Harry Verelst

Harry Verelst (11 February 1734 – 24 October 1785) was a colonial administrator with the British East India Company who served as the governor of Bengal from 1767 to 1769.

Verelst travelled to India as a Company employee at a young age and rose through the ranks after many years of service, becoming a close supporter of Governor Robert Clive and eventually succeeding him as governor. Like his predecessor, Verelst attempted to reform the Company's administration in Bengal, but he lacked Clive's authority. He took steps to curb corruption and abuses within the Company and to gather information on local laws and customs. He faced opposition from the Company's servants and resigned after nearly three years in office.

After returning to Britain in 1770, he engaged in public polemics about his tenure and British rule in Bengal with William Bolts, a disgruntled former Company employee, and faced lawsuits incited by the latter. The exchanges between Bolts and Verelst stimulated the public discussion about the Company's governance in India. Failing to transport much of his wealth from India, Verelst fell into dire financial straits and fled to the continent to evade his creditors. He died in France in 1785.

Life and career Memorial to Harry Verelst in St Mary's Church, Minster-in-Thanet, Kent. Verelst was born on 11 February 1734 in Fladbury, Worcestershire, the fourth child to Robert Verelst and Elizabeth Verelst (née Bach). The Verelsts were a long established family of painters, Pieter Verelst (his great-great-grandfather) having brought the family to England from the Low Countries in 1668. Robert had been brought up in London and was unusual amongst his siblings in moving to a rural location. Two of Robert's brothers (and hence Harry's uncles) worked in India, as did two of his sons and two sons-in-law. (Two of Harry Verelst's paternal uncles worked for the East India Company.)

George (born 20 March 1708 and baptised on 5 April 1708) travelled to India as a soldier on the Monmouth. In 1724 he wanted a discharge from service and had left the Company before July 1726 to work in China and an application to rejoin the East India Company was refused, apparently for lack of a good record of service. There is no record of his death or burial.

James was born on 5 March 1709 and baptised on 15 March 1709. He arrived in India on 7 January 1726 where he worked as a Writer (clerk) for the East India Company and in September 1738 he was listed as a Senior Merchant at Tellicherry. He was buried at Bombay on 26 November 1741.

Harry Verelst's two brothers (both younger) also joined the East India Company. John (baptised 11 July 1736) was buried on 27 August 1760 at Calcutta. William Fraser was baptised on 9 February 1738. There is no record of his death. Two of his sisters married husbands who worked for the East India Company. She died in India on 16 November 1754 and was buried at the British Cemetery in Surat. Adriana Caecilia (baptised 11 November 1731) married Paul Richard Pearkes in Calcutta. She returned to London, being buried at St Christopher Le Stock in March 1758. Their uncle, William Verelst, had taken responsibility for the education of Harry, John and William Fraser Verelst. Harry noted that his uncle did not direct his choice of future career. He believed that Bengal should be governed according to local laws and took measures to acquire information "laws and customs of the country". Aware of his weak position, Verelst was eager to be replaced as governor. He resigned in December 1769. and condemned what he considered to be the corruption of Clive's and Verelst's administrations. Verelst lost the cases and was ordered to pay a total of £9700 in damages. He was eventually compensated by the East India Company, but by this time his financial situation was already deteriorating. Much of his fortune, which he estimated at £142,711 in 1772, was still in Bengal and was at risk of being lost because of the worsening economic situation there. His purchase of the Aston estate near Sheffield for £49,800 further strained his finances. In 1775 Verelst's secretary, John Knott, travelled to Bengal to collect his own and his employer's belongings. He married Ann Wordsworth on 20 May 1771, and they had six daughters and four sons.