General Napier put down several insurgencies in India during his reign as Commander-in-Chief in India, and once said of his philosophy about how to do so effectively:
- The best way to quiet a country is a good thrashing, followed by great kindness afterwards. Even the wildest chaps are thus tamed.[4]
which may help explain why he felt rebellions should be suppressed with such brutality.
He also once said that:
"the human mind is never better disposed to gratitude and attachment than when softened by fear."[4]
An implementation of this theory would be after the Battle of Miani, where most of the Mirs surrendered. One leader held back and was told by Napier:
Come here instantly. Come here at once and make your submission, or I will in a week tear you from the midst of your village and hang you.[4]
He also mused that:
"so perverse is mankind that every nationality prefers to be misgoverned by its own people than to be well ruled by another"[4]
No comments:
Post a Comment