Information and Affect in Charles Metcalfe’s Mission to Lahore, August 1808–May 1809

Abstract

Charles Metcalfe's 1808–1809 diplomatic mission from Delhi to the court of Ranjit Singh in Lahore was coordinated with Elphinstone's efforts in Peshawar – but Metcalfe was more successful politically. A skilled linguist and political observer, Metcalfe established over many months official and personal relationships that ensured decades of border stability between the Sikh and British-Indian empires. Metcalfe returned to Delhi with a Sikh wife. They had three sons. His personal story resonated with Christopher Bayly's sense that successful colonial era connections with South Asian communities often involved degrees of "affective knowledge" grounded in long-term personal empathy and understanding. The life stories of Metcalfe's wife and sons revealed the complex realities of colonial era gender and racial sensitivities and hierarchies.