commander-in-chief, Lieut-General [[Hay MacDowall\|Hay Macdowall]], who, no longer ''ex-officio'' a member of the governing council, had given notice of his resignation. On 20 January 1809, some months after the appeal from his officers, and despite his impending departure, Macdowall had Munro arrested, leaving the supposed court martial to be heard by his successor. A week later, on the eve of departure Macdowall was reluctantly compelled to release Munro from arrest on the orders of the Governor [[Sir George Barlow, 1st Baronet\|Sir George Barlow]]. Together with his Adjutant-General, Col. Francis Capper (who was probably responsible for leaking Munro's report),<ref name="StormConquest"/> Macdowall boarded the [[East Indiaman]] [[Lady Jane Dundas (1800 EIC ship)\|''Lady Jane Dundas'']] for England, issuing as he did so a General Order which reprimanded Munro for making a direct appeal to the Governor.<ref name="AsiaticRegister1811"/> Capper's deputy Major Thomas Boles, who had signed the order on behalf of the departing commander-in-chief, was suspended for doing so. The perceived unfair treatment of Boles, who was only acting on a superior's order, was the subject of a memorial by officers led by [[Arthur St Leger (soldier)]], who was then also dismissed; the continuing repercussions of these events led to the 1809 "White Mutiny" by officers of the Madras Army.<ref name="WhiteMutiny">{{cite book \|last1=Cardew \|first1=Alexander Gordon \|title=The White Mutiny \|date=1929 \|publisher=Constable \|location=London \|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.276122/page/n1 \|accessdate=23 October 2018}}</ref> The ''Lady Jane Dundas'', with Macdowall and Capper aboard, was lost off the Cape of Good Hope in March 1809.

	Shortly after these events, Munro was appointed Resident in Travancore; his successor as Quarter-Master General was his deputy, [[Valentine Blacker]], who had recently become his brother-in-law.		Shortly after these events, Munro was appointed Resident in Travancore; his successor as Quarter-Master General was his deputy, [[Valentine Blacker]], who had recently become his brother-in-law.
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	==Administrative career==		==Administrative career==

	John Munro was a major figure in the development of the states of [[Travancore]] and [[Kingdom of Cochin\|Cochin]].<ref name="MunroIveagh"/><ref name="cochinroyalfamily">{{cite web \|last1=Varma \|first1=Kocha \|title=General John Munro \|url=http://cochinroyalhistory.org/personalities.php?perid=6 \|website=History of the Cochin Royal Family \|accessdate=21 October ~~2022~~}}</ref><ref name="Coromandel">{{cite book \|last1=Allen \|first1=Charles \|title=Coromandel: A Personal History of South India \|date=2017 \|publisher=Little, Brown \|location=London \|isbn=9781408705407 \|url=https://www.littlebrown.com/?s=coromandel}}</ref> In the aftermath of the attack by [[Velu Thampi Dalawa]] on the East India Company, he was appointed Resident of the Company for these kingdoms in 1810. Col. Munro also served as Diwan (Prime Minister) to the Regents Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai and Rani Gouri Parvati Bai of Travancore and Raja Kerala Varma of Cochin from 1812 to 1814.<ref name="TravancoreStateVol1">{{cite book \|last1=Aiya \|first1=V. Nagam \|title=The Travancore State Manual, Volume I \|date=1946 \|publisher=Travancore Government Press \|location=Trivandrum \|url=https://archive.org/details/b29352708_0001/page/n0}}</ref> With his freedom of action, he won such confidence of the rulers and the people as to be able to introduce the practice, in the administration of justice, of having a Christian sitting on the bench as judge beside a Brahmin.<ref name="MunroIveagh"/>		John Munro was a major figure in the development of the states of [[Travancore]] and [[Kingdom of Cochin\|Cochin]].<ref name="MunroIveagh"/><ref name="cochinroyalfamily">{{cite web \|last1=Varma \|first1=Kocha \|title=General John Munro \|url=http://cochinroyalhistory.org/personalities.php?perid=6 \|website=History of the Cochin Royal Family \|accessdate=21 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="Coromandel">{{cite book \|last1=Allen \|first1=Charles \|title=Coromandel: A Personal History of South India \|date=2017 \|publisher=Little, Brown \|location=London \|isbn=9781408705407 \|url=https://www.littlebrown.com/?s=coromandel}}</ref> In the aftermath of the attack by [[Velu Thampi Dalawa]] on the East India Company, he was appointed Resident of the Company for these kingdoms in 1810. Col. Munro also served as Diwan (Prime Minister) to the Regents Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai and Rani Gouri Parvati Bai of Travancore and Raja Kerala Varma of Cochin from 1812 to 1814.<ref name="TravancoreStateVol1">{{cite book \|last1=Aiya \|first1=V. Nagam \|title=The Travancore State Manual, Volume I \|date=1946 \|publisher=Travancore Government Press \|location=Trivandrum \|url=https://archive.org/details/b29352708_0001/page/n0}}</ref> With his freedom of action, he won such confidence of the rulers and the people as to be able to introduce the practice, in the administration of justice, of having a Christian sitting on the bench as judge beside a Brahmin.<ref name="MunroIveagh"/>

