Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Thomas Frankland, 5th Baronet (26 June 1718 – 21 November 1784) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer, politician and slave trader. He was the second son of

Henry Frankland Henry Frankland (1690–1738) was an administrator of the British East India Company. Frankland served as President of Bengal in the eighteenth century. He was a younger son of Sir Thomas Frankland, 2nd Baronet and Elizabeth Russell (through w ...

and Mary Cross. Frankland was born in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

(probably India), his father being a member of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and briefly

Governor of Bengal In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hooghly district, Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, Governors and presidents were appointed to look after co ...

Naval career

He entered the navy in 1731, serving in HMS ''York'' under Capt. Philip Vanbrugh, HMS ''Scarborough'', and HMS ''Oxford'' before becoming a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1737. On 23 February 1738, he was sent to HMS ''Chatham'', again under Capt. Vanbrugh, where he served for two years. He was briefly transferred to HMS ''Cumberland'' in March 1740 before promotion to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 15 July 1740 aboard HMS ''Rose''. He was promptly assigned to carry the newly appointed

Governor of the Bahamas This is a list of governors of the Bahamas. The first English settlement in the Bahamas was on Eleuthera. In 1670, the king granted the Bahamas to the lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina, but the islands were left to themselves. The lo ...

, John Tinker, to the islands, and remained in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

until 1746, fighting Spanish

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s and taking a number of prizes. He then returned home and was given command of HMS ''Dragon'' and sent to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. On 31 July 1755, he was given command of the

Leeward Islands Station The Leeward Islands Station originally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands was a formation or command of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at English Harbour, Antigua, ...

as a

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

, arriving aboard HMS ''Winchester'' in October. Able but stubborn and of a difficult temper, he was involved in quarrels with his predecessor,

Thomas Pye Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Thomas Pye ( – 26 December 1785) was a Royal Navy officer who served during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the American War of Independence. He was briefly Member of Parliament ...

, and the local authorities in

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

. He was promoted

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

while there, but refusing to accede to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

's wish to control some of the patronage at his disposal (declaring in a letter to the secretary "I have friends of my own to provide for") fell into immediate disfavour with his superiors. On 5 May 1757, he was replaced by Commodore John Moore, and returned to England in October, never to return to active duty. His promotions, however, continued in the usual manner as he gained seniority, culminating in the rank of Admiral of the White. During his stay in the West Indies he was actively involved in the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

.Simon David Smith.
Slavery, Family, and Gentry Capitalism in the British Atlantic: The World of the Lascelles, 1648-1834
', Cambridge University Press, 2006. pp. 113-114, 122-125. He had entered Parliament for the family's borough of

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England; it is known for its racecourse and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological finds indicate there was a settlement in Thirsk aro ...

in 1747, and held the seat until 1780, when he sought the governorship of Greenwich Hospital. Unsuccessful, he returned as member for Thirsk in April 1784, but died in November of that year. He had inherited the baronetcy from his older brother in 1768. A monument to his memory was erected in

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of th ...

sculpted by

John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several yea ...

. The

Frankland Islands Frankland Group is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1353 km northwest of Brisbane. The five continental islands of the Frankland Group are High Island, Normanby Island, Mabel Island, Round Island and Russell Island, which lie a ...

off Queensland were named after him.

Family

He married Sarah Rhett (of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, d. 1808) in May 1743 and had a large number of children, of whom nine survived him: *

Sir Thomas Frankland, 6th Baronet Sir Thomas Frankland, 6th Baronet (September 1750 – 4 January 1831) was an English country landowner of Thirkleby, Yorkshire and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two sessions between 1774 and 1801. He was an eminent botanist from ...

(1750–1831) *Roger Frankland (d. 1826),

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of Wells, married in 1792 Catherine Colville, daughter of John Colville, 8th Lord Colville of Culross and had issue *Mary Frankland, married Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet *Anne Frankland (d. 1842), married first John Lewis (by whom she bore

Thomas Frankland Lewis Sir Thomas Frankland Lewis, 1st Baronet (14 May 1780 – 22 January 1855) was a British Poor Law Commissioner and moderate Tory (later Peelite) MP. Early life Lewis was the son of John Lewis and Anne Frankland, daughter of Sir Thomas Frankl ...

), second Rev. Robert Hare *Dinah Frankland, married William Bowles, by whom she had issue Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Bowles *Catharine Frankland, married Thomas Whinyates,For more on Thomas Whinyates see: once captain of *Charlotte Frankland, married Robert Nicholas M.P. *Grace Frankland (d. 1801), married Matthew Gosset (d. 6 Sept 1842) * William Frankland (d. 10 June 1816), no issue

References

Other sources

* A. W. H. Pearsall, 'Frankland, Sir Thomas, fifth baronet (1718–1784)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 16 Sept 2006

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankland, Thomas, Sir, 5th Baronet 1718 births 1784 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Royal Navy admirals 18th-century British slave traders British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1784–1790