William Hay Macnaghten - Revision history

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	{{Use dmy dates\|date=~~October 2020~~}}		{{Short description\|British civil servant (1793–1841)}}
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=March 2025}}
	{{Use British English\|date=April 2012}}		{{Use British English\|date=April 2012}}
	[[File:William Hay Macnaghten.jpg\|thumb~~\|200px~~\|A painting commissioned in the last year of Macnaghten's life, by [[James Atkinson (Persian scholar)\|James Atkinson]]]]'''Sir William Hay Macnaghten, 1st Baronet''' (24 August 1793{{snd}}23 December 1841), was a British [[civil servant]] in [[British Raj\|India]], who played a major part in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]].		[[File:William Hay Macnaghten.jpg\|thumb\|A painting commissioned in the last year of Macnaghten's life, by [[James Atkinson (Persian scholar)\|James Atkinson]]]]'''Sir William Hay Macnaghten, 1st Baronet''' (24 August 1793{{snd}}23 December 1841), was a British [[civil servant]] in [[British Raj\|India]], who played a major part in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]].

	==Life==		==Life==
	William was the second son of [[Sir Francis Macnaghten]]~~, Bart.~~, judge of the supreme courts of ~~[[Chennai\|~~Madras]] and [[Calcutta]], and was educated at [[Charterhouse School\|Charterhouse]]. He went to Madras as a cadet in 1809, but in 1816 joined the [[Bengal Civil Service]]. He displayed a talent for languages and published several treatises on [[Hindu law\|Hindu]] and [[Sharia\|Islamic law]]. His political career began in 1830 as secretary to [[Lord William Bentinck]]; and in 1837 he became one of the most trusted advisers of the governor-general, [[George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland\|Lord Auckland]], with whose policy of supporting [[Shah Shujah Durrani\|Shah ~~Shuja~~]] against [[Dost Mahommed Khan]], the reigning ~~amir~~ of [[Kabul]], Macnaghten became closely identified.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=264}}		William was the second son of [[Sir Francis Macnaghten, 1st Baronet]], judge of the supreme courts of Madras and Calcutta, and was educated at [[Charterhouse School\|Charterhouse]]. He went to Madras as a cadet in 1809, but in 1816 joined the [[Bengal Civil Service]]. He displayed a talent for languages and published several treatises on [[Hindu law\|Hindu]] and [[Sharia\|Islamic law]]. His political career began in 1830 as secretary to [[Lord William Bentinck]]; and, in 1837, he became one of the most trusted advisers of the governor-general, [[George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland\|Lord Auckland]], with whose policy of supporting [[Shah Shujah Durrani\|Shah Shujah]] against [[Dost Mahommed Khan]], the reigning Amir of Kabul, Macnaghten became closely identified.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=264}}

	He was created a baronet in 1840, and four months before his death was nominated to the governorship of [[Bombay]].{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}} As ~~a political agent at~~ Kabul, he came into conflict with the military authorities and subsequently with his subordinate Sir [[Alexander Burnes]]. Macnaghten attempted to placate the Afghan chiefs with heavy subsidies, but when the drain on the Indian [[exchequer]] became too great, and the allowances were reduced, this policy ~~led to an outbreak~~. Burnes was murdered on 2 November 1841; and under the elderly General [[William George Keith Elphinstone\|William Elphinstone]], the British army in Kabul ~~degenerated into~~ a ~~leaderless mob~~.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|pp=264–265}}		He was created a baronet in 1840, and four months before his death was nominated to the governorship of Bombay.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}}
	[[File:Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects (BM 1970,0527.2.3).jpg\|thumb\|Portrait of Macnaghten from ''Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the ~~Cabul~~ prisoners, and other subjects'' by [[Vincent Eyre]]\|alt=]]
	Macnaghten tried to save the situation by negotiating with the Afghan chiefs and, independently of them, with Dost Mahammad's son, [[Wazir Akbar Khan\|Akbar Khan~~]], by whom he was captured and,~~ on 23 December 1841, Macnaghten ~~was killed~~.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}} The exact circumstances of his death are unclear; Khan ~~himself~~ may have killed ~~him personally~~, or ~~that he was~~ killed because he was resisting after being captured and it was feared he would break free.<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Hopkirk\|first1=Peter\|title=The Great Game\|page=256}}</ref> ~~This very~~ soon became an inspirational story among the Afghans, with the disastrous retreat from Kabul and the [[Massacre of Elphinstone's army]] in the Khurd-Kabul Pass following. ~~These events threw~~ doubt on Macnaghten's capacity for dealing with the problems of colonial diplomacy.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}}		As the British Envoy and Political Agent in Kabul, he came into conflict with the British military authorities and subsequently with his subordinate Sir [[Alexander Burnes]]. Macnaghten attempted to placate the Afghan chiefs with heavy subsidies, but when the drain on the Indian [[exchequer]] became too great, and the allowances were reduced, this policy precipitated a disastrous collapse in relations between the British and Afghans. Burnes was murdered on 2 November 1841; and under the elderly General [[William George Keith Elphinstone\|William Elphinstone]], who was also injured in a bad fall from his horse, the morale and confidence of the British/Indian army in Kabul drastically deteriorated.<ref>{{cite book\|first=William\|last=Dalrymple\|pages=338–339\|title=Return of a King. The Battle for Afghanistan\|date=January 2014 \|publisher=Bloomsbury \|isbn=978-1-4088-3159-5}}</ref> {{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|pp=264–265}}
			[[File:Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects (BM 1970,0527.2.3).jpg\|thumb\|Portrait of Macnaghten from ''Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Kabul prisoners, and other subjects'' by [[Vincent Eyre]]\|alt=]]

