1st Earl. British statesman, colonial administrator and diplomat. He was born into old Scottish family and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. Upon graduation, he made an extended tour of Europe, and shortly after his return home in 1764, was appointed a special envoy to Russia, succeeding in negotiating with Catherine II an alliance between England and that country. In February 1768 he married a daughter of the Earl of Bute. He entered the British Parliament to change it soon for the seat in the Irish Parliament. In 1769 he was appointed Chief-Secretary for Ireland. In 1774 he re-entered the British Parliament; and soon was sent out as Governor of the island of Granada. In 1776 he was created Baron Macartney. On June 22nd 1781 he landed at Madras as Governor of that presidency, a post which he occupied for more than four years. He found the resources of the presidency almost exhausted; he borrowed money, raised recruits, established confidence, and repulsed the natives, drove the Dutch from the Coromandel coast, and concluded advantageous treaties with many of the Nabobs. On his arrival in England, Lord Macartney found he had been appointed Governor-General of India. From September 1792 to September 1794, he spent abroad as ambassador to China. The country was then little known, and Lord Macartney's published account of his embassy long continued the standard book of information on Chinese matters. From November 1796 to November 1798 he was Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, then newly captured from the Dutch. He spent his last years in retirement at Chiswick, London; severely suffering from gout. He died, childless, aged 68.
1st Earl. British statesman, colonial administrator and diplomat. He was born into old Scottish family and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. Upon graduation, he made an extended tour of Europe, and shortly after his return home in 1764, was appointed a special envoy to Russia, succeeding in negotiating with Catherine II an alliance between England and that country. In February 1768 he married a daughter of the Earl of Bute. He entered the British Parliament to change it soon for the seat in the Irish Parliament. In 1769 he was appointed Chief-Secretary for Ireland. In 1774 he re-entered the British Parliament; and soon was sent out as Governor of the island of Granada. In 1776 he was created Baron Macartney. On June 22nd 1781 he landed at Madras as Governor of that presidency, a post which he occupied for more than four years. He found the resources of the presidency almost exhausted; he borrowed money, raised recruits, established confidence, and repulsed the natives, drove the Dutch from the Coromandel coast, and concluded advantageous treaties with many of the Nabobs. On his arrival in England, Lord Macartney found he had been appointed Governor-General of India. From September 1792 to September 1794, he spent abroad as ambassador to China. The country was then little known, and Lord Macartney's published account of his embassy long continued the standard book of information on Chinese matters. From November 1796 to November 1798 he was Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, then newly captured from the Dutch. He spent his last years in retirement at Chiswick, London; severely suffering from gout. He died, childless, aged 68.
