Eric John Eagles Swayne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Commissioner of British Somaliland | |
| In office 1902–1905 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Cordeaux (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Harry Cordeaux |
| Governor of British Honduras | |
| In office 13 August 1906 – 9 May 1913 | |
| Preceded by | Bickham Sweet-Escott |
| Succeeded by | Wilfred Collet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 May 1863 |
| Died | 9 September 1929(1929-09-09) (aged 66) Bristol, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Relatives | Harald George Carlos Swayne (brother) |
| Education | St Edward's School, Oxford |
| Alma mater | Royal Military College, Sandhurst |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  British Empire |
| Branch/service |  British Army |
| Unit | |
Sir Eric John Eagles SwayneKCMG CB (14 May 1863 – 9 September 1929) was aBritish Army officer and colonial administrator. He served inBritish Somaliland, where he was appointed Commissioner, and as Governor ofBritish Honduras, now Belize.
Swayne was born on 14 May 1863. His parents were George Carless Swayne, aclassical scholar,[1]curate and essayist, and Margaret Sarah Eagles, a poet.[2]
He was educated abroad and atSt Edward's School, Oxford, before attending theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst, as aGentleman Cadet for a year.In 1882 he joined theWelsh Regiment, and later transferred to theIndian Staff Corps.Swayne served in theBurma Campaign (1885–1887), theAfrican Campaign (1898), and inBritish Somaliland.[3]
The emir of Dervish SultanDiiriye Guure was SayidMohammed Abdullah Hassan, known by the British at the time as the "Mad Mullah" since he would not accept colonial rule.[3]
In 1900, a part of the first British Somaliland expedition atSamala drove offDarawiish with heavy losses. The Darawiish retreated south towardsFerdiddin, nearDamot, where he engaged with the main force of the British expedition under Swayne, who was by 1901 commander of theSomaliland Field Force. Darawiish again suffered high losses and fled to Italian territory. The next year, Darawiish were the victors against Swayne inan engagement at Erego on 17 June 1901.[4] An account of the fighting written by Swayne himself is included in theLondon Gazette dated 18 April 1902.[5]
Swayne was promoted tolieutenant colonel on 18 November 1901, in recognition of his services during the fighting.[6] In March 1902 he was appointed Commissioner, Commander-in-Chief and Consul General of theSomaliland Protectorate,[7][8] with the local rank ofcolonel whilst commanding the troops in Somaliland.[9] Another campaign was planned for late 1902, but it took time to gather the necessary supplies, and it was delayed as Swayne returned to England due to illness in November.[10] The campaign eventually took place February to June 1903, but did not end the conflict, and was followed by another campaign the following year.
In all, Swayne led four military expeditions in British Somaliland.[3]
Swayne was Governor ofBritish Honduras from 1906 to 1913. He was knighted in June 1910.[3]Throughout Swayne's governorship, his administration was attacked in Legislative Council and in the pages of theClarion by the Creole establishment, of whom a few were white but most were mixed race.[11]Swayne was accused of being autocratic, as was his successorWilliam Collet.[12]One of the targets of criticism was construction of the railway and subsequent sale of the Middlesexbanana plantation toUnited Fruit.[13]In his correspondence with theColonial Office, Swayne recommended extremely favorable terms to United Fruit so they would accept the offer rather than expanding in Guatemala.[14]Later, the hostility of the elite towards United Fruit was reversed. An editorial in theClarion in 1914 said of asteamship subsidy requested by United Fruit that it was "well within our means ... and by no means excessive".[13]
In 1917 Swayne said: "We have to remember that the people of British Honduras have always been the freest people on earth. They originally had a public assembly which elected its own magistrates, and these magistrates carried out the laws which the public assembly, that is, the whole people, chose to adopt."[15]He also said:
The mahogany cutters... used to sell themselves into a sort of slavery by receiving advances from their employers at the beginning of the season, which advances they spent most liberally in the town.. leaving their families to starve.
This may be a somewhat exaggerated description.[16]He added: "It is a pity, I think, having regard to the comfortable competency secured out of the Colony by successful merchants, that practically none have elected to remain in the country on retirement."[17]
During theFirst World War Swayne's roles included Assistant Inspector of Recruiting.He retired in 1919 as abrigadier general and died inBristol[18] on 9 September 1929.[3] He was buried in the cemetery of theSt Thomas à Becket Church,Pucklechurch,South Gloucestershire.[3]
The tree genusGivota, which has light but very strong wood, was found in Northeast Africa, including the British Somaliland protectorate.Swayne suggested that it might be useful in airplane construction, an idea that was being explored at the outbreak of World War I.[19]Swayne's elder brother, ColonelH. G. C. Swayne, was one of the first British officers to travel in British Somaliland, and later wrote a book titledSeventeen Trips to Somaliland. In 1933 he donated eighty eight objects to theBritish Museum, including jewellery and weapons of Somali origin, that he and Swayne had collected.[20]
Sources
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