			Macnaghten tried to save the situation by negotiating with the Afghan chiefs and, independently of them, with Dost Mahammad's son, [[Wazir Akbar Khan]]. At a meeting with Wazir Akbar Khan outside Kabul on 23 December 1841, Macnaghten presented Wazir Akbar Khan with a fine pair of pistols as a gesture of friendship and good faith. However, Wazir Akbar Khan murdered Macnaghten on the spot.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}} The exact circumstances of his death are unclear. Wazir Akbar Khan may have killed Macnaghten with one of the very pistols that he had just been gifted by Macnaghten, or Macnaghten may have been killed because he was resisting after being captured and it was feared he would break free. The former account is more likely to be true.<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Hopkirk\|first1=Peter\|title=The Great Game\|page=256}}</ref>

			The eviction of the British army soon became an inspirational story among the Afghans, with the disastrous retreat from Kabul and the [[Massacre of Elphinstone's army]] in the Khurd-Kabul Pass following. The entire calamitous episode cast the gravest doubt on Macnaghten's capacity for dealing with the problems of colonial diplomacy.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}}

			==Works==

			Macnaghten produced one of the principal editions of the ''[[Thousand and One Nights]]'', known as the ''Calcutta II'' edition.<ref>''[https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009733325 The Alif Laila or, Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Commonly Known as 'The Arabian Nights' Entertainments', Now, for the First Time, Published Complete in the Original Arabic, from an Egyptian Manuscript Brought to India by the Late Major Turner Macan]'', ed. by W. H. Macnaghten, vol. 4 (Calcutta: Thacker, 1839–42).</ref>

	== Appearances in fiction ==		== Appearances in fiction ==
	Macnaghten appears in the first volume of the ''[[Flashman Papers]]'', being depicted as ambitious, arrogant and a [[~~megalomania~~]]c.		{{Unreferenced section\|date=January 2023}}
			Macnaghten appears in the first volume of the ''Flashman Papers'', being depicted as ambitious, arrogant and a [[wiktionary:megalomaniac\|megalomaniac]].

	He also appears in ''To Herat and ~~Cabul~~'' by [[G. A. Henty]]. He is pictured as a brave man, but clueless about Afghan politics. Henty places the blame for convincing [[Lord Auckland]], the Governor-General of India, to place Shuja on the throne squarely on his shoulders.		He also appears in ''To Herat and Kabul'' by [[G. A. Henty]]. He is pictured as a brave man, but clueless about Afghan politics. Henty places the blame for convincing [[Lord Auckland]], the Governor-General of India, to place Shuja on the throne squarely on his shoulders.

