Elite private school renames Clive of India house

An elite private school renamed Clive of India House because of the military leader's ties to colonialism and empire.

A notoriously wealthy military leader in the 18th century, Robert Clive attended Merchant Taylor & # 39; s School for Boys in Hertfordshire for a year before being expelled for combat.

A lowborn Clive later became an employee of the East India Company before reaching a high position within the British military, The Telegraph reported.

Headmaster Simon Everson wrote a letter to his old boys and read: “Robert Clive has always been a controversial figure.

A lowborn Clive later became an employee of the East India Company before reaching a high position within the British military, The Telegraph reported. In the picture the Merchant Taylors & # 39; School in London

The house is instead named after former student and Surrey cricketer John Rafael (pictured), who played rugby for England and died a war hero in 1917

& # 39; His actions in India were the foundations of the empire but were also questioned by his own contemporaries. From that moment on, Clive House will be renamed. & # 39;

The house is instead named after ex-student and Surrey cricketer John Raphael, who played rugby for England and died a war hero in 1917.

The Headmaster Simon Everson

The name will be changed after consultation with past and current students at the school for £ 20,000 per year

But the decision has been criticized by historians. Professor Robert Tombs, a Cambridge historian, said that many public institutions "take a cowardly and thoughtless attitude towards the British Empire".

And former student and ex-Tory MP Lord Robathen said the principals should be ashamed to cancel Clive.

Clive joined the East India Company in 1743 and attempted suicide before defeating the Mughal forces – which made Britain's expansion into Bengal possible.

He was accused of pillaging the population and starving to death through mismanagement. His own contemporaries avoided him and at one point he was charged with corruption, which was later dropped.

He reportedly committed suicide when he was 49 years old.

Robert Clive was a military leader who was credited with laying the foundations of the British Empire

Robert Clive was born in Shropshire in September 1725 and grew into a difficult child.

He spent his school years in a variety of institutions including Merchants' Taylor School, but was never an academic achiever.

In 1743, when Clive was 18 years old, he was sent to Madras for a job as a clerk with the East India Company.

Robert Clive spent his school years in a variety of institutions including Merchants & # 39; Taylor School, but was never an academic achiever. A statue pictured in London

In Madras, Clive was moody and argumentative; he attempted suicide and fought a duel once. He is said to have educated himself in the governor's library.

He then established himself as an exponent of guerrilla tactics. He left Madras in 1753 with his wife Margaret Maskelyne, and two years later he successfully stood up for parliament.

He was sent to India as governor of Fort St. David and was assisted by troops aiming to remove the French from the country.

There he successfully took command of Bengal, where his first government lasted until February 1760.

When he returned to England in February 1760, he received Irish nobility as Baron Clive of Plassey in 1762 and was knighted in 1764.

His critics, led by a former friend who was then chairman of the company, tried to cut revenue from his Indian lands.

In November 1774 he committed suicide at his home in London.

Source: Britannica