William Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton

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William Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton

William Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton (born December 24, 1724 in England , † September 14, 1808 in Stourbridge , then part of Worcestershire , England) was a British nobleman, politician, diplomat and colonial governor.

Life

William Lyttelton was a son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton (1686-1751), who was also a member of the British House of Commons between 1721 and 1741. He graduated from Eton College and St. Mary Hall College at the University of Oxford . In 1748 he was admitted to the Inner Temple in London as a barrister . He later received an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Oxford.

Between 1748 and 1755 he represented the then constituency Bewdley in the British House of Commons . In 1755 he was appointed colonial governor of the Province of South Carolina , succeeding James Glen . On the way there, his ship was stopped by French warships and he became their prisoner for a short time. On June 1, 1756 he arrived in Charleston , where he immediately took over his new office. He held this post until April 5, 1760. During this time the Seven Years' War fell in North America , and South Carolina was drawn into it. Globally, this war was about supremacy between Britain and France. Both sides drew Indian tribes to their side in North America, who then took part in acts of war. So it came to Indian wars in South Carolina. As governor, Lyttelton was keen to defend the commercial interests of his colony, which were endangered by the war. In addition to the war, he also had to deal with internal conflicts. This led to arguments over constitutional issues between his government and the colonial parliament. These problems remained unsolved until the end of his term in office. In 1760, Lyttelton was replaced by William Bull II after the originally nominated candidate Thomas Pownall turned down that office.

In 1760 William Lyttelton returned to Great Britain, where new assignments awaited him. Between 1762 and 1766 he was the successor of Henry Moore Colonial Governor of Jamaica and then from 1766 to 1771 British Ambassador to Portugal . From 1774 to 1790 he was again MP for Bewdley in the House of Commons. In 1776 he was raised in the Peerage of Ireland to Baron Westcote , of Ballymore in the County of Longford, and thereby also became a member of the Irish House of Lords . From 1777 to 1782 he held the British office of Lord of the Treasury . In 1779 he inherited a large part of his family property from his childless nephew Thomas Lyttelton, 2nd Baron Lyttelton, as well as the title of 7th Baronet , of Frankley in the County of Worcester, created in the Baronetage of England in 1618 . In 1792 he published the treatise An Historical Account of the Constitution of Jamaica . On August 13, 1794 he was raised in the Peerage of Great Britain to Baron Lyttelton , of Frankley in the County of Worcester, and thereby a member of the British House of Lords . He died on September 14, 1808.

Marriages and offspring

In 1761 he married Mary Macartney († 1765), with whom he had three children:

In his second marriage he married Caroline Bristow († 1809) in 1774, with whom he had two children:

literature

Web links

predecessor Office successor
New title created Baron Westcote
1776-1808 		George Lyttelton
Thomas Lyttelton Baronet, of Frankley
1779-1808 		George Lyttelton
New title created Baron Lyttelton
1794-1808 		George Lyttelton
personal data
SURNAME Lyttelton, William, 1st Baron Lyttelton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lyttelton, William, 1st Baron Westcote
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician, colonial governor, ambassador
DATE OF BIRTH December 24, 1724
PLACE OF BIRTH England
DATE OF DEATH September 14, 1808
Place of death Stourbridge , England