George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney

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George Macartney, Lord Macartney, 1793

George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney (born May 14, 1737 in Lissanoure , Ireland , † May 31, 1806 in Chiswick , Middlesex ) was a British statesman , colonial official and diplomat of Irish origin.

Life

Coming from an old Scottish family, he was born in 1737 in Lissanoure, Ireland. After attending Trinity College, Dublin , and Temple School, London , he began his professional career with his appointment as special envoy to Russia in 1764, where he negotiated an alliance between the two states with Tsarina Catherine II . In 1764 he was promoted to Knight Bachelor and in 1772 to Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath .

In 1776 he was admitted to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Macartney . He became governor of Grenada in 1775 and of Madras in 1780 . He refused to be appointed Governor General of India and instead returned to the United Kingdom in 1786.

In 1792 he was raised to Viscount Macartney in the Peerage of Ireland and appointed head of the Macartney Mission named after him , which was supposed to prepare the establishment of equal trade relations with China , but was brusquely rejected by Emperor Qianlong .

After returning from a secret mission to Italy , he was raised to Earl Macartney in the Peerage of Ireland in 1794 and in 1795 as Baron Macartney in the Peerage of Great Britain , which was connected to a seat in the British House of Lords . Two years later he was appointed governor of the newly acquired Cape Colony . The following year, health problems forced him to resign.

He was married to Lady Jane Stuart, daughter of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute , since 1768 . The marriage remained childless.

Lord Macartney died in 1806; his titles are extinguished with him.

literature

Web links

Commons : George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 2, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 292.
  2. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 172.
personal data
SURNAME Macartney, George, 1st Earl Macartney
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Macartney, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British statesman, colonial administrator and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH May 14, 1737
PLACE OF BIRTH Lissanoure , Ireland
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 1806
Place of death Chiswick , Middlesex