	==References==		==References==
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	{{wikisource\|Principles of Mohammadan Law}}		{{wikisource\|Principles of Mohammadan Law}}
	* {{EB1911\|wstitle=Macnaghten, Sir William Hay\|volume=17\|pages=264–265}}		* {{EB1911\|wstitle=Macnaghten, Sir William Hay\|volume=17\|pages=264–265}}
	* {{cite ~~web~~\|first=Katherine\|last=Prior\|title=Macnaghten, Sir William Hay, baronet (1793–1841)\|~~work~~=~~[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]~~\|~~publisher~~=~~Oxford University Press\|year=2004~~\|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17705\|access-date=2006-08-03~~}} {{ODNBsub~~}}		* {{cite ODNB\|first=Katherine\|last=Prior\|title=Macnaghten, Sir William Hay, baronet (1793–1841)\|year=2004\|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/17705 \|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17705\|access-date=2006-08-03}}
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	[[Category:~~Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom~~]]		[[Category:Macnaghten baronets\|201]]
	[[Category:British people of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]		[[Category:British people of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]
	[[Category:People of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]		[[Category:People of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]
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	[[Category:Administrators in British India]]		[[Category:Administrators in British India]]
	[[Category:British military personnel of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]		[[Category:British military personnel of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]
	[[Category:~~The~~ Great Game]]		[[Category:British people of the Great Game]]
			[[Category:Clan Macnaghten\|William]]
	[[Category:19th-century British diplomats]]		[[Category:19th-century British diplomats]]
			[[Category:People assassinated in the 19th century]]

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Life

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:55, 18 October 2021
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	He was created a baronet in 1840, and four months before his death was nominated to the governorship of [[Bombay]].{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}} As a political agent at Kabul, he came into conflict with the military authorities and subsequently with his subordinate Sir [[Alexander Burnes]]. Macnaghten attempted to placate the Afghan chiefs with heavy subsidies, but when the drain on the Indian [[exchequer]] became too great, and the allowances were reduced, this policy led to an outbreak. Burnes was murdered on 2 November 1841; and under the elderly General [[William George Keith Elphinstone\|William Elphinstone]], the British army in Kabul degenerated into a leaderless mob.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|pp=264–265}}		He was created a baronet in 1840, and four months before his death was nominated to the governorship of [[Bombay]].{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}} As a political agent at Kabul, he came into conflict with the military authorities and subsequently with his subordinate Sir [[Alexander Burnes]]. Macnaghten attempted to placate the Afghan chiefs with heavy subsidies, but when the drain on the Indian [[exchequer]] became too great, and the allowances were reduced, this policy led to an outbreak. Burnes was murdered on 2 November 1841; and under the elderly General [[William George Keith Elphinstone\|William Elphinstone]], the British army in Kabul degenerated into a leaderless mob.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|pp=264–265}}
	[[File:Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects (BM 1970,0527.2.3).jpg\|thumb\|Portrait of Macnaghten from ''Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects'' by [[Vincent Eyre]]\|alt=]]		[[File:Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects (BM 1970,0527.2.3).jpg\|thumb\|Portrait of Macnaghten from ''Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects'' by [[Vincent Eyre]]\|alt=]]
	Macnaghten tried to save the situation by negotiating with the Afghan chiefs and, independently of them, with Dost Mahammad's son, [[Wazir Akbar Khan\|Akbar Khan]], by whom he was captured and, on 23 December 1841, Macnaghten was killed.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}} The exact circumstances of his death are unclear; Khan himself may have killed him personally, or that he was killed because he was resisting after being captured and it was feared he would break free.<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Hopkirk\|first1=Peter\|title=The Great Game\|page=256}}</ref> This very soon became an inspirational story among the Afghans, with the disastrous retreat from Kabul and the [[Massacre of Elphinstone's army]] in the Khurd-Kabul Pass following. These events threw doubt on Macnaghten's capacity for dealing with the problems of colonial diplomacy~~, though his fearlessness and integrity were unquestioned~~.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}}		Macnaghten tried to save the situation by negotiating with the Afghan chiefs and, independently of them, with Dost Mahammad's son, [[Wazir Akbar Khan\|Akbar Khan]], by whom he was captured and, on 23 December 1841, Macnaghten was killed.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}} The exact circumstances of his death are unclear; Khan himself may have killed him personally, or that he was killed because he was resisting after being captured and it was feared he would break free.<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Hopkirk\|first1=Peter\|title=The Great Game\|page=256}}</ref> This very soon became an inspirational story among the Afghans, with the disastrous retreat from Kabul and the [[Massacre of Elphinstone's army]] in the Khurd-Kabul Pass following. These events threw doubt on Macnaghten's capacity for dealing with the problems of colonial diplomacy.{{sfn\|Chisholm\|1911\|p=265}}

