George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie

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George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie

George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie , GCB (born October 23, 1770 at Dalhousie Castle , Midlothian , Scotland , † March 21, 1838 ibid) was a British general and colonial administrator. From 1816 to 1820 he was Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Nova Scotia and from 1820 to 1828 Governor General of British North America .

Childhood and upbringing

He was the eldest son of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie , and Elizabeth Glen. As apparent marriage of his father, he carried the courtesy title of Lord Ramsay until 1787 . He received his education at the Royal High School in Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh .

Military career

He joined the British Army in July 1788 by buying an officer position as Ensign , as was the custom at the time . Later he became captain of an independent company he set up himself . In 1791 he joined the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Foot , but moved to the 2nd Regiment of Foot the next year , where he bought a position as a major . As its commander, he was transferred to Martinique with the regiment . In August 1794 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel before being seriously wounded in 1795 and returning to England. Ramsay fought against the French in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the following year in North Holland . In January 1800 he received the brevet rank of Colonel and was used in the 1801 Egypt campaign under Ralph Abercromby . In 1803 he served as Brigadier General in Scotland before being promoted to Major General in April 1805 .

In the Napoleonic Wars on the Iberian Peninsula , Dalhousie commanded the Seventh Division under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington . Parliament thanked him for his services in the Battle of Vitoria and he was accepted into the Order of Bath as Knight Grand Cross . Ramsay also took part in the Battle of the Pyrenees . He was involved with his unit in the occupation of Bordeaux , so he missed the Battle of Toulouse of 1814. On June 18, 1815, he fought in the Battle of Waterloo .

Political career

When his father died in November 1787, he inherited his title as 9th Earl of Dalhousie . As such he was from 1796 to 1806 and from 1807 to 1818 elected Scottish Representative Peer member of the British House of Lords . On August 11, 1815, he was in addition to his previous titles that of a Baron Dalhousie , of Dalhousie Castle in the County of Edinburgh, bestowed. This British title was, unlike its other Scottish titles, directly linked to a seat in the House of Lords.

After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Ramsay switched to colonial administration. In 1816 he went to Nova Scotia as Lieutenant Governor. His work there focused on improving the situation of immigrants, agriculture and education in the province. On the other hand, the provincial parliament repeatedly refused him additional funds to expand the local militia .

In 1820 Ramsay was appointed Governor General of British North America, based in Quebec . In addition to the previous areas, there was now the improvement of the transport infrastructure of the entire colony and, in view of the war with the United States only eight years ago , military matters were added. His relationship with the Canadian Parliament was difficult, however, as Ramsay represented extremely conservative requests and stressed the prerogatives of the crown. Ramsay ultimately lost a massive conflict over the approval of funds for the governor's own expenses because the Colonial Ministry in London did not support his position either. It then came to a complaint drawn by more than 87,000 residents of the province. The investigation report by the British House of Commons also expressed criticism of the governor's conduct of office.

Because of this situation and in view of ongoing financial difficulties, particularly affecting his Scottish property, Ramsay left Canada in 1828 and returned to Great Britain. His attempts there to achieve rehabilitation were unsuccessful.

In 1830 he was promoted to the rank of general and commander in chief of the British forces in India . However, his health suffered from the tropical climate, so that he resigned from his office two years later and returned to Great Britain. In the last years of his life, Ramsay's ailments increased, most recently he was blind and senile.

family

Ramsay married Christian Broun (1786–1839), heir to Charles Broun, landlord of Coalstoun in East Lothian , in 1805 . With her he had three sons:

When Ramsay died at Dalhousie Castle in 1838 at the age of 67, two of his sons had already died. As the 10th Earl of Dalhousie inherited his youngest son James , who also made a political career and was raised to Marquess of Dalhousie in 1849 .

Others

From 1804 to 1806 Ramsay was the Grand Master of the Scottish Freemasons - Grand Lodge .

While serving as Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Ramsay founded Dalhousie University in Halifax, named after him . The town of Dalhousie in New Brunswick was named after him in 1826.

literature

  • Michael Glover: The Peninsular War 1807-1814. Penguin, 1974.
  • Charles Oman: Wellington's Army, 1809-1814. Greenhill, (1913) 1993.
  • John Philippart (Ed.): The Royal Military Calendar, Or Army Service and Commission Book. Volume 1, London 1820, p. 248 f.

Web links

predecessor Office successor
George Ramsay Earl of Dalhousie
1787-1838 		James Broun-Ramsay
personal data
SURNAME Ramsay, George, 9th Earl of Dalhousie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ramsay, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British peer, soldier and colonial administrator
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1770
PLACE OF BIRTH Dalhousie Castle , Midlothian
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 1838
Place of death Dalhousie Castle , Midlothian