Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC (24 February 1732 – 30 June 1800), was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in the second half of the 18th century. His most enduring legacy is probably that the cities of
Sydney in
Nova Scotia,
Canada, and
Sydney in
New South Wales,
Australia and are named in his honour, in 1785 and 1788 respectively.
Background and education
Townshend was born at
Frognal House, in
Sidcup,
Kent, the son of the Hon.
Thomas Townshend, second son of
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend. His mother was Albinia, daughter of John Selwyn. He was educated at
Clare College, Cambridge.
Political career
Townshend was elected to the
House of Commons in 1754 as
Whig member for
Whitchurch and held that seat till his elevation to the peerage in 1783. He initially aligned himself with his great uncle the
Duke of Newcastle but later joined
William Pitt the Elder in opposition to
George Grenville. Townshend was a Lord of the Treasury in the first
Rockingham ministry and continued in that office in the Pitt (now Lord Chatham) administration until December 1767, when he became a member of the
Privy Council and joint-
Paymaster of the Forces. During the ministry of Lord Chatham and the
Duke of Grafton he supported the position his cousin
Charles Townshend was in with regard to the American revenue program. Townshend was forced out of office in June, 1768 by Grafton who wanted
Rigby as
Paymaster of the Forces to gain favour with the
Duke of Bedford.
Townshend remained in opposition until the end of
Lord North's ministry and spoke frequently in the House of Commons against the American war. Although he had no close party connection, he was inclined toward the Chathamites. He took office again as secretary at war in the second Rockingham ministry. When
Lord Shelburne became Prime Minister in July 1782, Townshend succeeded him as
Home Secretary and became
Leader of the House of Commons. He was created
Baron Sydney and entered the
House of Lords in 1783. He took the title Sydney to commemorate his descent from
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, who traced his descent from a Surrey yeoman, John de Sydenie. The name Sydney derives from a village in
Normandy called Saint-Denis.
He opposed the
Fox-North coalition and returned to political office with Pitt, serving as Home Secretary from 1783 to 1789. In Canada, Sydney on Cape Breton Island (now the province of Nova Scotia), was founded by British Col. Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres in 1785, and named in honour of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (Home Secretary in the British cabinet at the time). Lord Sydney appointed Col. DesBarres governor of the new colony of Cape Breton Island.
Following the loss of the North American colonies, Sydney, as Home Secretary in the Pitt Government, was given responsibility for devising a plan to settle convicts at Botany Bay. His choice of
Arthur Phillip as Governor was inspired and Phillip's leadership was instrumental in ensuring the penal colony survived the early years of struggle and famine. On 26 January 1788, Phillip named
Sydney Cove in honour of Sydney and the settlement became known as Sydney Town. In 1789 he was created
Viscount Sydney.
Sydney's reputation has suffered at the hands of the nationalist school of Australian historians, such as
Manning Clark. In his influential
A History of Australia (Melbourne University Press 1961) Clark wrote: "Mr Thomas Townshend, commonly denominated Tommy Townshend, owed his political career to a very independent fortune and a considerable parliamentary interest, which contributed to his personal no less than his political elevation, for his abilities, though respectable, scarcely rose above mediocrity." Other writers have portrayed Sydney as a cruel monster for dispatching the unfortunate convicts to the far side of the earth.
Frognal House by George Shepherd appears in Thomas Ireland's History of Kent published c. 1830.
In fact, Sydney was, by the standards of his time, an enlightened and progressive politician. He did not support the
American Revolution but was a strong opponent against the war which he thought was pointless and needlessly prolonged during Lord North's ministry. As Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary he was heavily involved in the development of
Canada and the settling of fleeing refugees from the intolerant rebels. The city of
Sydney in
Nova Scotia is named after him in memory of his efforts on behalf of the
loyalist settlers of Canada.
More recently Sydney's reputation has been revisited by Australian historians.
Alan Atkinson wrote in
The Europeans in Australia (Oxford University Press, 1997): "Townshend was an anomaly in the British Cabinet, and his ideas were in some ways old-fashioned... He had long been interested in the way in which the empire might be a medium for British liberties, traditionally understood." He took the view that convicts should be given the chance to redeem themselves through self-government in penal colonies such as
New South Wales. Governor Phillip's well-known statement that "There will no slavery in a new country and hence no slaves" is an accurate reflection of Sydney's philosophy. Sydney's papers are held by the William L. Clements Library at the
University of Michigan.
Family
Lord Sydney married Elizabeth, daughter of
Richard Powys, MP, in 1760. He died in June 1800, aged 67, and was succeeded in his titles by his son,
John. The Viscountess Sydney died in May 1826, aged 90.
Honours
In 1986 he was honoured on a
postage stamp depicting his portrait issued by
Australia Post .
Timeline of Sydney's life and career
- 1754: Entered the House of Commons as MP for Whitchurch, for 29 years until 1783
- 1756: Clerk of the household of the Prince of Wales
- 1760, 19 May: married Elizabeth Powys (b.1736 d.1826), later served as Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte
- 1761, 21 March: one of the clerks of the board of green cloth until he resigned in Dec. 1762
- 1783, March 6: Created Baron Sydney and entered the House of Lords.
- 1789: Elevated to 1st Viscount Sydney of Chislehurst, Kent
- 1793: Deputy Lieutenant of Kent
- During some period Thomas Townshend was also a governor of the Charter House.
- 1800, 30 Jun.: Died at home, Frognal House
