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The Marquess Wellesley | |
|---|---|
_-_Richard_Colley_Wellesley%2c_Marquess_Wellesley_(1760-1842)_-_RCIN_400643_-_Royal_Collection.jpg) | |
| Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | |
| In office 8 December 1821 – 27 February 1828 | |
| Monarch | George IV |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | The Earl Talbot |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Anglesey |
| In office 12 September 1833 – November 1834 | |
| Monarch | William IV |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Anglesey |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Haddington |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 6 December 1809 – 4 March 1812 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Spencer Perceval |
| Preceded by | The Earl Bathurst |
| Succeeded by | Viscount Castlereagh |
| Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William | |
| In office 18 May 1798 – 30 July 1805 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | SirAlured Clarke (provisional) |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess Cornwallis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1760-06-20)20 June 1760 |
| Died | 26 September 1842(1842-09-26) (aged 82) |
| Resting place | Eton College Chapel |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Tory |
| Spouses | |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Signature |  |
Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley,[1]KG, KP, PC, PC (Ire) (20 June 1760 – 26 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish politician andcolonial administrator. He was styled as Viscount Wellesley until 1781, when he succeeded his father as 2ndEarl of Mornington. In 1799, he was granted theIrish peerage title of Marquess Wellesley of Norragh. He was also Baron Wellesley in thePeerage of Great Britain. Older sources often refer to Wellesley as "Mornington" from 1799 onward.
Richard Wellesley first made his name as fifthGovernor-General of Bengal between 1798 and 1805. He later served asForeign Secretary in theBritish Cabinet and asLord Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1799, his forces invadedMysore and defeatedTipu, the Sultan of Mysore, in a major battle. He also initiated theSecond Anglo-Maratha War.
Wellesley was the eldest son ofGarret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, an Irish peer, and Anne, the eldest daughter ofArthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon. His younger brother wasField MarshalArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
Wellesley was born in 1760 inDangan Castle inCounty Meath,Ireland, where his family was part ofthe Ascendancy, the oldAnglo-Irisharistocracy. He was educated at theRoyal School, Armagh,Harrow School andEton College, where he distinguished himself as a classical scholar, and atChrist Church, Oxford. He is one of the few men known to have attended both Harrow and Eton.
In 1780, he entered theIrish House of Commons as the member forTrim until the following year when, at his father's death, he became 2ndEarl of Mornington, taking his seat in theIrish House of Lords. He was elected Grand Master of theGrand Lodge of Ireland in 1782, a post he held for the following year.[2] Due to the extravagance of his father and grandfather, he found himself so indebted that he was ultimately forced to sell all the Irish estates. However, in 1781, he was appointed to the coveted position ofCustos Rotulorum of Meath.[3]
In 1784, he joined also theBritish House of Commons as member for therotten borough ofBere Alston in Devon. Soon afterwards he was appointed aLord of the Treasury byWilliam Pitt the Younger.
The 1792 Slave Trade Bill passed the House of Commons. Mangled and mutilated by the modifications and amendments ofPitt, the Earl of Mornington,Edward James Eliot andthe Attorney General, it lay for years in theHouse of Lords.[4][5]
In 1793, he became a member of theBoard of Control over Indian affairs. In 1797 he was appointedGovernor-General of India.
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According to biographers of Wellesley, his highest priority during his term as Governor-General of India was for Britain to prevail over French power in India. This was a period in which Britain organized a series of military coalitions in Europe against France.[6]
On the voyage out, he formed the design of curbing French influence in theDeccan. Soon after his arrival, in April 1798, he learned that an alliance was being negotiated betweenTipu Sultan andFrance. He soon after was appointedGovernor-General of Bengal on May 12, replacingLord Cornwallis. Wellesley resolved to anticipate the action of the Sultan and ordered preparations for war. The first step was to order the disbandment of the French troops employed by theNizam of Hyderabad.[7]
The capture ofMysore followed in February 1799, and the campaign was brought to a swift conclusion by thecapture of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799 and the death of Tipu Sultan, who was killed in action. In 1803, the restoration of thePeshwa,Baji Rao II, proved the prelude to thewar againstDaulat Rao Sindhia ofGwalior and the raja ofBerar,Raghoji II Bhonsle in which his brotherArthur took a leading role.
The result of these wars and of the treaties which followed them was that French influence in India was reduced toPondicherry, and that Britain acquired increased influence in the heartlands of central India. He proved to be a skilled administrator, and picked two of his talented brothers for his staff: Arthur was his military adviser, andHenry was his personal secretary. He foundedFort William College, a training centre intended for those who would be involved in governing India. In connection with this college, he established the governor-general's office, to which civilians who had shown talent at the college were transferred, in order that they might learn something of the highest statesmanship in the immediate service of their chief. He endeavoured to remove some of the restrictions on the trade between Europe and Asia.[8] He took the time to publish an appreciation of British composerHarriet Wainwright's operaComala in theCalcutta Post on 27 April 1804. During his tenure the magnificentGovernment House in Calcutta was built as a residence for the governor-general.
