Sir Charles Bagot,GCB,PC(23 September 1781 – 19 May 1843) was a British politician, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served asambassadorto the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. He served as the secondGovernor Generalof theProvince of Canadafrom 1841 to 1843.[1]
Sir Charles Bagot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor General of the Province of Canada | |
| In office 1842–1843 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham |
| Succeeded by | Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe |
| Member of ParliamentforCastle Rising | |
| In office 1807–1808 Serving withRichard Sharp | |
| Preceded by | Richard Sharp Charles Bagot Chester |
| Succeeded by | Richard Sharp Fulk Greville Howard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 September 1781 Blithfield Hall,Staffordshire,England |
| Died | 19 May 1843(aged 61) Kingston, Ontario,Canada |
| Spouse | Lady Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesley |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Occupation | politician, administrator, diplomat |
Early life and family
edit
Bagot was the second son ofWilliam Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot,ofBlithfield Hall,Staffordshire,and the Hon. Elizabeth Louisa St. John, daughter ofViscount St. John,ofLydiard Park,Wiltshire.[2]He was educated atRugby SchoolandChrist Church, Oxford.He enteredLincoln's Inn,where he studied law, but left and returned to Oxford to complete his master's degree.[3]
His marriage to the wealthy Lady Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesley-Pole, the niece ofArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington,and other Bagot family connections made possible his subsequent diplomatic career.[2]
Member of Parliament
editBagot served asMember of ParliamentforCastle Risingfrom 1807 to 1808, alongsideRichard Sharp.[1]
Diplomatic career
editAmbassador to United States
editHe was named minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinaire to the United States on 31 July 1815, in the aftermath of theWar of 1812.WithRichard Rush,he negotiated theRush–Bagot Treatyto limit naval forces on theGreat LakesandLake Champlain.He also contributed to negotiations leading to theAnglo-American Convention of 1818,which defined the border betweenBritish North Americaand the United States fromLake of the Woods(seeNorthwest Angle) to the Pacific Ocean. Bagot ended his term in Washington, D.C. in 1820.
Ambassador to Russia, Netherlands
editHe subsequently served asBritish Ambassador to Russia,where he took part in negotiations leading to the 1825Treaty of Saint Petersburg.
Then, he served asBritish Ambassador to the Netherlands,where he was involved in negotiations leading to the establishment of Belgium in 1831.
Governor General of the Province of Canada
editAfter a hiatus of ten years from diplomatic service, Bagot agreed to succeedLord Sydenhamas governor general of the newly proclaimedProvince of Canada.He was chosen because of his diplomatic knowledge of the United States. Bagot was appointed 27 September 1841, and arrived in the Canadian capitalKingstonon 10 January 1842, taking office two days later.
Political administration
editBagot was ordered by the British government to resist the strengthening demands forresponsible government.As an important concession, however, Bagot did allow the leading Canadian colonial politiciansRobert Baldwinand SirLouis-Hippolyte Lafontaineto form a ministry, on the basis of theirparliamentarymajority.Lafontaine, as a French-Canadian leader, had suffered abusive treatment by the British under the previous governor general,Lord Sydenham,who had died in office in 1841. This was the beginning of what became known asrepresentative governmentin Canada. Bagot's leadership was an important step forward in establishing more amicable relations between the colonizing British and French.
Bagot worked productively with Baldwin and Lafontaine to establish a structure for fair municipal governance in the province of Canada. Their work has stood the test of time. With the arrival of Confederation in 1867, a well-defined system of three-tiered governance—federal, provincial, and municipal—came into being in Ontario and Quebec.
Extradition of fugitive slave
editWhile serving as governor-general, Bagot ordered the first criminalextraditionof a fugitive slave to the United States from Canada West. The fugitive in question,Nelson Hacket(or Hackett), had been valet and butler to a wealthyArkansasslave owner. In 1841, Hacket allegedly stole a beaver overcoat and a racing mare from his master, as well as a gold watch and a saddle from two others, and fled to Canada West. Hacket's master caught up with him inChatham, Ontario,and Hacket was jailed. Governor-General Bagot ruled Hacket had committed a crime by stealing items not necessary for his escape, and for this reason he was extradited. The public in Canada West, as well asabolitionistsin the U.S. and Canada, were dismayed, and their displeasure led to a formal treaty, which codified rules for extradition, but upset fugitives, abolitionists, and slave owners.[4]
Indigenous schools
editIn 1842 Bagot initiated a major review of government policies and expenditures related to Indigenous peoples inCanada EastandCanada West,appointingRawson W. Rawson,John Davidson and William Hepburn as report commissioners. Completed in 1844, the final report, titled theReport on the affairs of the Indians in Canada,included a call for the introduction of industrial schools to address the noted failure of day schools to effectively keep Indigenous children from the influence of their parents and is regarded as a foundational document in the rationale for establishing theCanadian Indian residential school system.[5][6]: 12–17
University administrator
editHe served as Chancellor of King's College, (now theUniversity of Toronto), 1842–1843.
