Thomas Mathews

Thomas Mathews (born October 1676 on Llandaff Court in Glamorgan , † October 2, 1751 in London ) was a British naval officer, last with the rank of vice admiral . During the War of the Austrian Succession he was commander in chief in the Mediterranean. At the same time he was plenipotentiary ambassador to the Italian states. The naval battle at Toulon on February 22, 1744 he could not win clearly. There was a court martial in which he lost his rank. He was also a member of the House of Commons for various constituencies .

Thomas Mathews

Early years

He was the eldest son of Edward Mathews and Jane, daughter of Sir Thomas Armstrong. The father was governor of the Leeward Islands. He joined the Royal Navy in 1690 . In 1699 he was promoted to lieutenant. He commanded his first ship in 1703. In 1705 he married Henrietta Burgess . Until 1706 he sailed on various ships on trips to North America, Newfoundland and the Caribbean. In 1708 he sailed under George Byng to prevent a Jacobite invasion of Scotland. In 1709 he took command of the Chester with 54 guns. In one battle he managed to take an enemy ship. In 1710 he took part in the conquest of Nova Scotia . He played a role in the capture of Port Royal (later renamed Annapolis Royal ). At times he was the longest-serving officer in New England. Back in England he lived on his country estate for a while.

In 1718 he returned to active service and became captain of the Kent with 70 guns. He was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet under Byng. Mathews took part in the Battle of Cape Passero. He captured the San Carlos and helped another ship capture the Spanish admiral. Then Byng appointed him commodore of a small squadron for the blockade of Messina. In 1719 he cruised off Palermo to intercept Spanish supply ships. In 1720 he returned to England with the Kent.

Squadron commander in the Indian Ocean

Between 1721 and 1724 his squadron was deployed in the Indian Ocean . Mathews was evidently a difficult character who, upon arrival, quarreled over protocol matters with the governor of Bombay . Later, too, his relationship with the East India Company was marked by conflict. He mainly fought the pirates who threatened the company's ships. Together with the Portuguese from the city of Goa , a pirate base was ultimately besieged without success. His action against the pirates in Madagascar was also unsuccessful. Back in England he was reprimanded by a court martial. His salary was banned for five months. One reason was that he should have carried out an illegal trade to the detriment of the East India Company with the help of warships. The Admiralty averted a lawsuit by the Company for nearly £ 14,000 for damages.

Years on land

He has not been in active service since 1724. He turned down an offer to join the Russian fleet because it did not involve an admiral appointment. Mathews was now politically active. In 1727 and again in 1734, while supporting the Whigs , he won the Cardiff constituency previously held by the Tory .

Between 1736 and 1742 he was responsible for the shipyard in Chatham . In this post he was quite successful. In 1737 his wife died. In 1739 he married Millicent, daughter of John Fuller, the former sheriff of London.

Commander in Chief in the Mediterranean

In 1742, at the beginning of the War of the Austrian Succession, he was appointed Vice Admiral of the Red Flag. He owed this appointment after many years on land mainly to the lack of other officers. His political relationships also played a role. He was appointed commander in chief of the English navy in the Mediterranean.

Its main task was to prevent the French and Spanish fleets from leaving Toulon . He also became British ambassador to the court of the King of Sardinia and other Italian states. With the ultimate threat of military means, he forced the Bourbon king of Naples to be neutral. He also threatened the Republic of Genoa with violence because of its prospective attitude. There were arguments with his subordinate Richard Lestock.

He commanded the British fleet in the battle of Toulon against the combined Spanish and French fleets. Lestock did not take part in the fight for reasons that were not entirely clear. This battle had no clear winner. But he could not prevent the enemy from breaking out of Toulon. As a result, he himself threatened the Mediterranean coast of France and was for some time in the roadstead in front of Marseille .

Court martial

Mathews released Lestock from his command and sent him back to England. At the same time he asked for his recall in order to defend himself against Lestock's allegations. On his return Lestock had published an extensive pamphlet with his view of things. Even so, general opinion was initially more on Mathews' side. However, Lestock and his supporters succeeded in getting a parliamentary investigation into the matter. Indeed, the House of Commons was deeply and passionately preoccupied with the matter. This debate was unusual, as it preceded a court martial. Mathews also managed to win the parliamentary seat for Glamorgan from the Tories. This did not bring him any advantages in the dispute over the Battle of Toulon, rather he now had the Tories against him. But even his own faction did not give him strong support.

Back in England, he was accused of failure. He would not have waited for the support of the Lestock squadron before attacking the enemy flagship and thereby gambled away the victory. There was a spectacular court martial in England that lasted until 1747. In addition to Mathews and Lestock, a number of captains have been charged. Lestock was acquitted, while Mathews was fired and removed from his post. However, he had already quit the service, so that the judgment had no serious consequences. He remained a member of the House of Commons.

literature

• Friedrich Carl Gottlob Hirsching: Historical and literary handbook of famous and memorable people who died in the 18th century. Vol. 5, first section, Leipzig 1800, pp. 89ff.
• William Stewart: The Admirals of the World. Jefferson 2009, pp. 212f.
• Daniel A. Baugh, Mathews, Thomas (1676–1751) In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004. (online edition, Jan 2008)

Web links

• Short biography