![Gilbert Thomas Carter and wife in 1916](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Gilbert_Thomas_Carter_and_wife_in_1916.jpg)
Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter (Sir Thomas Gilbert-Carter) (14 January 1848 – 18 January 1927)
was an administrative officer in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
and a colonial official for the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
.
Starting as a Collector of
Customs for the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
, he then became a
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
of the Gold Coast and
the Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
. Moving on to colonial administration, he started as the
Administrator for the Gambia, where he dealt with the aggression of the native king of Gambia.
His next post was as
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
for the
Lagos Colony
Lagos Colony was a British colonial possession centred on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was annexed on 6 August 1861 under the threat of force by Commander Beddingfield of HMS Prometheus who was accompanied by the Ac ...
where he negotiated treaties with the local chiefs which protected Christian missionaries and ending human sacrifies. He later served as the Governor for
The Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
and
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
and finally as the Governor for
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
.
Early life and Naval career
Carter was born in
Topsham, Devon in 1848.
["Sir Gilbert Thomas Gilbert-Carter (1848–1927)" by Bob Maddocks in ''Cameo'', Journal of the ]West Africa Study Circle The West Africa Study Circle (WASC) is the "international specialist society for the study of stamps, postal stationery and postal history of West Africa."Home ...
, Vol. 13, No. 2, June 2012, p. 117. He was the only son of
Commander Thomas Gilbert Carter (
R.N.).
He was educated at the
Royal Hospital School
)
, established = 1694 Royal Charter1712 Greenwich1933 Holbrook
, type = Public School Independent day and boarding School Royal Foundation
, founders = William III and Mary II
, head = Simon Lockyer
, head_labe ...
in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
.
Carter joined the Royal Navy in 1864, serving as an Assistant Clerk on , being transferred in 1866 to .
On 5 July 1866, Carter was promoted to Clerk, while still serving on HMS ''Malacca''.
Between 1867 and 1869, he served on a variety of ships as a clerk, until 1 December 1869 (while serving on ), when he was promoted to Assistant Paymaster (being added to the
Navy List
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
).
Following a posting to for the first nine months of 1870, Carter's final posting was to the Colonial steamer ''Sherbro'' from August 1870.
During his time on ''Sherbro'', he was involved with the
Third Anglo–Ashanto War on the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
.
When
Elmina
Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast. Elmina w ...
was sold to the British by the Dutch Government, he was a
commissioner, responsible for valuing the stores and ordnance left behind by the Dutch.
He married Susan Laura Hocker, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Hocker, in 1874
(later having 3 sons and 2 daughters — his second son
Humphrey
Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid.
Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Medieval period
:''Ordered chronologically''
*Hunfrid of P ...
1884–1969 was the first Director of the
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...
). Lady Carter died in 1895.
He retired from the Navy on 21 July 1875.
Leeward Islands, the Gold Coast and the Gambia
Carter became the private secretary to Sir
George Berkeley, Governor of the
Leeward Islands, in 1875.
In August 1879, he was appointed Collector of
Customs and
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
of the Gold Coast, an appointment he kept until 1882.
From 1882 until December 1888, Carter administered the Settlement on
the Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
as a Treasurer and Postmaster.
From 1886, he was acting
Administrator of the Colony of the Gambia, and on 1 December 1888 he was appointed Administrator on that colony's separation from Sierra Leone.
While working in the Gambia, he was appointed
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) on 1 January 1890.
![Gambia administrator interviews native chief 1889](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Gambia_administrator_interviews_native_chief_1889.png)
In 1891, the native King of Gambia had been organising abusive acts towards the British colonists.
Carter (from his official residence in
Bathurst) sent an envoy with a message that if the abuses continued, "he might expect a visit of a disciplinary nature from the marine forces of the ."
The King sent the envoy back mutilated, with a message: "This is the King's answer."
In response, Carter sent three British
gunboats
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-stea ...
to avenge the outrage upon the envoy.
Lagos (Nigeria)
Carter was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the
Colony of Lagos on 3 February 1891.
