George Morton Pitt
Encyclopedia
George Morton Pitt was a British politician and administrator who served as the President of Fort St George from 1730 to 1735.
George Morton hailed from the well-known Pitt family of England: like his family predecessor Thomas Pitt
, he became Governor of the Madras Presidency
at Fort St. George. He succeeded James Macrae
in this post on 14 May 1730. Little appears to be known of him; he is barely mentioned in the annals of the East India Company
.
had to quit in ignominy after being accused of corruption. Pitt arrived at Madras from Fort St David
on May 14, 1730 and immediately took over as President. He carried on the proceedings against Macrae. A few days after becoming President, he repealed the government prohibition on the export of silver introduced by Macrae.
To make up for the discrepancies in the coins issued by the British East India Company in comparison with those issued by the Nagapattinam
mint, Pitt introduced a new coin equal in size, weight and quality with the Nagapattinam pagoda. This coin, which had the letter "M" punched on its to differentiate it from the Nagapattinam pagoda, was called a "M" pagoda.
During his Presidency, the Dubashes or the chief merchants of the Company became powerful and influential. One of them, Alaganathan Pillai, built the Ekambareshwar Temple during Pitt's tenure. Another dubash, Sunkurama, had a garden at the bend of the Cooum river south of Periampet which was taken over by the British in 1735 for the construction of a new weaver's village called Chintadripet. By that time Sunkurama had fallen into disgrace and was succeeded by his colleague Thambu Chetty as the chief merchant. The Government resolved in October 1734 to erect a weaving town in the site of Sunkurama's garden and to permit only spinners, weavers, washers, painters and the necessary attendants of the temple to settle in the village. A cowl was granted on these terms and Bemala Audiappa Narayana helped in the peopling of the village, which grew to contain nearly two hundred and fifty families within two years after its foundation.
He was a Member of Parliament
(MP) for Pontefract
from 1741 to 1754.
George Morton hailed from the well-known Pitt family of England: like his family predecessor Thomas Pitt
Thomas Pitt
Thomas Pitt , born at Blandford Forum, Dorset, to a rector and his wife, was a British merchant involved in trade with India....
, he became Governor of the Madras Presidency
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...
at Fort St. George. He succeeded James Macrae
James Macrae
James Macrae was a Scottish seaman and administrator who served as the President of Fort St George from 1725 to 1730. He is known for naval exploits against the pirate Edward England and for reforming the administration of Madras Presidency....
in this post on 14 May 1730. Little appears to be known of him; he is barely mentioned in the annals of the 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...
.
As President of Madras
Pitt became Governor in 1730 when his predecessor James MacraeJames Macrae
James Macrae was a Scottish seaman and administrator who served as the President of Fort St George from 1725 to 1730. He is known for naval exploits against the pirate Edward England and for reforming the administration of Madras Presidency....
had to quit in ignominy after being accused of corruption. Pitt arrived at Madras from Fort St David
Fort St David
Fort St. David was a British fort near the town of Cuddalore, a hundred miles south of Madras on the Coromandel Coast of India.-History:It was bought from the Mahrattas by the British East India Company in 1690. Robert Clive served as the governor of Fort St David in 1756.The ruins of Fort St David...
on May 14, 1730 and immediately took over as President. He carried on the proceedings against Macrae. A few days after becoming President, he repealed the government prohibition on the export of silver introduced by Macrae.
To make up for the discrepancies in the coins issued by the British East India Company in comparison with those issued by the Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. It is a prominent seaport on the east coast of India and an important centre of trade and commerce.The town of Nagapattinam dates back to the Sangam period...
mint, Pitt introduced a new coin equal in size, weight and quality with the Nagapattinam pagoda. This coin, which had the letter "M" punched on its to differentiate it from the Nagapattinam pagoda, was called a "M" pagoda.
During his Presidency, the Dubashes or the chief merchants of the Company became powerful and influential. One of them, Alaganathan Pillai, built the Ekambareshwar Temple during Pitt's tenure. Another dubash, Sunkurama, had a garden at the bend of the Cooum river south of Periampet which was taken over by the British in 1735 for the construction of a new weaver's village called Chintadripet. By that time Sunkurama had fallen into disgrace and was succeeded by his colleague Thambu Chetty as the chief merchant. The Government resolved in October 1734 to erect a weaving town in the site of Sunkurama's garden and to permit only spinners, weavers, washers, painters and the necessary attendants of the temple to settle in the village. A cowl was granted on these terms and Bemala Audiappa Narayana helped in the peopling of the village, which grew to contain nearly two hundred and fifty families within two years after its foundation.
He was a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Pontefract
Pontefract (UK Parliament constituency)
Pontefract was an English parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Pontefract in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons briefly in the 13th century and again from 1621 until 1885, and one member from 1885 to 1974.-In the unreformed...
from 1741 to 1754.