In the historical sense the term dated from the mid-19th century. "The Great Game" is attributed to British Captain Arthur Conolly (1807–42) who had been appointed as a political officer. In July 1840, in correspondence to Major Henry Rawlinson who had been recently appointed as the new political agent in Kandahar, Conolly wrote, "You've a great game, a noble game, before you." Conolly believed that Rawlinson's new post gave him the opportunity to advance humanitarianism in Afghanistan, and summed up his hopes: