Scaled-Down Ambitions after Company Opposition
- When
- 1800
- Where
- Fort William College, Calcutta
Wellesley's vision of an "Oxford of the East" was reduced to a school for Indian languages after a tussle with the Court of Directors led by Charles Grant.
Lord Wellesley initially intended Fort William College to be the "Oxford of the East", but his idea was scaled down to a school for Indian languages as a compromise over a long tussle with the Court of Directors of the East India Company. Led by Charles Grant, the Court had threatened to close the college, whose creation it had not authorized. The Court of Directors were never in favor of a training college in Calcutta, and the college consequently always lacked funds for its operation.
Sources
- Fort William College Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-21
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