Cornwallis in India each governed by a separate presidency, the Bengal region, including Calcutta, had come under the direct rule of the British East India Company in 1757, with authority to levy taxes, and its presidency dominated the others. Its civil head, the Governor-General of Fort William, ranked ahead of those of Madras and Bombay. Cornwallis quickly established himself as a transformational leader. British colonial administration was dominated in the 1760s and 1770s by Warren Hastings, the first man to hold the title of Governor-General. The military arm of the East India Company was directed during the Seven Years' War and the Second
Governor-General of India on the advice of the newly-sovereign Indian Government. Governors-General served at the pleasure of the Sovereign, though the practice was to have them serve five-year terms. Governors-General could have their commission rescinded; and if one was removed, or left, a provisional Governor-General was sometimes appointed until a new holder of the office could be chosen. The first Governor-General of British India was Lord William Bentinck, and the first Governor-General of independent India was Louis, Lord Mountbatten. Many parts of the Indian subcontinent were governed by the East India Company, which nominally acted as the agent of the Mughal Emperor. In