The Congress or Council of Alexandria was a 1755 meeting of Major-General

Edward Braddock Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...

, commander-in-chief of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and governors of five of the constituent colonies. These were

Robert Dinwiddie Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Horatio Sharpe Horatio Sharpe (1718 – November 9, 1790) was the 22nd proprietary governor of Maryland from 1753 to 1768 under the restored proprietary government of Maryland. Early life Horatio Sharpe was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England in 1718 to ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Robert Hunter Morris Robert Hunter Morris ( – 27 January 1764), was a prominent governmental figure in Colonial Pennsylvania, serving as governor of Pennsylvania and Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Early life and education Morris was born in ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organi ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and

James DeLancey James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life and education De Lancey was born in New York City on November 27, 170 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The meeting was held on 15 April 1755 at

Carlyle House Carlyle House is a historic mansion in Alexandria, Virginia, United States, built by Scottish merchant John Carlyle in 1751 to 1752 in the Georgian style. It is situated in the city's Old Town at 121 North Fairfax Street between Cameron and K ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, Virginia, home of one of that city's prominent figures,

John Carlyle John Carlyle may refer to: *John Carlyle (merchant) (1720–1780), Scottish merchant in Virginia *John Aitken Carlyle (1801–1879), Scottish doctor and brother of Thomas Carlyle * Johnny Carlyle (1929–2017), British ice hockey player and coach ...

. The meeting was an attempt by Braddock to raise funds for a war fund to fight the French in the coming

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. The governors rebuffed the request demanding prior funding from the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. The Congress did, however, agree on a war plan for a four-pronged attack against

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

Sir William Johnson Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland. As a young man, Johnson moved to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Royal Na ...

of New York, who was also present at the meeting, was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs and commissioned a major-general. He was tasked with meeting with the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

to keep them neutral in the war. The Congress of Alexandria is sometimes noted as the beginning of intercolony dialogue and of the political tension between the colonies and Britain over issues of taxation. Ten years before the

Stamp Act of 1765 The Stamp Act 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765 (5 Geo. III c. 12), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in America and required that many printed materials ...

, Braddock wrote from Carlyle House to

Thomas Robinson Thomas, Tom or Tommy Robinson may refer to: Artists * Thomas Robinson (composer) (c. 1560 – after 1609), English composer and music teacher * Thomas Heath Robinson (1869–1954), British book illustrator Politicians * Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron ...

, a British official that "I cannot but take the liberty to represent to you the necessity of laying a tax upon all his Majesty's dominions in America, agreeably to the result of Council, for reimbursing the great sums that must be advanced for the service and interest of the colonies in this important crisis."Richard Henry Spencer
The Carlyle House and its Associations--Braddock's Headquarters--Here the Colonial Governors met in Council, April, 1755."
''William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine''. Vol.18, No.1. (July 1909). p. 9. The meeting is reenacted every year at the Carlyle House.

Notes

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References

"Carlyle House - History: Braddock"
at Carlyle House Historic Park website *Richard Henry Spencer
The Carlyle House and its Associations--Braddock's Headquarters--Here the Colonial Governors met in Council, April, 1755."
''William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine''. Vol.18, No.1. (July 1909). pp. 1-17. History of Alexandria, Virginia Colony of Virginia French and Indian War History of the Thirteen Colonies 18th-century diplomatic conferences 1755 in international relations 1755 in the Thirteen Colonies 1755 conferences

See also

Notes

References