Sir William Hay Macnaghten killed by Akbar Khan at Kabul (1841)

Sir William Hay Macnaghten, a British civil servant involved in the First Anglo-Afghan War, was killed on 23 December 1841. He was shot by Afghan commander Akbar Khan during a meeting outside Kabul. The incident occurred after Macnaghten presented Akbar Khan with pistols as a gesture of friendship, amidst deteriorating British morale following earlier attacks.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Sir William Hay Macnaghten was a British civil servant in India who played a major part in the First Anglo-Afghan War. By late 1841, the British position in Kabul was deteriorating. Burnes was murdered on 2 November 1841, and under the elderly General William Elphinstone, who was also injured in a bad fall from his horse, the morale and confidence of the British/Indian army in Kabul drastically deteriorated.

The Parley. On 23 December 1841, Macnaghten met with Wazir Akbar Khan outside Kabul. During this meeting, Macnaghten presented Akbar Khan with a fine pair of pistols, intended as a gesture of friendship and good faith. Akbar Khan, a Barakzai prince and military commander, had been actively besieging British forces in Kabul since November 1841.

People involved

Sources

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