Both the commercial policy of Wellesley and his educational projects brought him into hostility with the court of directors of theEast India Company, and he more than once tendered his resignation, which, however, public necessities led him to postpone till the autumn of 1805. He reached England just in time to see Pitt before his death.
He had been created a Peer of Great Britain in 1797 asBaron Wellesley, and in 1799 becameMarquess Wellesley in thePeerage of Ireland.[a][9] He formed an enormous collection of over 2,500 painted miniatures in theCompany style of Indian natural history.
He founded short-lived 'The Institution for Promoting the Natural History' in 1801 atBarrackpore near Calcutta. The institution was supervised byFrancis Buchanan-Hamilton. As a part of this endeavor 'Barrackpore Menagerie' was founded which survived till 1878 when animals and birds were transferred to Alipore which later becameCalcutta Zoo.[10]
A motion byJames Paull MP toimpeach Wellesley due to his expulsion of British traders fromOudh was defeated in the House of Commons by 182 votes to 31 in 1808.[11] Wellesley also disapproved of liaisons between Company officials and soldiers and locals, seeing them as improper.[12]
After his governorship ended in 1808, he returned toBritain and began to join British politics yet again. The few years back inParliament were quite uneventful, despite the overwhelming crisis the British government faced with the war in Europe and its domination byNapoleon Bonaparte. The growing French influence threatened Britain and itsempire to the extent of causing high tensions in the country. While the crisis abroad wasn’t enough, the British government had been led by weak and unsuited men from 1806-1809 with two short-lived ministries underLord Grenville and theDuke of Portland respectively.
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But when on the fall of theMinistry of All the Talents in 1807, Wellesley was invited byGeorge III to join the Duke of Portland's cabinet, he declined, pending the discussion in parliament of certain charges brought against him in respect of his tenure as governor-general and because of criticism of his administration. Resolutions condemning him for the abuse of power were moved in both the Lords and Commons but defeated by large majorities.
In 1809, Wellesley was soon appointed as the British ambassador to Spain bySpencer Perceval. He landed atCádiz just after the Allies victory at theBattle of Talavera, and he tried to bring theSpanish government into an effective co-operative agreement to support the campaign against the French with his brother, SirArthur Wellesley who was commander-in-chief of the British Forces. However, the failure of his allies to cooperate with the British soon forced both allies to retreat after French counter-attacks.
A few months later, after a dispute betweenGeorge Canning andRobert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh led to a duel and soon led to the resignation of both ministers,Spencer Perceval offered Wellesley the post ofForeign Secretary inhis cabinet, which he accepted. Unlike his brother Arthur, he was an eloquent speaker, but was subject to inexplicable "black-outs" when he was apparently unaware of his surroundings.
He held this office until February 1812, when he retired, partly from dissatisfaction at the inadequate support given to Wellington by the ministry, but also because he had become convinced that the question ofCatholic emancipation could no longer be kept in the background. From early life, Wellesley had, like his brother Arthur, been an advocate ofCatholic emancipation, and from then on he publicly supported that cause.
TwiceLord Lieutenant of Ireland, and one of the originalKnights of St Patrick, he surrendered that order on being made aKnight of the Garter on 31 March 1812.
UponPerceval's assassination he, along with Canning, refused to joinLord Liverpool's administration, and he remained out of office until 1821, severely criticising the proceedings of theCongress of Vienna and the European settlement of 1814, which, while it reducedFrance to its ancient limits, left to the other great powers the territory that they had acquired by thePartitions of Poland and the destruction of theRepublic of Venice.
He was one of the peers who signed the protest against the enactment of theCorn Laws in 1815. His reputation never fully recovered from a fiasco in 1812 when he was expected to make a crucial speech denouncing thenew government, but suffered one of his notorious "black-outs" and sat motionless in his place.
Wellesley lived together for many years withHyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland, an actress at thePalais Royal. She had three sons and two daughters with Wellesley before he married her on 29 November 1794. He moved her to London, where Hyacinthe was generally miserable, as she never learned English and she was scorned by high society:Lady Caroline Lamb was warned by her mother-in-law,Elizabeth Milbanke, a noted judge of what was socially acceptable, that no respectable woman could afford to be seen in Hyacinthe's company.
Their children were:
Through his eldest daughter Lady Charles Bentinck, Wellesley was a great-great-great-grandfather to QueenElizabeth II.