	[[File:British Residency in Kollam city, Mar 2017.jpg\|right\|thumb\|420px\|[[British Residency]] in [[Kollam]] city built by Col. John Munro]]		[[File:British Residency in Kollam city, Mar 2017.jpg\|right\|thumb\|420px\|[[British Residency]] in [[Kollam]] city built by Col. John Munro]]
	He influenced these rulers to introduce many progressive reforms.<ref>{{cite book\|last=Menon\|first=Sreedhara\|title=A survey of Kerala History\|year=1996\|publisher=S.Viswanathan Printers and Publishers\|location=Madras\|pages=339, 348, 349 \|isbn=9788126415786 \|url=https://onlinestore.dcbooks.com/books/a-survey-of-kerala-history}}</ref> During his tenure as Diwan, he reformed the judicial system, improved the revenue of the states, prevented corruption and mismanagement and started the process of abolishing slavery. Slavery was abolished in [[Munroe Island]] on 8 March 1835 and finally by Royal proclamation of the maharajah of Travancore in 1853 and 1855. Munro removed many taxes levied on the poorer sections of the community. With deep Christian convictions, he persuaded the Rani of [[Travancore]] to donate land in [[Kottayam]] as well as the money and timber, in-order to build the [[Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary]] and also petitioned the [[Church Missionary Society]] to send missionaries on a Help Mission, to educate and train the clergy of the [[Malankara Church]].<ref name="Tovey">{{cite web \|last1=Tovey \|first1=Phillip \|title=John Munro, Evangelical Christian \|url=https://www.academia.edu/15029987 \|website=Academia.edu \|accessdate=21 October ~~2022~~}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal \|title=History of Cochin Royal Family \|url=http://cochinroyalhistory.org/personalities.php?perid=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal \|last1=McKee \|first1=Gary \|title=Benjamin Bailey and the Call for the Conversion of an Ancient Christian Church in India \|journal=Studies in World Christianity \|year=2018 \|volume=24 \|issue=2 \|pages=114–134 \|doi=10.3366/swc.2018.0216 \|s2cid=150215507 \|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.2018.0216 \|issn=1354-9901}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author=Stephen Neill\|title=A History of Christianity in India: 1707–1858\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xi-tvrYbYxMC&pg=PA240\|accessdate=31 August 2012\|date=2 May 2002\|publisher=Cambridge University Press\|isbn=978-0-521-89332-9\|page=241}}</ref> In 1816, the Church Missionary Society sent [[Benjamin Bailey (missionary)\|Benjamin Bailey]], Henry Baker senior, and Joseph Fenn, who established what became [[CMS College Kottayam]]. Bailey was the first principal. With Munro's support, Bailey had the bible translated into Malayalam.<ref name="McKee">{{cite journal \|last1=McKee \|first1=Gary \|title=Benjamin Bailey and the Call for the Conversion of an Ancient Christian Church in India' \|journal=Studies in World Christianity \|date=2018 \|volume=24 \|issue=2 \|pages=114–134 \|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.2018.0216 \|accessdate=21 October 2018 \|doi=10.3366/swc.2018.0216\|s2cid=150215507 }}</ref> About the same time, Thomas Norton established a CMS School at [[Alappuzha\|Alleppy]]. The network of schools established by missionaries, and also their wives, meant Travancore led the world in primary education for girls as well as boys, and laid the foundations for the high levels of literacy in Kerala.