Josiah Webbe (April 1767 – 9 November 1804) was an

English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South Asia and Southeast A ...

servant who worked as Chief Secretary at Madras and as a Resident at Mysore and later in the court of the Maharaja of Scindia. Webbe was born into the colonial elite of

Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...

as the son of George Webbe (1744-1804), a wealthy landowner and slaveowner, and Mary Fenton Dasent (1737-1818), whose grandfather John Dasent (1691-1754) and brother John Dasent (1734-1787) were both Chief Justices of Nevis. He entered the service of the East India Company as a writer on 26 July 1783. His ability to deal with Indian languages made him popular. He advised against hostile actions towards

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

. He wrote to General Harris in Madras to follow the 'British policy' of preserving Tipu as a balance against the Marathis and the Nizam and stated that 'I can anticipate none but the most baneful consequences from a war with Tipu.' This displeased

Lord Mornington Earl of Mornington is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1760 for the Anglo-Irish politician and composer Garret Wellesley, 2nd Baron Mornington. On the death of the fifth earl in 1863, it passed to the Duke of Wellington; s ...

and the directors of the East India Company leading to his removal from the service of Arthur Wellesley. In 1803, he was posted Resident to the newly acquired kingdom of Mysore and the next year, he was posted by Wellesley to the Court of the Maharaja

Daulat Rao Scindia Daulat Rao Scindia (1779 – 21 March 1827) also conferred with the title "''The defender of Delhi"'' was the Maratha Maharaja of Gwalior state in central India from 1794 until his death in 1827. His reign coincided with struggles for supremac ...

in Gwalior. He took up the post but died at Dolaria, near Hoshangabad on the banks of Narmada after a long illness. His position was then occupied by

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...

. A monolithic granite obelisk to him was erected at Srirangapatnam by Dewan Purnaiah, and a memorial by

John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several yea ...

was installed at St. Mary's Church in Fort St. George. The memorial has a Brahmin and a Mohameddan on the left and an Englishman on the right. A tiger and lotus are engraved at the bottom. Unmarried, Webbe left his wealth to his sister Fanny Francklyn (née Webbe) and her son Alexander Allan (1808-1868), who then took up the name and arms of Webbe in lieu of Francklyn. File:Granite_Obelisk_at_Seringapatam_engraving_by_William_Miller_after_Capt_T_Frazer.jpg, Webbe Memorial - Obelisk at Srirangapatnam File:Josiah_Webbe_memorial.jpg, Memorial by John Flaxman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webbe, Josiah 1767 births 1804 deaths People from the Madras Presidency British East India Company civil servants British resident at Mysore