Sir Lionel Smith, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
General Sir Lionel Smith, 1st Baronet GCB
GCH
(9 October 1778 – 2 January 1842) was a British
diplomat, colonial administrator, and soldier.
His mother was noted writer and feminist Charlotte Turner Smith
.
Smith was Governor of Tobago in 1833 and then Governor of Barbados, Viceroy
of the colony of Winward Islands
and Grenada from 1833 to 1836.
He was awarded a Baronetcy
on 19 July 1838 for his service as Governor of Jamaica 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 the Proclamation of Freedom to a crowd of 8,000 at the Celebration of Emancipation
in the Square of Spanish Town
, the then capital of Jamaica. The day has since been a day of celebration on Jamaica and a public holiday since 1893.
He left Jamaica in 1839 having run into difficulties with the passing of the Prisons Act
and dissolving Jamaica's Assembly
.
Lionel Town, Clarendon
, Jamaica is named after the Governor.
He was 5th Governor of Mauritius from 16 Jul 1840 to 2 Jan 1842.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
GCH
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...
(9 October 1778 – 2 January 1842) was a British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
diplomat, colonial administrator, and soldier.
His mother was noted writer and feminist Charlotte Turner Smith
Charlotte Turner Smith
Charlotte Turner Smith was an English Romantic poet and novelist. She initiated a revival of the English sonnet, helped establish the conventions of Gothic fiction, and wrote political novels of sensibility....
.
Smith was Governor of Tobago in 1833 and then Governor of Barbados, Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of the colony of Winward Islands
Windward Islands (Society Islands)
The Windward Islands are the eastern group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean.-Geography:...
and Grenada from 1833 to 1836.
He was awarded a Baronetcy
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
on 19 July 1838 for his service as Governor of Jamaica from 1836 to 1839.
During his governorship, The United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
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 the Proclamation of Freedom to a crowd of 8,000 at the Celebration of Emancipation
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
in the Square of Spanish Town
Spanish Town
Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...
, the then capital of Jamaica. The day has since been a day of celebration on Jamaica and a public holiday since 1893.
He left Jamaica in 1839 having run into difficulties with the passing of the Prisons Act
West Indian Prisons Act 1838
The West Indian Prisons Act 1838 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, signed into law on August 4, 1838.The Act empowered the Queen in Council and the governor and council of any colony to make rules for the government of the prisons of each colony in the West Indies. These were to be...
and dissolving Jamaica's Assembly
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
.
Lionel Town, Clarendon
Clarendon Parish, Jamaica
Clarendon is a parish in Jamaica. It is located on the south of the island, roughly half-way between the island's eastern and western ends...
, Jamaica is named after the Governor.
He was 5th Governor of Mauritius from 16 Jul 1840 to 2 Jan 1842.