Charles Henry Somerset

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Charles Henry Somerset

Lord Charles Henry Somerset , PC ( December 12, 1767 in Badminton , † February 18, 1831 in Brighton ) was a British general and governor . From 1814 to 1826 he was governor of the Cape Colony in what is now South Africa .

Life

Charles Henry Somerset was born the second son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort , and Elizabeth, daughter of Admiral Edward Boscawen. He had three brothers.

1796 to 1802 he was a member of the House of Commons for the constituency of Scarborough , then until 1813 for Monmouth Boroughs . From 1797 to 1804 he was also Comptroller of the Household (about: "Budget Controller"), 1804 to 1806 and 1807 to 1813 Joint Paymaster of the Forces and thus responsible for the financing of the British armed forces. He was a member of the British Privy Council from 1797.

In 1814 he became governor of the Cape Colony in place of John Cradock . In 1818 he founded the library later called the South African Public Library . He waged the Fifth Border War against the Xhosa from 1818 to 1819 to expand the Cape Colony to the east. To strengthen the eastern border of the colony, he brought the British " settlers of 1820 " into the country. In the same year he went on vacation in the United Kingdom , which lasted until 1822. The cities of Somerset West and Somerset East in the Cape Colony were named after Somerset, and Beaufort West , Fort Beaufort and Port Beaufort were named after their noble family . His acting successor was Richard Bourke in 1826 , who was replaced by Lowry Cole in 1828 .

In 1788 Somerset married Lady Elizabeth Courtenay (1766-1815), with whom he had three children. After the death of his wife, Somerset married Lady Mary Poulett (1788-1860) in 1821. They had three other children together.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b Entry at thepeerage.com (English), accessed on September 23, 2015
  2. a b c portrait at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on September 23, 2015