Sir John Pope Hennessy (; 8 August 1834 – 7 October 1891), was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator who served as the eighth
Governor of Hong Kong
The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...
and the fifteenth
Governor of Mauritius.
Early life
John Pope Hennessy was born in
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
in 1834, the son of John Hennessy of Ballyhennessy and his wife Elizabeth Casey. He was one of eight children. The family were middle class with his father working as a hide merchant. He suffered from bronchitis as a child and was therefore initially privately tutored. In 1850 he entered
Queen's College, Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork.
The university was founded in 1 ...
, initially studying in the science division of the faculty of arts. During his first year he was awarded a scholarship as he was one of the top three students, and this allowed him to transfer to medicine. He proved to be a gifted student scoring honours in five out of six subjects in his finals, came first in surgery and second in medicine.
In May 1855 he went to London to further his studies at Charing Cross Hospital. He then entered public service.
Public service
He started his Public Service career as the
Supplemental Clerk at the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
, and eventually became a minor
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
member of the British Parliament, representing
King's County from 1859 to 1865.
Whilst an MP he studied law at the Inner Temple, being called to the bar in 1861. In 1890, as MP for
North Kilkenny he joined the
Irish National Federation
The Irish National Federation (INF) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1891 by former members of the Irish National League (INL), after a split in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) on the leadership of Charles S ...
. He died the following year.
Early colonial service
![John Pope Hennessy, Vanity Fair, 1875-03-27](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/John_Pope_Hennessy%2C_Vanity_Fair%2C_1875-03-27.jpg)
Hennessy eventually joined the
Colonial Office
The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...
and became colonial Governor of
Labuan
Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...
in 1867 where he put the Crown Colony into solvency by introducing convict labour from the
Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
. He went on to become the Governor of
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
from 1872 to 1873, when he moved to the governorship of the Bahamas. He became
Governor-in-Chief of the Windward Islands, from 1873 until 1877, with primary authority over
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 executive oversight over the various British Lt. Governors and Administrators charged with running day-to-day affairs on the various islands.
Although Hennessy was born into the Anglo-Irish landowning gentry, his status as a Roman Catholic made him something of an outsider, particularly in his dealings with Protestant British colonial elites, whether in Barbados, Hong Kong, or Mauritius. Indeed, his earliest contributions as a Member of Parliament in 1860 pertained to the temporal power of the Pope, and unfolding events in Italy. Coming into colonial administration, he was among a cohort of "new thinkers" whose ideas gained ground following the Sepoy Mutiny in India in 1857. Speaking at length in the House of Commons on 26 July 1860 about British civil and military forces in India, Hennessy urged a shift in policies so that "the military administration of India would be conducted with greater skill, with more economy, and, as a natural result of a higher educational standard, with a greater regard for the feelings and interests of the Native population. Indeed, recent events furnished us with the most conclusive evidence that many of the British officers, entrusted with grave authority in India, had, from an ignorance of popular customs and a disregard of national habits and traditions, given great cause of complaint and encouragement to disaffection. As long as we send out officers to India who seem inclined to treat the Natives as slaves, who seem unable or unwilling to appreciate the noble qualities, of that unfortunate people, and who add the grossest military outrages and insults to the civil misgovernment and financial burdens we have imposed upon them, so long will our rule in India be a blot upon civilization".
Governor of Hong Kong
![Kalakaua_in_Hong_Kong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Kalakaua_in_Hong_Kong.jpg)
Immediately after his tenure in Barbados, Hennessy was appointed as
Governor of Hong Kong
The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...
, a position from which he served until 1882.
During his tenure, Hennessy realised that the Chinese people, who were treated as second-class citizens up to that time, had developed an increasingly important influence on the Hong Kong economy. With that in mind, he lifted the ban that forbade Chinese people from buying lands, constructing buildings, and operate businesses in the Central District. This caused a development boom in the Central District. Also, he allowed Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong to naturalise as British subjects. He appointed the first Chinese member (
Ng Choy
Wu Ting-fang (; 30 July 184223 June 1922) was a diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and briefly as Acting Premier during the early years of the Republic of China. He was also known as Ng Choy or Ng Achoy ().
Ed ...
