Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe (1785-1846), was a prototype of the British colonial administrator. He held successively the major responsibility for governing three of Britain's most important dependencies.

Charles Metcalfe was born in Calcutta on Jan. 30, 1785, the second son of a Bengal army officer who became a director of the East India Company and a Tory member of Parliament. Metcalfe received his early education at Eton, from which he was removed at 15 to be sent to India in the service of the company, then virtually indistinguishable from the British government of India. Metcalfe soon earned the respect of his superiors and remained abroad until 1838, rising steadily in rank and duties and finally being selected three times as provisional governor general.

Metcalfe, believing (as he wrote in 1815) that "All that rulers can do is to merit dominion by promoting the happiness of those under them," was a liberal...