ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the forces which operated on Jonathan Duncan, and explains how a mediocre governor managed to survive for fifteen years in a basically hostile environment. It explores Duncan’s perceptions of his situation and the attitudes which he brought to it while the second deals with the structure within which he operated. Regardless of his attitudes and fiscal problems, he operated in an environment which he could only partially control. The cessions of 1803-05 provided Duncan with some relief from the overriding problem of Bombay’s debtor status. All of the functional or mechanical features of Bombay administrative life combined to increase Duncan’s natural caution and anxiety and limited his ability to act had he so desired. The distance/time factor operated as a temporal shock absorber which increased his ability to survive. He did replace the Magistrate but, with that exception, he had to function within the limits of those serving beneath him.
