General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Lionel Smith, 1st Baronet (9 October 1778 – 2 January 1842) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

diplomat, colonial administrator, and soldier.

Life

His mother was noted writer and feminist Charlotte Smith. His father was Benjamin Smith, and his paternal grandfather was Richard Smith, a wealthy merchant and enslaver. In 1821, General Smith, then serving in the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. It was established in 1668 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferr ...

, commanded a punitive campaign against the Bani Bu Ali tribe in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. Lionel Smith was Governor of Tobago in 1833 and then Governor of Barbados (1833–1836),

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

of the colony of

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

(which then included Grenada) from 1833 to 1836. He was awarded a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

cy on 19 July 1838 for his service as

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

from 1836 to 1839. During his governorship, the United Kingdom passed the Abolition Act that stated that slavery "shall be and is hereby utterly abolished and unlawful". On 1 August 1838, Governor Sir Lionel read th
Proclamation of Freedom
to a crowd of 8,000 at the celebration of

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

in the Square of

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

, the then capital of Jamaica. The day has been a Jamaican celebration and public holiday since 1893. He was made Colonel of the 96th Regiment of Foot from 1832 to 1834 and later of the 40th Regiment of Foot from 1837 for life. He left Jamaica in 1839, having run into difficulties with the passing of the Prisons Act and dissolving Jamaica's Assembly. Lionel Town, Clarendon is named after the Governor. He was the fifth Governor of Mauritius from 16 July 1840 to 2 January 1842.

Family

Smith was twice married: #With his first wife, Ellen Marianne (d. 1814), daughter of Thomas Galway of Killery, County Kerry, he had two daughters, Ellen Maria and Mary Anne. #On 20 November 1819 he married Isabella Curwen, youngest daughter of Eldred Curwen Pottinger of Mount Pottinger, County Down, and sister of Sir Henry Pottinger. She died three days after her husband, leaving four children, Lionel Eldred, Augusta, Isabella, and Charlotte. Isabella married George Floyd Duckett in 1845.

References

External links

''The Road to Freedom''
Jamaica Gleaner
''Emancipation''
in the Jamaica Archives
''Prorogation of the Jamaica Assembly''
History of Europe by Archibald Alison ;Attribution , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lionel, 1st Baronet 1778 births 1842 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army generals Governors of the Windward Islands Governors of Barbados Governors of Jamaica Governors of British Tobago Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath