Sir John Child, Baronet

Sir John Child, Baronet (died Feb. 4, 1690, Bombay [now Mumbai], India) was the first person to be placed in control of all the British East India Company’s trading establishments in India. He served there as deputy governor of Bombay (Mumbai; 1679–81) and president of Surat (1682–90). He was made a baronet in 1684.

Apparently, Child was sent to India as a youth to live with an uncle employed there by the company. In 1672 he married a daughter of Captain John Shaxton, who was the commander of the British garrison at Bombay. Two years later he was implicated in the mutiny of his father-in-law’s troops but was restored to favour through the influence of his brother, Sir Josiah Child, the powerful governor of the company in London. Like Sir Josiah, he was utterly unscrupulous and had a passion for intrigue. His autocratic behaviour as president of Surat led to Captain Richard Keigwin’s unsuccessful rebellion in Bombay (1683). Following orders from London, Child became involved in a war with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, whose troops captured Surat and forced Child to make peace. One of the peace terms required Child to leave India, but he died while the matter was still pending.