Clive of India: Hero, Villain or Both? The Man Behind Britain's Most Contested Statue

UtterlyInteresting · 4 days ago · discuss

Quick answers Who was Robert Clive? A clerk turned East India Company general who won the 1757 Battle of Plassey, became governor of Bengal, and returned to Britain enormously rich, only to spend his final years defending himself against corruption charges in Parliament. Why is his statue controversial? Clive is blamed by many historians for the exploitative rule that helped cause the Bengal famine of 1769 to 1773, which killed millions, and campaigners argue a statue honouring him has no...