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Matthew \|first1=ET \|title=Growth of Literacy in Kerala: State Intervention, Missionary Initiatives and Social Movements \|journal=Economic and Political Weekly \|date=1999 \|volume=34 \|issue=39 \|pages=2811–2820 \|url=https://www.epw.in/journal/1999/39/special-articles/growth-literacy-kerala.html}}</ref>		He influenced these rulers to introduce many progressive reforms.<ref>{{cite book\|last=Menon\|first=Sreedhara\|title=A survey of Kerala History\|year=1996\|publisher=S.Viswanathan Printers and Publishers\|location=Madras\|pages=339, 348, 349 \|isbn=9788126415786 \|url=https://onlinestore.dcbooks.com/books/a-survey-of-kerala-history}}</ref> During his tenure as Diwan, he reformed the judicial system, improved the revenue of the states, prevented corruption and mismanagement and started the process of abolishing slavery. Slavery was abolished in [[Munroe Island]] on 8 March 1835 and finally by Royal proclamation of the maharajah of Travancore in 1853 and 1855. Munro removed many taxes levied on the poorer sections of the community. With deep Christian convictions, he persuaded the Rani of [[Travancore]] to donate land in [[Kottayam]] as well as the money and timber, in-order to build the [[Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary]] and also petitioned the [[Church Missionary Society]] to send missionaries on a Help Mission, to educate and train the clergy of the [[Malankara Church]].<ref name="Tovey">{{cite web \|last1=Tovey \|first1=Phillip \|title=John Munro, Evangelical Christian \|url=https://www.academia.edu/15029987 \|website=Academia.edu \|accessdate=21 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal \|title=History of Cochin Royal Family \|url=http://cochinroyalhistory.org/personalities.php?perid=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal \|last1=McKee \|first1=Gary \|title=Benjamin Bailey and the Call for the Conversion of an Ancient Christian Church in India \|journal=Studies in World Christianity \|year=2018 \|volume=24 \|issue=2 \|pages=114–134 \|doi=10.3366/swc.2018.0216 \|s2cid=150215507 \|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.2018.0216 \|issn=1354-9901}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author=Stephen Neill\|title=A History of Christianity in India: 1707–1858\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xi-tvrYbYxMC&pg=PA240\|accessdate=31 August 2012\|date=2 May 2002\|publisher=Cambridge University Press\|isbn=978-0-521-89332-9\|page=241}}</ref> In 1816, the Church Missionary Society sent [[Benjamin Bailey (missionary)\|Benjamin Bailey]], Henry Baker senior, and Joseph Fenn, who established what became [[CMS College Kottayam]]. Bailey was the first principal. With Munro's support, Bailey had the bible translated into Malayalam.<ref name="McKee">{{cite journal \|last1=McKee \|first1=Gary \|title=Benjamin Bailey and the Call for the Conversion of an Ancient Christian Church in India' \|journal=Studies in World Christianity \|date=2018 \|volume=24 \|issue=2 \|pages=114–134 \|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.2018.0216 \|accessdate=21 October 2018 \|doi=10.3366/swc.2018.0216\|s2cid=150215507 }}</ref> About the same time, Thomas Norton established a CMS School at [[Alappuzha\|Alleppy]]. The network of schools established by missionaries, and also their wives, meant Travancore led the world in primary education for girls as well as boys, and laid the foundations for the high levels of literacy in Kerala.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Matthew \|first1=ET \|title=Growth of Literacy in Kerala: State Intervention, Missionary Initiatives and Social Movements \|journal=Economic and Political Weekly \|date=1999 \|volume=34 \|issue=39 \|pages=2811–2820 \|url=https://www.epw.in/journal/1999/39/special-articles/growth-literacy-kerala.html}}</ref>

