Lord Mayo vs Shi Kefa

Mayo implemented financial reforms to reduce the Indian budget deficit, including increasing taxes and cutting expenditures. He also established a famine relief system, creating a Famine Code and setting aside funds for relief works. These measures aimed to mitigate the impact of recurring famines in India.

Mayo supported the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which significantly reduced travel time between Britain and India. He promoted Indian trade and agriculture, including the expansion of tea, coffee, and cotton cultivation. These efforts aimed to integrate India more closely into the global economy.

Lord Mayo was assassinated on February 8, 1872, by Sher Ali Afridi, a convict from the Andaman Islands, while visiting the penal settlement at Port Blair. The assassination was motivated by personal grievances. Mayo was the only Viceroy of India to be assassinated in office.

Mayo visited the Andaman Islands penal colony in February 1872 to inspect conditions. During this visit, he was assassinated by Sher Ali Afridi. The visit was intended to assess the administration of the penal settlement, but it ended tragically, leading to increased security measures for future viceroys.

Shi Kefa was appointed Minister of War by the Ming loyalist regime in Nanjing after the fall of Beijing to Li Zicheng's rebels. He organized defenses against the advancing Qing forces in the Yangtze region.

Shi Kefa commanded the defense of Yangzhou against a massive Qing army led by Prince Dodo. Despite outnumbered forces, he held the city for several days, inflicting heavy casualties on the attackers before the walls were breached.

After Yangzhou fell to the Qing, Shi Kefa was captured and executed by the Manchus. His death made him a martyr for Ming loyalism, and he is remembered as a symbol of resistance to the Qing conquest of China.