Henry Elliot
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry George Elliot (1817–1907) was a British diplomat. He was the second son of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto
. He was most noted for his period as ambassador at Constantinople
, and his participation in the 1876-77 Constantinople Conference
. Elliot took a pro-Turkish line despite the ‘Bulgarian atrocities
’. He argued in a dispatch he made on 4 September 1876 "that British interests in preventing change in the Turkish empire were 'not affected by the question whether it was 10,000 or 20,000 persons who perished in the suppression'. As a result of the unpopularity in Britain of his pragmatism in the face of atrocities he was relocated to Vienna
in 1877. He died at home (Ardington House
near Wantage
) in 1907.
and then Trinity College, Cambridge
. He did not take a degree.
then in 1853 to Vienna and then in 1858 he was appointed Minister at Copenhagen
.
, former British Ambassador to the US. Meyer examined the possibility of an ethical foreign policy. The programme argued that Elliot supported Turkey because it acted as a bulwark between Russia and the UK's interests in the middle-east and India. Elliot's critics accused him of turning "native" but he argued, and the programme lent support to this view, that there were capital considerations they had not taken into account.
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto GCB, PC , styled as Viscount Melgund between 1813 and 1814, was a British diplomat and Whig politician.-Background and education:...
. He was most noted for his period as ambassador at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, and his participation in the 1876-77 Constantinople Conference
Constantinople Conference
The 1876–1877 Constantinople Conference of the Great Powers was held in Constantinople from 23 December 1876 until 20 January 1877...
. Elliot took a pro-Turkish line despite the ‘Bulgarian atrocities
April Uprising
The April Uprising was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876, which indirectly resulted in the re-establishment of Bulgaria as an autonomous nation in 1878...
’. He argued in a dispatch he made on 4 September 1876 "that British interests in preventing change in the Turkish empire were 'not affected by the question whether it was 10,000 or 20,000 persons who perished in the suppression'. As a result of the unpopularity in Britain of his pragmatism in the face of atrocities he was relocated to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1877. He died at home (Ardington House
Ardington
Ardington is a village and civil parish about east of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. Ardington was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire....
near Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
) in 1907.
Education
Elliot was educated at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and then Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He did not take a degree.
Early employment
Elliot's first proper employment was to work as the aide-de-camp and private secretary to Sir John Franklin in Tasmania. He worked there from 1836 to 1839. In 1840 he worked at the Foreign Office a précis writer for Lord Palmerston at the Foreign Office.Diplomatic service
In 1841 Elliot entered the diplomatic service. His first posting was as an attaché at St Petersburg. This was followed first, in 1848 by a position as a secretary to the legation at The HagueThe Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
then in 1853 to Vienna and then in 1858 he was appointed Minister at Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
Italy
In 1859 he was appointed Minister in Naples. This was followed in 1863 by an appointed as Minister to the King of Italy. This lasted till 1867.Matthew's judgement on Elliot
H. C. G. Matthews, in the concluding paragraph of Elliot's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, notes that:- To have annoyed both Salisbury and GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
was unusual. Elliot, in fact, represented the accepted Foreign Office view of his day as to the need to maintain the Porte. His illiberal statements of 1876–7 should not mask his overall competence in maintaining whiggish objectives of liberal constitutionalism, at least in western Europe.
Meyer's judgement on Elliot
Elliot's role as Ambassador to Constantinople was a central theme in a book and BBC Four TV programme aired 22 February 2010 written and presented by Sir Christopher MeyerChristopher Meyer
Sir Christopher John Rome Meyer, KCMG is a former British Ambassador to the United States , former Ambassador to Germany and the former chairman of the Press Complaints Commission...
, former British Ambassador to the US. Meyer examined the possibility of an ethical foreign policy. The programme argued that Elliot supported Turkey because it acted as a bulwark between Russia and the UK's interests in the middle-east and India. Elliot's critics accused him of turning "native" but he argued, and the programme lent support to this view, that there were capital considerations they had not taken into account.