	[[File:മണ്‍റോ ലൈറ്റ് പള്ളം-കോട്ടയം.jpg\|thumb\|Munro Light at Pullam, Kottayam]]		[[File:മണ്‍റോ ലൈറ്റ് പള്ളം-കോട്ടയം.jpg\|thumb\|Munro Light at Pullam, Kottayam]]
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	==Later life==		==Later life==

	John Munro came home on leave in 1819, when he bought Teaninich Castle from his brother Hugh.<ref>{{cite web \|last1=Russell \|first1=Iain \|title=Hugh Munro, the Blind Captain \|url=https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/whisky-heroes/8004/hugh-munro-the-blind-captain/ \|website=Scotchwhisky.com \|accessdate=23 October ~~2022~~}}</ref> He returned briefly to India in 1823-4, before ill-health compelled his retirement. As an evangelical Christian, he supported the [[Disruption of 1843\|Great Disruption of 1843]]. His [[calotype]] portrait by [[David Octavius Hill]] was the model for his inclusion in the Hill's famous painting of the signing of the Deed of Separation at the First Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. He provided land for the Free Church in Alness, of which he became an elder. On Hugh's death in 1846, he inherited the [[Teaninich distillery]] which the latter had founded in 1817.		John Munro came home on leave in 1819, when he bought Teaninich Castle from his brother Hugh.<ref>{{cite web \|last1=Russell \|first1=Iain \|title=Hugh Munro, the Blind Captain \|url=https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/whisky-heroes/8004/hugh-munro-the-blind-captain/ \|website=Scotchwhisky.com \|accessdate=23 October 2018}}</ref> He returned briefly to India in 1823-4, before ill-health compelled his retirement. As an evangelical Christian, he supported the [[Disruption of 1843\|Great Disruption of 1843]]. His [[calotype]] portrait by [[David Octavius Hill]] was the model for his inclusion in the Hill's famous painting of the signing of the Deed of Separation at the First Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. He provided land for the Free Church in Alness, of which he became an elder. On Hugh's death in 1846, he inherited the [[Teaninich distillery]] which the latter had founded in 1817.

	Major-General John Munro, 9th of Teaninich, died on 25 January 1858, and was buried in the Teaninich family vault in [https://her.highland.gov.uk/Designation/MHG8121 Alness Old Parish Church].		Major-General John Munro, 9th of Teaninich, died on 25 January 1858, and was buried in the Teaninich family vault in [https://her.highland.gov.uk/Designation/MHG8121 Alness Old Parish Church].
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	John Munro had four children while serving in Madras, probably by native mother(s).<ref name="IOR"/>		John Munro had four children while serving in Madras, probably by native mother(s).<ref name="IOR"/>
	#Urban Vigors Munro (baptised 1801 Madras d. Travancore 1844) was in 1827 appointed first Conservator of Forests of Travancore, to manage the state monopoly of teak, and later also cardamom, ebony and sandalwood. His son John Daniel Munro was first a coffee planter, but headed the newly separate Cardamom Department from 1869. He built paths to open up the area round [[Peermade]] and [[Munnar]], enabling the founding of tea industry in the [[Kannan Devan Hills\|Kan(n)an Devan Hills]].<ref name="HeronsPool">{{cite book \|last1=Lovatt \|first1=Heather \|last2=de Jong \|first2=Peter \|title=Above the Heron's Pool \|date=1993 \|publisher=British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia \|location=London \|isbn=0907799515 \|url=http://www.bacsa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Bacsa-Books-v3-feb-2017.pdf}}</ref> His short book ''The High Ranges of Travancore'' describes these hills.<ref>{{cite book \|last1=Munro \|first1=John Daniel \|title=The High Ranges of Travancore \|date=1880 \|publisher=[Peermaad \|url=https://archive.org/details/highrangesoftrav00munrrich/page/n3 \|accessdate=23 October ~~2022~~}}</ref>		#Urban Vigors Munro (baptised 1801 Madras d. Travancore 1844) was in 1827 appointed first Conservator of Forests of Travancore, to manage the state monopoly of teak, and later also cardamom, ebony and sandalwood. His son John Daniel Munro was first a coffee planter, but headed the newly separate Cardamom Department from 1869. He built paths to open up the area round [[Peermade]] and [[Munnar]], enabling the founding of tea industry in the [[Kannan Devan Hills\|Kan(n)an Devan Hills]].<ref name="HeronsPool">{{cite book \|last1=Lovatt \|first1=Heather \|last2=de Jong \|first2=Peter \|title=Above the Heron's Pool \|date=1993 \|publisher=British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia \|location=London \|isbn=0907799515 \|url=http://www.bacsa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Bacsa-Books-v3-feb-2017.pdf}}</ref> His short book ''The High Ranges of Travancore'' describes these hills.<ref>{{cite book \|last1=Munro \|first1=John Daniel \|title=The High Ranges of Travancore \|date=1880 \|publisher=[Peermaad \|url=https://archive.org/details/highrangesoftrav00munrrich/page/n3 \|accessdate=23 October 2018}}</ref>
	#James Munro (baptised 1805 died 1805).		#James Munro (baptised 1805 died 1805).
	#Margaret Munro (died 1807).		#Margaret Munro (died 1807).

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{{EngvarB|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Major-General
| name = John Munro
| honorific_suffix = 9th of Teaninich
| rank = {{plainlist|
* Adjutant
* Private Secretary to the Commander in Chief
* Quartermaster-General of the Madras army 1807
* Lieutenant Colonel 1818
* Colonel 1829
* Major General 1837
* [[Residencies of British India|Resident of the English East India Company]]
* [[Diwan of Travancore]]
}}
| image = General John Munro of Teaninich.jpg
| caption = Calotype portrait of John Munro by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, 1843.
| birth_date = February 1775
| birth_place = [[Scotland]], [[United Kingdom]]
| death_date = {{d-da|25 January 1858|February 1775}}
|placeofburial = [[Saint George CSI Church, Pallikkunnu]]
| spouse = Charlotte Blacker
}}

'''General John Munro''' (June 1778 – 25 January 1858) of the [[East India Company|H.E.I.C.S]] was a Scottish soldier and administrator who served as [[Residencies of British India|Resident]] and [[Head of government|Diwan]] of the States of [[Travancore]] and [[Cochin]] between 1810 and 1819.<ref name="MackenzieMunro">{{cite book |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Alexander |title=History of the Munros of Fowlis with Genealogies of the Principal Families of the Name |date=1898 |publisher=A & W Mackenzie |location=Inverness |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmunroso00mack/page/427 427]–430 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmunroso00mack}}</ref>

==Early life==

John Munro, fourth son of Captain James Munro, 7th of Teaninich (Royal Navy), was baptised in Alness on 11 February 1775.<ref name="IOR">British Library India Office Records.</ref> The Munros of Teaninich were a cadet branch of the Scottish Highland [[Clan Munro]] and their family home was at [[Teaninich Castle]] in [[Ross-shire]].<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/>

==Military career==

John Munro enlisted as a cadet in the East India Company's [[Madras Army]] in April 1791, aged 16,<ref name="IOR"/> and was appointed Lieutenant in August 1794.<ref name="MadrasArmyList">{{cite book |last1=Dodwell |first1=Edward |last2=Miles |first2=James Samuel |title=Alphabetical List of the Officers of the Madras Army: With the Dates of Their Respective Promotion, Retirement, Resignation, Or Death whether in India or in Europe from the Year 1760 to the Year 1834 |date=1838 |publisher=Longman, Orme, Brown, and Co |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/alphabeticallist00dodwuoft/page/114 114]–115 |url=https://archive.org/details/alphabeticallist00dodwuoft}}</ref> He took part in the [[Battle of Seringapatam]] in 1799, and was shortly afterwards promoted to Captain <ref name="MadrasArmyList"/> and appointed [[Adjutant]] of his regiment, in which office he displayed a thorough acquaintance with military duties.<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/> John Munro was an accomplished linguist, being able to speak and write in French, German, Italian, Arabic, Persian and several Indian language.<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/>

Munro held various appointments on the Staff, and was private secretary and interpreter to successive Commanders in Chief in India.<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/><ref name="MunroIveagh">{{cite book |last1=Monroe |first1=Horace |title=Foulis Castle and the Monroes of Lower Iveagh |date=1926 |publisher=Mitchell Hughes and Clarke |location=London |pages=13–14 |url=https://electricscotland.com/webclans/m/FoulisCastle1.pdf}}</ref> He was personally acquainted and in regular correspondence with Colonel [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]], later Duke of Wellington, during the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War|Mahratta War]].<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/> He also served alongside his distinguished namesake [[Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet]] (of Lindertis). John Munro assisted in quelling the [[Vellore Mutiny]] and was soon afterwards appointed [[Quartermaster general|Quartermaster-General]] of the Madras army, directly from the rank of captain, at the early age of 27 years.<ref name="MackenzieMunro"/>