Wellesley also had at least two other illegitimate sons by his teenage mistress, Elizabeth Johnston, including Edward (later his father's secretary), born in Middlesex (1796-1877). Wellesley's children were seen by Richard's other relatives, including his brother Arthur, as greedy, unattractive and cunning, and as exercising an unhealthy influence over their father; in the family circle they were nicknamed "The Parasites".[15]
Following his first wife's death in 1816, he married, on 29 October 1825, the widowedMarianne (Caton) Patterson (died 1853), whose mother Mary was the daughter ofCharles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signatory of theUnited States Declaration of Independence; her former sister-in-law wasElizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. Wellington, who was very fond of Marianne (rumour had it that they were lovers) and was then on rather bad terms with his brother, pleaded with her not to marry him, warning her in particular that "The Parasites" would see her as an enemy.[16] The Duke's concern seems to have been misplaced; they had no children, but the marriage was a relatively happy one - "much of the calm and sunshine of his old age can be attributed to Marianne".[17]
In 1821, he was appointedLord Lieutenant of Ireland. Catholic emancipation had now become an open question in thecabinet, and Wellesley's acceptance of the viceroyalty was believed in Ireland to herald the immediate settlement of the Catholic claims but they would remain unfulfilled. Some efforts were made to placate Catholic opinion, notably the dismissal of the long-servingAttorney-General for Ireland,William Saurin, whose anti-Catholic views had made him bitterly unpopular. Lord Liverpool died without having grappled with the problem. His successor, Canning, died only a few months after taking up office as prime minister, to be succeeded briefly byLord Goderich.
On the assumption of office by Wellington, his brother resigned the lord-lieutenancy. He is said to have been deeply hurt by his brother's failure to find a Cabinet position for him (Arthur made the usual excuse that one cannot give a Cabinet seat to everyone who wants one).[18]
He had, however, the satisfaction of seeing the Catholic claims settled in the next year by the very statesmen who had declared against them. In 1833, he resumed the office of Lord Lieutenant underEarl Grey, but theministry soon fell, and, with one short exception, Wellesley did not take any further part in official life.[citation needed]
On his death, he had no successor in the marquessate, but the earldom of Mornington and minor honours devolved on his brotherWilliam, Lord Maryborough, on the failure of whose issue in 1863 they fell toArthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington.
He and Arthur, after a long estrangement, had been once more on friendly terms for some years: Arthur wept at the funeral and said that he knew of no honour greater than being Lord Wellesley's brother.[19]
Wellesley was buried inEton College Chapel, at his old school.[20] Wellesley's library was sold at auction in London by R. H. Evans on 17 January 1843 (and three following days); a copy of the catalogue, annotated with prices and buyers' names, is held atCambridge University Library (shelfmark Munby.c.149(1)).
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TheTownship of Wellesley, inOntario, Canada, was named in Richard Wellesley's honour, despite the many references (e.g.:Waterloo,Wellington County) to his brother, Arthur Wellesley in the surrounding area, as wasWellesley Island, located in the St. Lawrence river atAlexandria Bay. Wellesley Island also serves as the last point exiting the United States before crossing to Hill Island, in Canada.
Province Wellesley, in the state ofPenang, Malaysia, was named after Richard Wellesley. It was originally part of thestate of Kedah. It was ceded to theBritish East India Company by SultanDziaddin Mukarram Shah II of Kedah in 1798, and has been part of the settlement and state of Penang ever since. It was renamedSeberang Perai ("across thePerai" in theMalay language) not long after independence within Malaya.[21]
TheWellesley Islands off the north coast ofQueensland, Australia, were named byMatthew Flinders in honour of Richard Wellesley, as was the largest island in the group,Mornington Island. Flinders is believed to have done this during his imprisonment by the French onMauritius as Wellesley had tried to secure his release.[22][23][24]
Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, was named after him.
A street inMirzapur (United Provinces) was named Wellesleyganj.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wellesley, Richard Colley Wesley, Marquess".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forTrim 1780–1781 With:John Pomeroy | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBere Alston 1784–1787 With:Viscount Feilding | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSaltash 1786–1787 With:Charles Ambler | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forOld Sarum 1796–1797 With:George Hardinge | Succeeded by |
| Masonic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Grandmaster of theGrand Lodge of Ireland 1782–1783 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir Alured Clarke,acting | Governor-General of India 1798–1805 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Foreign Secretary 1809–1812 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1821–1828 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Steward 1830–1833 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1833–1834 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Chamberlain 1835 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | British Ambassador to Spain 1808–1809 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Mornington 1781–1842 | Succeeded by |
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