Cornwallis, Charles, 1st Marquis

A Dictionary of World History | 2000 | 700+ words | Copyright

Cornwallis, Charles, 1st Marquis (1738–1805) British general, who fought in the War of INDEPENDENCE at Long Island and BRANDYWINE. He took command of the southern campaign in 1780, defeating the Americans at CAMDEN and Guildford Court House, but by his relentless pursuit into the interior he lost contact with Sir Henry Clinton and exhausted his troops. His choice of YORKTOWN as a base proved disastrous, and he was forced to surrender (1781). Later reinstated, he served as governor-general of Bengal (1786–93, 1805) where he defeated TIPU SULTAN and his Cornwallis Code reformed land tenure. He was also viceroy of Ireland (1798–1801) and negotiator of the Treaty of Amiens (1802).

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