As Quartermaster-General, Munro was asked in 1807 by the then commander-in-chief [[John Cradock|Sir John Craddock]] to compile a confidential report on the Tent Contract, an allowance to Madras Army officers to be paid equally in peace and war and regarded by them as part of their emoluments. Munro's report pointed out that the contract gave officers "strong inducements to neglect their most important duties".<ref name="StormConquest">{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Stephen |title=Storm and Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1808-10 |date=2016 |publisher=Faber and Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0571224678 |url=https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571224678-storm-and-conquest.html}}</ref> Craddock agreed with Munro's recommendation that it be discontinued and replaced by enhanced [[batta]]. The implementation of these changes added to the discontent simmering amongst officers of the Madras Army, already resentful at being less well rewarded than those of the [[Bengal Army]]. Moreover, the report was leaked; fellow officers who read it inferred that their honour had been impugned, and charged Munro with conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.<ref name="AsiaticRegister1811">{{cite book |last1=Samuel |first1=E |title=The Asiatic Annual Register or a View of History of Hindustan and of the Politics, Commerce and Literature of Asia, Volume 11 |date=1811 |publisher=Cadell & Davies |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/asiaticannualre03samugoog/page/n381 245]–271 |url=https://archive.org/details/asiaticannualre03samugoog}}</ref> The episode occurred during a period of dispute between the Madras civil government and the new commander-in-chief, Lieut-General [[Hay MacDowall|Hay Macdowall]], who, no longer ''ex-officio'' a member of the governing council, had given notice of his resignation. On 20 January 1809, some months after the appeal from his officers, and despite his impending departure, Macdowall had Munro arrested, leaving the supposed court martial to be heard by his successor. A week later, on the eve of departure Macdowall was reluctantly compelled to release Munro from arrest on the orders of the Governor [[Sir George Barlow, 1st Baronet|Sir George Barlow]]. Together with his Adjutant-General, Col. Francis Capper (who was probably responsible for leaking Munro's report),<ref name="StormConquest"/> Macdowall boarded the [[East Indiaman]] [[Lady Jane Dundas (1800 EIC ship)|''Lady Jane Dundas'']] for England, issuing as he did so a General Order which reprimanded Munro for making a direct appeal to the Governor.<ref name="AsiaticRegister1811"/> Capper's deputy Major Thomas Boles, who had signed the order on behalf of the departing commander-in-chief, was suspended for doing so. The perceived unfair treatment of Boles, who was only acting on a superior's order, was the subject of a memorial by officers led by [[Arthur St Leger (soldier)]], who was then also dismissed; the continuing repercussions of these events led to the 1809 "White Mutiny" by officers of the Madras Army.<ref name="WhiteMutiny">{{cite book |last1=Cardew |first1=Alexander Gordon |title=The White Mutiny |date=1929 |publisher=Constable |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.276122/page/n1 |accessdate=23 October 2018}}</ref> The ''Lady Jane Dundas'', with Macdowall and Capper aboard, was lost off the Cape of Good Hope in March 1809.

Shortly after these events, Munro was appointed Resident in Travancore; his successor as Quarter-Master General was his deputy, [[Valentine Blacker]], who had recently become his brother-in-law.

==Administrative career==

John Munro was a major figure in the development of the states of [[Travancore]] and [[Kingdom of Cochin|Cochin]].<ref name="MunroIveagh"/><ref name="cochinroyalfamily">{{cite web |last1=Varma |first1=Kocha |title=General John Munro |url=http://cochinroyalhistory.org/personalities.php?perid=6 |website=History of the Cochin Royal Family |accessdate=21 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="Coromandel">{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Charles |title=Coromandel: A Personal History of South India |date=2017 |publisher=Little, Brown |location=London |isbn=9781408705407 |url=https://www.littlebrown.com/?s=coromandel}}</ref> In the aftermath of the attack by [[Velu Thampi Dalawa]] on the East India Company, he was appointed Resident of the Company for these kingdoms in 1810. Col. Munro also served as Diwan (Prime Minister) to the Regents Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai and Rani Gouri Parvati Bai of Travancore and Raja Kerala Varma of Cochin from 1812 to 1814.<ref name="TravancoreStateVol1">{{cite book |last1=Aiya |first1=V. Nagam |title=The Travancore State Manual, Volume I |date=1946 |publisher=Travancore Government Press |location=Trivandrum |url=https://archive.org/details/b29352708_0001/page/n0}}</ref> With his freedom of action, he won such confidence of the rulers and the people as to be able to introduce the practice, in the administration of justice, of having a Christian sitting on the bench as judge beside a Brahmin.<ref name="MunroIveagh"/>

