Edward Cornwallis

Edward Cornwallis (painting by Joshua Reynolds )

Statue in Halifax

Edward Cornwallis (born February 22, 1713 in London , † January 14, 1776 in Gibraltar ) was a British officer, politician and colonial governor. As governor of Nova Scotia , he was the founder of Halifax . During this time he waged a war against the Mi'kmaq . His later military activity in Europe aroused public criticism. But his good relationships saved him from serious consequences. Most recently he was governor of Gibraltar .

Early years

He was the sixth son of Charles, 4th Baron Cornwallis and his wife Charlotte Butler, daughter of Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran . His twin brother was Frederick Cornwallis, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury . Both were pages at the royal court as children and were later educated at Eton College .

In 1730 he joined the British Army. A year later he was a lieutenant in an infantry regiment. He was promoted to captain in 1734 and major in 1742. He served on the Duke of Cumberland 's personal staff for several years .

Between 1743 and 1749 he was a member of the House of Commons for Eye in Suffolk . He was rated a Whig.

From 1744 he served in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succession . He took part in the Battle of Fontenoy . He was appointed lieutenant colonel. With his regiment he returned to England to take part in the suppression of the Jacobite revolt . He occupied the regained Chester . Cornwallis fought with his regiment in the Battle of Culloden . In gratitude for his services, Cornwallis was awarded the court office of 'Groom of the Bedchamber' in 1747. He kept this until 1763 when he lost the post due to an intrigue.

Governor of Nova Scotia

In 1749 Cornwallis was appointed Colonel and Governor of Nova Scotia. The sparsely populated colony was predominantly inhabited by French who came from Acadia . These were opposed to British rule. There were also tribes of the First Nations . The borders with New France were disputed. The Louisbourg fortress on Cape Breton Island posed a threat .

Cornwallis had the mandate of the British presence in the colony by establishing a town. This should also be a counterweight to Louisbourg. The place where the city was founded on Chebucto Bay was planned by the responsible authorities and around 2500 settlers were recruited. Cornwallis founded Halifax on this basis. During his activity, a small town with public facilities, a militia and various fortifications emerged. The administration of the colony was modeled on Virginia .

Tensions arose with the French governor of Canada. Fort Lawrence was built against this threat . At first, Cornwallis tried to come to an understanding with the Mi'kmaqs. However, these maintained close ties to the French. The Mi'kmaqs began raiding in August 1749. Cornwallis announced that they would exterminate the tribe and offered bounties for killing men, women and children. As a result, both sides acted with great severity. Not only armed men were killed, but everyone on the opposite side. The British paid bounties for scalps to rangers from the New England colonies. Conversely, the French paid the mi'kmaqs for English scalps. The mutual raids continued in 1750 and into the first half of 1751. The tough approach taken by Cornwallis was criticized in London, also because it was feared that the conflict would spread to other colonies. Peace negotiations broke out and Cornwallis lifted his bounty waiver.

Relations with the French-born Arcadians were strained. Cornwallis tried to cut off communications with Canada and set up military posts to monitor them. For health reasons, he gave up the post and left Halifax in October 1752.

Further life

In 1752, at the request of the King, he successfully ran for one of the Westminster Parliamentary seats . In 1753 he married Mary a daughter of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend . The couple remained childless. Politically he was associated with Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne . With his support he was able to defend his parliamentary seat in 1761. He remained a member of parliament until 1762.

At the beginning of the Seven Years' War he sailed with the fleet of Admiral John Byng to Menorca , where his regiment was stationed. He was involved in the council of war, on whose decision Byng gave up bringing relief to the capital of the island besieged by the French. Cornwallis was acquitted in the court martial that followed, while Byng was later executed. Cornwallis owed this outcome to influential friends in particular.

In 1757, Cornwallis took part in the failed landing operation at Rochefort . In the decision to give up the company, Cornwallis was involved in the council of war. He was also sharply criticized in the press.

Nevertheless, he was made major general in 1757 and lieutenant general in 1760 . Cornwallis became governor of Gibraltar in 1762. He was busy getting enough food from North Africa, strengthening the fortifications, exploring the strength of the Spanish military and navy, and fending off reverse espionage attempts by the Spanish. He asked the government to send more troops and ships to protect the property. A serious illness made itself felt since 1765, possibly a brain tumor , which repeatedly forced him to leave his post for several years to recover.

literature

• John Oliphant: Cornwallis, Edward (1713–1776) In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; Online version, accessed August 9, 2013
• Romney R. Sedgwick: CORNWALLIS, Hon. Edward (1713-1776), of Essington, Herts. In: The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754, ed. R. Sedgwick, 1970 online version
• J. Murray Beck: CORNWALLIS, EDWARD. In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4, University of Toronto / Université Laval, 2003ff., Online version, accessed on August 9, 2013

Web links

Commons : Edward Cornwallis  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Entry on Nova Scotia Biographies
• Website on the person and activity of Cornwallis in Nova Scotia (en.)