Francis James Jackson (December 1770 – 5 August 1814) was a British diplomat, ambassador to the
Ottoman Empire,
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
and the
United States.
Career
Francis Jackson entered the
diplomatic service aged only 16 and served as a
Foreign Office clerk. In April 1788 he brought back from
The Hague the signed copy of "a treaty of defensive alliance between His Majesty and the
States General of the
United Provinces" which was signed on 15 April. This treaty and a subsequent alliance with Prussia in August 1788 created a
"Triple Alliance" against Russia which, however, lasted only until 1791.
In 1789 Jackson was appointed Secretary to the British
legation
A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legations ...
in
Berlin. He later held a similar post in
Madrid where he acted as
Minister (head of mission) ''ad interim'' after the departure of
Lord St Helens in 1794 until the arrival of
the Marquess of Bute in 1795 (because
Lord Yarmouth, who should have succeeded St Helens, did not go). Jackson was then appointed ambassador to the
Ottoman Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire.
History
The name ...
in 1796. In November 1801
Marquess Cornwallis
Earl Cornwallis was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1753 for Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis. The second Earl was created Marquess Cornwallis but this title became extinct in 1823, while the earldom and its ...
was sent to France to finalise peace terms: the negotiations took place at Amiens, and resulted in the
Treaty of Amiens signed on 25 March 1802. Cornwallis took with him to Amiens the secretary to the embassy in Paris,
Anthony Merry
Anthony Merry (2 August 1756 – 14 June 1835) was a British diplomat.
Biography
The son of a London wine merchant, Anthony Merry served in various diplomatic posts in Europe between 1783 and 1803, holding mostly consular positions. In 1803 he ...
, and Jackson was sent to take Merry's place ''ad interim'' with the rank of minister-plenipotentiary. In October 1802 he moved on to be
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
in Berlin, where he stayed until 1806 when
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
was defeated in the
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, ...
. In 1807 he was sent on a special mission to
Denmark where he witnessed the
bombardment of Copenhagen.
In 1809 Jackson was sent to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
after the recall of
David Erskine when the British government refused to ratify Erskine's attempt to resolve the difficulties following a conflict between HMS ''Leopard'' and the US frigate ''Chesapeake'' (the
''Chesapeake–Leopard'' affair). Jackson remained at Washington until 1811. He died at Brighton, after a long illness, in 1814. The ''
Morning Post'' reported his death thus:
On Friday evening died at Brighton, in the 44th year of his age, Francis James Jackson, Esq., late his Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America.
Mr Jackson had the honour of serving his Majesty and his country from the early age of 16. In the course of his professional life he was appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Porte, and Accredited Minister to the Courts of Madrid and Berlin. At the latter place he married and resided, until the cessation of intercourse between the two kingdoms of great Britain and Prussia, in 1806. He was also employed in various temporary missions of great importance to Vienna, Paris and Copenhagen. This long and honourable career of public service, under different Administrations, abundantly proves that the confidence of his Sovereign was justly placed, and bears ample testimony to his diplomatic talents, his private life, his domestic and affectionate habits, and his virtues as a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and a friend, will never be obliterated from the memory of his relatives and connections.
– "Mr Jackson", ''The Morning Post'', London, 11 August 1814
References
*
External links
Records relating to Francis James Jacksonat the UK National Archives
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Francis James
1770 births
1814 deaths
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to Spain
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to France
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Prussia
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States