[[File:British Residency in Kollam city, Mar 2017.jpg|right|thumb|420px|[[British Residency]] in [[Kollam]] city built by Col. John Munro]]
He influenced these rulers to introduce many progressive reforms.<ref>{{cite book|last=Menon|first=Sreedhara|title=A survey of Kerala History|year=1996|publisher=S.Viswanathan Printers and Publishers|location=Madras|pages=339, 348, 349 |isbn=9788126415786 |url=https://onlinestore.dcbooks.com/books/a-survey-of-kerala-history}}</ref> During his tenure as Diwan, he reformed the judicial system, improved the revenue of the states, prevented corruption and mismanagement and started the process of abolishing slavery. Slavery was abolished in [[Munroe Island]] on 8 March 1835 and finally by Royal proclamation of the maharajah of Travancore in 1853 and 1855. Munro removed many taxes levied on the poorer sections of the community. With deep Christian convictions, he persuaded the Rani of [[Travancore]] to donate land in [[Kottayam]] as well as the money and timber, in-order to build the [[Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary]] and also petitioned the [[Church Missionary Society]] to send missionaries on a Help Mission, to educate and train the clergy of the [[Malankara Church]].<ref name="Tovey">{{cite web |last1=Tovey |first1=Phillip |title=John Munro, Evangelical Christian |url=https://www.academia.edu/15029987 |website=Academia.edu |accessdate=21 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=History of Cochin Royal Family |url=http://cochinroyalhistory.org/personalities.php?perid=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McKee |first1=Gary |title=Benjamin Bailey and the Call for the Conversion of an Ancient Christian Church in India |journal=Studies in World Christianity |year=2018 |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=114–134 |doi=10.3366/swc.2018.0216 |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.2018.0216 |issn=1354-9901}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen Neill|title=A History of Christianity in India: 1707–1858|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xi-tvrYbYxMC&pg=PA240|accessdate=31 August 2012|date=2 May 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-89332-9|page=241}}</ref> In 1816, the Church Missionary Society sent [[Benjamin Bailey (missionary)|Benjamin Bailey]], Henry Baker senior, and Joseph Fenn, who established what became [[CMS College Kottayam]]. Bailey was the first principal. With Munro's support, Bailey had the bible translated into Malayalam.<ref name="McKee">{{cite journal |last1=McKee |first1=Gary |title=Benjamin Bailey and the Call for the Conversion of an Ancient Christian Church in India' |journal=Studies in World Christianity |date=2018 |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=114–134 |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.2018.0216 |accessdate=21 October 2018 |doi=10.3366/swc.2018.0216}}</ref> About the same time, Thomas Norton established a CMS School at [[Alappuzha|Alleppy]]. The network of schools established by missionaries, and also their wives, meant Travancore led the world in primary education for girls as well as boys, and laid the foundations for the high levels of literacy in Kerala.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matthew |first1=ET |title=Growth of Literacy in Kerala: State Intervention, Missionary Initiatives and Social Movements |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |date=1999 |volume=34 |issue=39 |pages=2811–2820 |url=https://www.epw.in/journal/1999/39/special-articles/growth-literacy-kerala.html}}</ref>

[[File:മണ്‍റോ ലൈറ്റ് പള്ളം-കോട്ടയം.jpg|thumb|Munro Light at Pullam, Kottayam]]

==Later life==

John Munro came home on leave in 1819, when he bought Teaninich Castle from his brother Hugh.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Russell |first1=Iain |title=Hugh Munro, the Blind Captain |url=https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/whisky-heroes/8004/hugh-munro-the-blind-captain/ |website=Scotchwhisky.com |accessdate=23 October 2018}}</ref> He returned briefly to India in 1823-4, before ill-health compelled his retirement. As an evangelical Christian, he supported the [[Disruption of 1843|Great Disruption of 1843]]. His [[calotype]] portrait by [[David Octavius Hill]] was the model for his inclusion in the Hill's famous painting of the signing of the Deed of Separation at the First Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. He provided land for the Free Church in Alness, of which he became an elder. On Hugh's death in 1846, he inherited the [[Teaninich distillery]] which the latter had founded in 1817.

