George Foxcraft
Encyclopedia
George Foxcraft was the ninth administrator of the colony of Madras
in British India for two terms starting from August 1665 to 16 September 1665 and 22 August 1668 to January 1670. During the rule of his predecessor, Sir Edward Winter, he was imprisoned on suspicion of having made utterances against King Charles II
. However, when his term came to an end, he took over as the British East India Company
's Agent and was the first to be given the title "Governor of Fort St George
". The Company's letter constituting the Madras Agent and Council "Our Governor and Agent and Consul in Fort St George" and empowering them to execute judgment in all cases, civil and criminal, was occasioned by the difficulty that arose as to the jurisdiction of the Madras officials over capital cases. This difficulty was solved by the new title and "to modern occupants of the gubernatorial chair it is probably unknown that they owe their designation to a Madras murder."
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
in British India for two terms starting from August 1665 to 16 September 1665 and 22 August 1668 to January 1670. During the rule of his predecessor, Sir Edward Winter, he was imprisoned on suspicion of having made utterances against King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. However, when his term came to an end, he took over as the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
's Agent and was the first to be given the title "Governor of Fort St George
Fort St George
Fort St George is the name of the first English fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai. The construction of the Fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally a no man's land...
". The Company's letter constituting the Madras Agent and Council "Our Governor and Agent and Consul in Fort St George" and empowering them to execute judgment in all cases, civil and criminal, was occasioned by the difficulty that arose as to the jurisdiction of the Madras officials over capital cases. This difficulty was solved by the new title and "to modern occupants of the gubernatorial chair it is probably unknown that they owe their designation to a Madras murder."