George Thomas (soldier)

George Thomas (c. 1756 in Roscrea, Tipperary – August 22, 1802, in Barhampur, India) was an Irish mercenary who was active in 18th-century India. From 1798 to 1801, he ruled a small kingdom in India, which he carved out of Rohtak and Hisar districts.

Biography

His father was a poor Catholic tenant farmer near Roscrea who died when George was a child. Originally press-ganged at Youghal, where he worked as a labourer on the docks, Thomas deserted from the British Navy in Madras in 1781. Still illiterate, he led a group of Pindaris north to Delhi by 1787, where he took service under Begum Samru of Sardhana. Supplanted in her favour by a Frenchman, he transferred his allegiance to Appa Rao, a Mahratta chieftain. [1] He carved out an independent kingdom in the districts of Rohtak and Hissar and made Hansi as his capital.[2] During his short period of rule, he established a mint in Hansi and released rupees of his own kingdom. His area of control included area from Ghaggar to Beri in south and from Meham to Baharda in west. He rebuilt Hansi, which was in ruined state and built defensive walls and fortifactions.[2] He divided his area of control into 14 paraganas.[2]

In 1796 AD, he built Jahaj Kothi at Hisar, Haryana which was his residence, which was also used by James Skinner after George's defeat. He ruled the area independently upto 1801, when he was driven out by Sikh-Maratha-French confedracy.[2] He was finally defeated and captured by Scindia's army under General Pierre Cuillier-Perron. He died on his way down the Ganges on 22 Aug. 1802.[1]

Areas under the East India company's control, 1765-1805

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Chisholm 1911.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Haryana District Gazetteers" (PDF). Gazetteer of India, Haryana. Haryana Gazetteers organisation, Revenue Department, Haryana. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Thomas, George". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ; Endnotes:

Further reading


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