Carter ordered an attack on the
Ijebu "in the interest of civilization" in 1892.
Afterwards, he continued to justify this attack as a war to end slavery and promote civilization.
Carter travelled to various parts of
Yorubaland
Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this ...
, accompanied by soldiers, in an attempt to demonstrate the might of the British.
Carter was not well received at
Oyo, and the
Egba chiefs advised him not to interfere with slavery, while the
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...
chiefs said they were afraid that their slaves would "assert their freedom by running to the
Resident
Resident may refer to:
People and functions
* Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country
* Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training
* Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...
" – and they refused to sign a treaty with Carter that would impose a Resident on the city.
However, in January 1893 the Egba chiefs signed a Treaty of Independence with the British Government.
It was agreed that freedom of trade between the Egba Nation and Lagos was to be guaranteed by the British Government,
in return for which no road would be closed without the approval of the Governor.
They further agreed that complete protection and "every assistance and encouragement" would be afforded to all Christian ministers.
The Crown agreed that "no annexation on any portion of Egba Nation shall be made by her Majesty's Government without the consent of the lawful authorities of the nation, no aggressive action shall be taken against the said nation and its independence shall be fully recognized."
The Egba chiefs further promised to abolish human sacrifices.
He was promoted
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) on 3 June 1893,
"in recognition of his services in conducting a mission to the Yoruba country which resulted in the negotiation of important treaties and brought to an end a long-standing war."
Carter was given
Ife works of art in 1896 by the recently crowned King of Ife, Adelekan, in the hopes that a decision in his favour would be made about the resettlement of
Modakeke
Modakeke is a town in Osun State, South West Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is si ...
residents outside the city. These works (including three known as the ''Ife marbles''), were sent by Carter to Europe.
While serving in Lagos, Lady Carter, his first wife, died on 13 January 1895, shortly after arriving in Lagos.
The
Carter Bridge
Carter Bridge built in 1901 is one of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the mainland, the other are the Third Mainland and Eko bridges. At the time of its construction, this was the only bridge connection between the mainland and Lagos ...
, first built in 1901 and linking
Lagos Island
Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a p ...
with
Iddo Island
Iddo Island is a district in Lagos Mainland LGA of Lagos. Opposite Lagos Island, Iddo used to be an island, but due to land reclamation, is now part of the rest of Lagos Mainland. Iddo Island is connected to Lagos Island by the Eko Bridge and ...
, was named after him.
Later life, retirement and death
![Barbados Ship 1905 issue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Barbados_Ship_1905_issue.JPG)
Carter was transferred to Bahamas as Governor and Commander-in-Chief in 1898,
and after a temporary transfer to Trinidad,
in July 1904 he was transferred to the Barbados as Governor and Commander-in-Chief.
Carter met an American artist (see Stamp) from Boston,
Gertrude Codman Parker (6 February 1875 – 12 November 1953, Boston
), in the spring of 1903 when she was travelling in the Bahamas with her parents,
Francis Vose Parker and his wife.
She became his second wife on 25 August 1903, when they were married in the Church of the Advent in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and had a son, John Codman Carter.
Carter continued working in senior colonial positions — being appointed the
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and Commander-in-Chief of the Island of
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
and its Dependencies
in 1904, and as
Administrator of the Government
An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general ...
of the Colony of
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, and its Dependencies in the absence of the Governor from 1907 until 1910,
whereupon he retired.
In 1919, he changed his surname to ''Gilbert-Carter''.
In the early 1920s, he moved back to Barbados, and lived at
Ilaro Court, which had been designed and built by Lady Gilbert Carter. He died there on 18 January 1927.
When his will was
probated on 22 March of that year, the total value of his effects was £6859 9s 11d.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Carter Coat of Arms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Gilbert Thomas
British governors of the Bahamas
Governors of Barbados
Governors of the Gambia
History of Ghana
British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War
Royal Navy officers
1848 births
1927 deaths
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Governors of the Lagos Colony
Royal Navy logistics officers