Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet (c. 17101776) was a British naval officer who became Commander-in-Chief,
Jamaica Station.
Naval career
Burnaby was the son of John Burnaby of Kensington. He entered the navy and was promoted to lieutenant in 1732. In August 1741 he was given command of the bomb-ketch
HMS ''Thunder'' and posted to
Admiral Vernon's squadron in the West Indies. In 1742 he became captain of the
fourth-rate
In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...
HMS ''Lichfield''.
On his return to England he bought Broughton Hall in Oxfordshire in 1747, was knighted in 1754 and served as
High Sheriff of Oxfordshire
The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'.
The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...
for 1755.
[
On the outbreak of war with France he was given command of the fourth-rate HMS ''Jersey'' and then the ]first-rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...
HMS ''Royal Anne'' and in 1762 promoted to 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 ...
. In 1763 he was back in the West Indies in command of the fourth-rate HMS ''Dreadnought'' with orders to protect and exploit local trade. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, 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, ...
in 1763 and Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station in 1764. In 1765 he sailed to Belize at the request of the loggers there to protect them from Spanish attacks, drawing up a Civil Law for the colony called Burnaby's Code, which some claim to be the world's first constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
and that has been signed by two women. He returned to England in 1767 and on 31 October 1767 was created a baronet. He was promoted to Vice-admiral of the White on 20 October 1770 and to Vice-admiral of the Red soon afterward.
He died in 1776, and was succeeded by his son Sir William Chaloner Burnaby. He had married twice: firstly Margaret, widow of Tim Donovan of Jamaica (they had the son, William Chaloner, and a daughter, Elizabeth) and secondly Grace, daughter of Drewry Ottley with whom he had six children, including Edward, who followed his father into the Royal Navy.[ His daughter Charlotte married the MP ]Josias Porcher
Josias Du Pré Porcher (''ca.'' 1761 – 4 May 1820) was an English politician. After following his uncle into the service of the British East India Company, he became wealthy and returned to England, although he was frustrated in an attempt to o ...
.
His six times great-grandson is actor Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His accolades include two National Board of Review Awards, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.
...
.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnaby, William
1710s births
1776 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
Date of birth unknown
Year of birth uncertain
Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War
High sheriffs of Oxfordshire