	== Appearances in fiction ==		== Appearances in fiction ==

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
[[File:William Hay Macnaghten.jpg|thumb|200px|A painting commissioned in the last year of Macnaghten's life, by [[James Atkinson (Persian scholar)|James Atkinson]]]]'''Sir William Hay Macnaghten, 1st Baronet''' (24 August 1793{{snd}}23 December 1841), was a British [[civil servant]] in [[British Raj|India]], who played a major part in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]].

==Life==
William was the second son of [[Sir Francis Macnaghten]], Bart., judge of the supreme courts of [[Chennai|Madras]] and [[Calcutta]], and was educated at [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]]. He went to Madras as a cadet in 1809, but in 1816 joined the [[Bengal Civil Service]]. He displayed a talent for languages and published several treatises on [[Hindu law|Hindu]] and [[Sharia|Islamic law]]. His political career began in 1830 as secretary to [[Lord William Bentinck]]; and in 1837 he became one of the most trusted advisers of the governor-general, [[George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland|Lord Auckland]], with whose policy of supporting [[Shah Shujah Durrani|Shah Shuja]] against [[Dost Mahommed Khan]], the reigning amir of [[Kabul]], Macnaghten became closely identified.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=264}}

He was created a baronet in 1840, and four months before his death was nominated to the governorship of [[Bombay]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=265}} As a political agent at Kabul, he came into conflict with the military authorities and subsequently with his subordinate Sir [[Alexander Burnes]]. Macnaghten attempted to placate the Afghan chiefs with heavy subsidies, but when the drain on the Indian [[exchequer]] became too great, and the allowances were reduced, this policy led to an outbreak. Burnes was murdered on 2 November 1841; and under the elderly General [[William George Keith Elphinstone|William Elphinstone]], the British army in Kabul degenerated into a leaderless mob.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=264–265}}
[[File:Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects (BM 1970,0527.2.3).jpg|thumb|Portrait of Macnaghten from ''Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects'' by [[Vincent Eyre]]|alt=]]
Macnaghten tried to save the situation by negotiating with the Afghan chiefs and, independently of them, with Dost Mahammad's son, [[Wazir Akbar Khan|Akbar Khan]], by whom he was captured and, on 23 December 1841, Macnaghten was killed.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=265}} The exact circumstances of his death are unclear; Khan himself may have killed him personally, or that he was killed because he was resisting after being captured and it was feared he would break free.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hopkirk|first1=Peter|title=The Great Game|page=256}}</ref> This very soon became an inspirational story among the Afghans, with the disastrous retreat from Kabul and the [[Massacre of Elphinstone's army]] in the Khurd-Kabul Pass following. These events threw doubt on Macnaghten's capacity for dealing with the problems of colonial diplomacy, though his fearlessness and integrity were unquestioned.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=265}}

== Appearances in fiction ==
Macnaghten appears in the first volume of the ''[[Flashman Papers]]'', being depicted as ambitious, arrogant and a [[megalomania]]c.

He also appears in ''To Herat and Cabul'' by [[G. A. Henty]]. He is pictured as a brave man, but clueless about Afghan politics. Henty places the blame for convincing [[Lord Auckland]], the Governor-General of India, to place Shuja on the throne squarely on his shoulders.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{wikisource|Author:William Hay MacNaghten}}
{{wikisource|Principles of Mohammadan Law}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Macnaghten, Sir William Hay|volume=17|pages=264–265}}
* {{cite web|first=Katherine|last=Prior|title=Macnaghten, Sir William Hay, baronet (1793–1841)|work=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17705|access-date=2006-08-03}} {{ODNBsub}}
{{s-start}}
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{{s-new|Creation}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Macnaghten baronets|Baronet]]| years=1840–1841}}
{{s-non|reason=Extinct}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Anglo-Afghan War}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macnaghten, William Hay}}
[[Category:1793 births]]
[[Category:1841 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]]
[[Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British people of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:People of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:British diplomats]]
[[Category:Assassinated British diplomats]]
[[Category:Administrators in British India]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:The Great Game]]
[[Category:19th-century British diplomats]]