Major-General John Munro, 9th of Teaninich, died on 25 January 1858, and was buried in the Teaninich family vault in [https://her.highland.gov.uk/Designation/MHG8121 Alness Old Parish Church].

==Legacy==

Munro is remembered as one of the most brilliant and popular administrators of the kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore.<ref name="cochinroyalfamily"/> The Travancore State Manual of 1906 said of him "He has left an imperishable name in the hearts of the Travancore population for justice and probity. The most ignorant peasant or cooly in Travancore knows the name of ''Munrole Sahib''... He worked with a single-handed devotion to the interests of the state."<ref name="TravancoreStateVol1"/> Canon Horace Monroe claimed "He lived to see Muslims and high caste Hindus appreciate the integrity and fairness of Christian judges, and he paved the way for those who since his day have tried to interpret Western Christianity to the Eastern people."<ref name="MunroIveagh"/>

An archipelago of eight islands located in the [[Ashtamudi Lake]] of [[Kollam|Kollam(Quilon)]], called [[Munroe Island]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Monro Island|url=http://www.freewebs.com/srijiths/coloneljohnmunro.htm|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024073603/http://www.freewebs.com/srijiths/coloneljohnmunro.htm|archivedate=24 October 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> was named in his honour. On his death, a series of lights to guide travellers in the lakes and backwaters of the State were called ‘Munro Lights’ in his honor by the Travancore Government.<ref name="TravancoreStateVol1"/>

==Family==

John Munro had four children while serving in Madras, probably by native mother(s).<ref name="IOR"/>
#Urban Vigors Munro (baptised 1801 Madras d. Travancore 1844) was in 1827 appointed first Conservator of Forests of Travancore, to manage the state monopoly of teak, and later also cardamom, ebony and sandalwood. His son John Daniel Munro was first a coffee planter, but headed the newly separate Cardamom Department from 1869. He built paths to open up the area round [[Peermade]] and [[Munnar]], enabling the founding of tea industry in the [[Kannan Devan Hills|Kan(n)an Devan Hills]].<ref name="HeronsPool">{{cite book |last1=Lovatt |first1=Heather |last2=de Jong |first2=Peter |title=Above the Heron's Pool |date=1993 |publisher=British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia |location=London |isbn=0907799515 |url=http://www.bacsa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Bacsa-Books-v3-feb-2017.pdf}}</ref> His short book ''The High Ranges of Travancore'' describes these hills.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munro |first1=John Daniel |title=The High Ranges of Travancore |date=1880 |url=https://archive.org/details/highrangesoftrav00munrrich/page/n3 |accessdate=23 October 2018}}</ref>
#James Munro (baptised 1805 died 1805).
#Margaret Munro (died 1807).
#Theodosia (born 1805, baptised 1807, probably also died young). Her mother's name is given as Chauby.

John Munro was married in Madras in 1808 to Charlotte, sister of Valentine Blacker. Their children were:<ref name="MunroIveagh"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Clan Munro Association USA Genealogy Pages |title=Gen. John Munro, of Teaninich |url=http://www.clanmunrousa.org/gen/getperson.php?personID=I36434&tree=1}}</ref>
#Charlotte Munro (1810 - 1875, who married George Augustus Spencer)
#James St. John Munro (baptised December 1811 in Padanilam, Travancore). He disposed of his succession to Teaninich to his brother Stuart Caradoc Munro, and became British Consul in [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]], where he died in 1878.
#John Munro (1820 - 1845, served as captain in the 10th Light Cavalry of the [[Bengal army]] and as Aide de Camp to Lord Hardinge. After being promoted to major, he was wounded at the [[Battle of Moodkee]] in Dec 1845 and died two days later)
#Stuart Caradoc Munro (1826 - 1911), a tea-planter in Ceylon, who left no issue.
#Maxwell William Munro (1827 - 1854, died at sea).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before= [[Kunhikrishna Menon]] | title=[[List of diwans of Cochin|Diwan of Cochin]] | after= [[Nanjappayya]] | years=1812-1818}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, John}}
[[Category:1778 births]]
[[Category:1858 deaths]]
[[Category:Scottish soldiers]]
[[Category:Clan Munro|John Munro]]
[[Category:British East India Company Army generals]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]]
[[Category:Diwans of Cochin]]
[[Category:Diwans of Travancore]]