John Hart (Governor)

John Hart (* in County Cavan , Ireland ; † early 1740 ) was a British colonial governor of the Province of Maryland and the Antilles .

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John Hart was born to Merrick Hart and his wife Lettice Vesey in County Cavan, Ireland. The exact date of birth is not known. His maternal uncle was John Vesey, an archbishop of the Church of Ireland . Nothing is known about his youth and school education. He served in Spain and Portugal during the War of the Spanish Succession . In 1714 he was appointed with the help of Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore (1679-1715) to succeed Edward Lloyd as the new British colonial governor of the Province of Maryland. In return for the Lord's help, Hart had to pay a portion of his salary as royal governor. At first he was still a royal governor until 1715, after which he was a so-called proprietary governor . The difference lies in the ownership structure of the colony. Until 1688, the Colony of Maryland was owned by the Calvert Catholic family, the Lords of Baltimore. A Protestant revolution in 1688-89 following the Glorious Revolution in England dispossessed the Calverts and broke Catholic supremacy in Maryland. The colony was directly subordinated to the royal government in London and henceforth had royal governors. Previously there were porprietary governors who were installed by the owners of the colony. The owners, originally appointed by the English monarch, were seen as an institution between the king and the colonial administration. So Maryland had had royal governors since 1689. Around 1714 there was another change in the status of the colony. To the horror of his Catholic father Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (1637-1715), Lord Benedict Baltimore converted to the Church of England in 1713 . With this he hoped to regain the ownership rights to the colony that had been lost in 1688. This plan ultimately worked, even if the 4th Lord Baltimore no longer saw his success. He died in April 1715 a few weeks after his father. His also Protestant son and successor Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore (1699-1751) received the property rights to Maryland back from the new British King George I. Thus Maryland was again an owner colony from 1715 and the rule there of the Calvert family was restored. The new owner confirmed John Hart in his office, which he held until 1720. At the same time as his governorship, Hart held various other local offices. In those years Maryland had continued religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics, border disputes with neighboring colonies and problems with pirates. After the end of his governorship, John Hart was appointed the new governor of the Antilles. He held this office between 1721 and 1727. The exact time and place of death of John Hart are not known. His will was opened in London on January 26, 1740. Hence, he must have died in the weeks before.

Web links

• John Hart in the Archives of Maryland