Warren Hastings may be dead but not forgotten in the NLS

I was looking at the reprints of the House of Lords sessional papers, and found 10 volumes from 1794-95, which were entitled the trial of Warren Hastings. I have heard his name many times through my work, and thought that he deserves a mention. He was born in 1732 and died in 1818 and he was the first general governor of India from 1773 to 1785.


However, in 1787 the House of Lords were deemed fit to bring him to trial on

“An impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors, by the knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, in Parliament assembled, in the name of themselves, and of all the Commons of Great Britain.”

The crimes included misconduct, mismanagement, personal corruption and extortion.

It took seven years for him to be acquitted.

Looking through these volumes there is an amazing amount of information, oral and written minutes and appendixes laid before the House Of Lords.