The Accidental Viceroy

This biography of Lord Robert Bulwer-Lytton, viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880, examines his troubled attempt to meet Britain's increasing internal and perceived external threats to its rule.

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The Age of Imperialism reached its peak in the late 19th century. The British empire was the foremost colonial power, and the keystone was India. However, even at its peak, the British India empire was beset by internal rivalries and fears of external threats. In 1875, British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli chose as vicroy Lord Robert Bulwer-Lytton, diplomat and poet, the son of an old friend, but someone with no Indian experience. Lytton accepted reluctantly – and never enjoyed it. He was under the thumb of the Secretary of State for India, the shrewd and ambitious Third Marquess of Salisbury, during most of his four years in India. During his viceroyalty, Lytton had to deal with shifting British policies, a major famine, the freedom-loving people of Afghanistan, an entrenched civil service, and a rising generation of patriotic Indians. In the 1880 elections Disraeli's Conservatives were defeated by Gladstone's Liberals, and Lytton resigned.