Death
editHaving resigned his governor general's office in January 1843, Bagot died four months later at the vice-regal residence, Alwington House,Alwington, Kingston,too ill to return to the United Kingdom. Bagot's library was sold at auction by Messrs Evans in London on 20 June 1844 (and two following days); a copy of the catalogue (which contained Audubon's Birds of America) is at Cambridge University Library (shelfmark Munby.c.149(10)).
Legacy
editToday, he is chiefly remembered for his role in developing the Residential school system, his contributions to the development of the "undefended border" between the United States and Canada, and for fostering more cooperative and positive political relations between the two main colonial groups of British and French settlers.
Bagot Street, a main thoroughfare in downtown Kingston, is named in his memory.
Mount Bagot,a mountain on the Canada-US border, is named in his honor.[7]
Family
edit
Bagot married Lady Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesley, daughter ofWilliam Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Morningtonon 22 July 1806. Together they had:[8][9]
- Colonel Charles Bagot (1808 - 1881) m.Sophia Percy,granddaughter ofAlgernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley
- Emily Georgiana Bagot(1809 -1848) m.George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea
- Henrietta Maria Bagot (1815 - 1844) m.Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey
- Georgiana Augusta Bagot (1818 - 1851)
- George Talbot Bagot (1820 - 1907) m. Charlotte Blair, daughter ofW T Blair, Mayor of Bath
- Colonel Alexander Bagot (1822 - 1874) m. Gertrude Letitia Hallifax
- Wilhelmina Frederica Bagot (1826[10]- 1852) m. Henry Bagot, son of her uncle,Richard Bagot (bishop)
The family accompanied their parents to Canada, on Bagot's appointment as Governor-General of British North America on 12 January 1842. After her husband's death at Kingston, on 18 May 1843, she accompanied his remains to England. She died in London on 2 February 1845.[11]
References
edit- ^abMonet, Jacques, S.J. (4 March 2015) [14 January 2008]."Sir Charles Bagot".The Canadian Encyclopedia(online ed.).Historica Canada.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^abHammond, Peter (1998).The Complete Peerage.Vol. 14. p. 58.ISBN978-0750901543.
- ^Monet, Jacques (1988)."Bagot, Sir Charles".In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.).Dictionary of Canadian Biography.Vol. VII (1836–1850) (online ed.).University of Toronto Press.
- ^Winks, Robin W. (1997).The Blacks in Canada: A History(second ed.).McGill-Queen's University Press.pp. 172–173.ISBN978-0-77351-632-8.
- ^Leslie, John (1982)."The Bagot Commission: Developing a Corporate Memory for the Indian Department"(PDF).Historical Papers.17(1): 31–52.doi:10.7202/030883ar.Retrieved7 September2017.
- ^Milloy, John S. (1999).A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System 1879–1986.University of Manitoba Press.ISBN978-0-88755-646-3.
- ^"Mount Bagot".BC Geographical Names.Retrieved29 January2024.
- ^Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.1999. p. 2972.
- ^Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.2003. p. 4217.
- ^Lodge's Peerage and Baronetage (knightage & Companionage) of the British Empire.1859. p. 39.
- ^Morgan, Henry James,ed. (1903).Types of Canadian Women and of Women who are or have been Connected with Canada.Toronto: Williams Briggs. p.19.
Sources
edit- Morgan, Henry James,ed. (1903).Types of Canadian Women and of Women who are or have been Connected with Canada.Toronto: Williams Briggs. p.19.
- Bagot, William (1824).Memorials Of The Bagot Family.W. Hodgetts.
- Milloy, John S. (1999).A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System 1879–1986.University of Manitoba Press.ISBN978-0-88755-646-3.
- Mosley, Charles, ed. (1999).Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.
- Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003).Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.
- Winks, Robin W. (1997).The Blacks in Canada: A History(second ed.).McGill-Queen's University Press.ISBN978-0-77351-632-8.
- Lodge, Edmund (1859).Lodge's Peerage and Baronetage (knightage & Companionage) of the British Empire.Hurst & Blackett Lodge.
- Monet, Jacques, S.J. (4 March 2015) [14 January 2008]."Sir Charles Bagot".The Canadian Encyclopedia(online ed.).Historica Canada.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
