Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava

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Lord Dufferin in 1873

Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava KP , GCB , GCSI , GCMG , GCIE , PC (born June 21, 1826 in Florence , † February 12, 1902 in Clandeboye ) was a British diplomat and statesman , Governor General of Canada and Viceroy of India . In Canada he is better known by the short name Lord Dufferin, which is common there.

Memorial to Temple at City Hall, Belfast

family

Frederick was the only child of Price Blackwood, 4th Baron Dufferin and Claneboye, and his wife Helen Selina Sheridan. In 1862 he changed his name after his marriage to Harriet Georgiana Rowan-Hamilton (1847-1936) with royal permission from Blackwood to Hamilton-Blackwood, ten years later again to Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood. From his marriage he had the following children:

Youth and early years

In 1841, Frederick succeeded his father as Baron Dufferin and Claneboye and was educated at Eton College and Christ Church College at the University of Oxford . He left university without a degree and became a member of Queen Victoria's court . In 1850 this raised him to Baron Claneboye . Unlike the Irish title he had inherited, this was associated with a seat in the House of Lords .

In 1856 Blackwood equipped a ship with which he traveled the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean . He met Prince Napoleon , who was also on an expedition. A book that Blackwood wrote about his journey saw several editions and translations into German and French. A glacier on Jan Mayen is now called Dufferinbreen.

Civil service career

Blackwood was sent to Syria by Lord Palmerston in 1860 to protect British interests during the religious turmoil there.

He became State Secretary in the Ministry of India (1864-1866) and in the Ministry of War (1866). Two years later he became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Gladstone Cabinet .

Raised Earl of Dufferin in 1871 , he was Governor General of Canada from 1872 to 1878 . During his tenure, the structures in the country changed significantly. Prince Edward Island was added as a new province, the Supreme Court of Canada and the Royal Military College of Canada and the Intercolonial Railway were created.

The earl sought contact with the Canadian citizens. He visited every Canadian province during his tenure and, within the limits of his powers, actively influenced the country's domestic politics. He expanded Rideau Hall in Ottawa, the new capital of Canada, and through personal intervention prevented the grinding or the already started demolition of the historic city ​​walls of Québec , whose citadel he used as a second official residence. A large number of streets, schools and public buildings are still named after Dufferin and his wife.

Lord Dufferin's plan for the preservation and expansion of the city walls of Québec

After the end of his tenure, Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood was ambassador to St. Petersburg from 1879 and from 1881 envoy to Constantinople . During his time there, Egypt , which was officially still part of the Ottoman Empire, was invaded and occupied by British troops. A war between the two states could also be avoided through his diplomatic skill.

In 1884 he succeeded George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon , as Viceroy of India. During the Earl's tenure, the British Indian Army was modernized. However, the focus of his tenure was on foreign policy conflicts with Russia for supremacy in Central Asia as part of the Great Game . Here, too, Dufferin succeeded in avoiding military conflicts through negotiations. During his time as viceroy, the founding of the Dufferin Fund , the foundation initiated by his wife, which specifically looked after better medical care for Indian women and, among other things, made it possible for them to study medicine. The stock market scandals surrounding the concessions to mine rubies in Burma and the Hyderabad (Deccan) Company may have contributed significantly to the decision to resign .

After the end of his tenure as viceroy, he became British ambassador to Rome and Paris . In 1888 he was promoted to Marquess of Dufferin and Ava . In 1896 he left the diplomatic service.

Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood lived beyond his financial means throughout his life, so that he had to sell parts of his property in order to satisfy his creditors and avoid bankruptcy. In retirement, he became chairman of the board of a dubious mining company, and when it went bankrupt, he lost further assets. A short time later, his eldest son died in the Boer War .

The marquess died in 1902 on his country estate in Clandeboye, Ireland.

In Québec , the Dufferin Terrace is named after him, which was ceremoniously opened in 1879 in his presence.

Web links

Commons : Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jharna Gourlay: Florence Nightingale and the Health of the Raj . Ashgate, Burlington 2003, ISBN 0-7546-3364-0 , pp. 237-239.
  2. ^ See: Robert Vicat Turrell; Conquest and Concession: The Case of the Burma Ruby Mines; Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 141-163 (1988).
predecessor Office successor
George Robinson Viceroy of India
1884–1888 		Henry Petty-FitzMaurice
New title created Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
1888-1902 		Terence Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood
New title created Earl of Dufferin
1871-1902 		Terence Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood
Price Blackwood Baron Dufferin and Claneboye
1841–1902 		Terence Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood
personal data
SURNAME Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Frederick, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dufferin and Ava, 1st Marquess of; Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Frederick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Governor General of Canada and Viceroy of India
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1826
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1902
Place of death Clandeboye