, who would later become the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
) to the
Legislative Council.
In 1878, Hennessy also mandated that English be taught in all government schools in Hong Kong.
Due to his progressive attitude he was known by the Chinese as "Number One Good Friend".
Also, during his rule, he established the first Grant-in-Aid system, a milestone in the educational history of Hong Kong.
Soon after arriving in Hong Kong, in April 1877, Hennessy set out to implement the "separate system" in Victoria Gaol, meaning separate cells for prisoners, during the night if not also during the day. This plan hinged upon sending long-term prisoners to Labuan, for convict labour.
Governor of Mauritius
After his tenure as Governor of Hong Kong was over, Hennessy went on to become the 15th
Governor of Mauritius from 1 June 1883 to 11 December 1889. Upon his arrival on 1 June 1883 on the island, Hennessy undertook to mauricianise the local administration by reducing the powers of the English officials, appointing Mauritians to positions of responsibility and proposing a new constitution based on the principle "Mauritius for Mauritians". It was therefore natural that he moved closer to the Mauritian lawyer
William Newton, leader of the reform movement who demanded a more direct involvement of
Indo Mauritians and coloured settlers in the administration of their affairs. In 1886 Hennessy was suspended from office for some months during a enquiry into allegations of involvement in local politics as well as the collapse of a bank. It was under Hennessy that Mauritius knew its first shudder of democracy. This was his last post in the Colonial Service.
Personal life
![John Pope Hennessy family](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/John_Pope_Hennessy_family.jpg)
Hennessy had two illegitimate daughters with his mistress, Miss A. M. Conyngham, before, on 4 February 1868, marrying Catherine "Kitty" Elizabeth Low (1850–1923), daughter of
his predecessor (acting) Governor of Labuan. They had three sons, including
Richard Pope-Hennessy
Major-General Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy (1875 – 1 March 1942) was a British Army officer and Liberal Party politician of Irish Catholic descent.
Background
He was the eldest son of Sir John Pope-Hennessy MP, of Rostellan Cast ...
.
[Stearn, Roger T. (2007). "Hennessy, Sir John Pope (1834–1891)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press. . Accessed 2 August 2018.] Richard had two sons,
John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy
Sir John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy (13 December 1913 – 31 October 1994), was a British art historian. Pope-Hennessy was Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1967 and 1973, and Director of the British Museum between 1974 and 1976. ...
(1913–1994) and
James Pope-Hennessy
James Pope Hennessy Royal Victorian Order, CVO (20 November 1916 – 25 January 1974) was a British biographer and travel writer.
Early life
Richard James Arthur Pope-Hennessy was born in London on 20 November 1916, the younger son of Richard P ...
, author of a biography, Verandah, in 1964.
His personal motto was "Three Grand Qualifications to Success", which he described as "The first is audacity, the second is audacity, and the third is audacity".
Hennessy died of heart failure on 7 October 1891 at his residence,
Rostellan Castle, near
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, Ireland.
Honours
![John Pope Hennessy medal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/John_Pope_Hennessy_medal.JPG)
* (1880)
Memorials
As he was not popular among the European community of Hong Kong, there were no contemporary memorials there. However, on 14 June 1929, a main road located on the new reclamation was called
Hennessy Road
Hennessy Road () is a thoroughfare on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.
It connects Yee Wo Street on the east in Causeway Bay, at the junction with East Point Road, Jardine's Bazaar and Great George Street in East Point, through Bowrington, to ...
, and there is now also a crowded commercial and shopping area at
Wan Chai
Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...
and
Causeway Bay
Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...
on
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
named after him. In
Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...
, capital of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
, there is both a major street, Pope Hennessy Street, and a statue by M. Loumeau erected in 1908.
Hennessy Road, a street in civil lines,
Nagpur
Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
state,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
is also named after him.
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
*
Sir Walter Raleigh in Ireland (1883) via archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, John Pope
1834 births
1891 deaths
19th-century Hong Kong people
British governors of the Bahamas
Colonial Administrative Service officers
Governors of Barbados
Governors of Hong Kong
Irish Conservative Party MPs
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kilkenny constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for King's County constituencies (1801–1922)
Politicians from County Cork
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1886–1892
Hong Kong people of Irish descent