William Fullarton
Encyclopedia
William Fullarton was a Scottish colonial administrator and Member of Parliament.
of William Fullarton of Fullarton, a wealthy Ayrshire
gentleman. After spending some time at the Edinburgh University he was sent to travel on the continent with Patrick Brydone
, at one time the travelling tutor of William Beckford
, and visited Sicily and Malta. Fullarton was at first intended for the diplomatic service, and was attached as secretary to Lord Stormont
's embassy in Paris; but on his accession to the family estates he came to England and secured his election to parliament for the borough of Plympton Erle
in 1779.
, in order to wait for and capture the Acapulco fleet. The regiments were accordingly raised, and Fullarton was gazetted lieutenant-colonel-commandant of the 98th regiment on 29 May 1780.
The outbreak of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
changed the destination of these regiments, which were then ordered to form part of the expedition against the Cape of Good Hope
under the command of Commodore George Johnstone and General William Medows
. This plan also came to nothing, owing to the arrival of the French admiral, the Bailli de Suffren, at the Cape before the English expedition.
The regiments then went on to India, to take their part in the Second Anglo-Mysore War
against Haidar Ali. Mackenzie's regiment disembarked at Calicut, to make a diversion by invading Mysore from the Malabar coast
, while Fullarton's went round to Madras. He remained in the neighbourhood of the capital of the presidency until after the Battle of Porto Novo
, when he was sent south in command of the king's troops, in order if possible to attract the Mysore troops away from the Carnatic
.
In June 1782 Fullarton was gazetted a colonel in the army for the East Indies, with Sir Robert Barker, Norman Macleod, John Floyd, and many others, in order to put an end to the perpetual disputes between the king's and the company's officers, and he co-operated in the winter campaign of 1782–3 in the suppression of the Kollars, the fighting tribes of Madura, and in the capture of Karur and Dindigal. Fullarton led the Madras Army against the rebel Kattaboman, a palaiyakarar of Panchalum Kurucchi, a fortress town in present day Tinnevelly District of Tamil Nadu
. Fullarton's name is associated with the destruction of the fort of the rebel chieftain at Nettkelcheval, again in Tinnevelly District. In May 1783 he succeeded to the general command of all the troops south of the Coleroon, and on 2 June he took Dharapuram
. He then advanced towards General James Stuart
, who was besieging Cuddalore
.
On the news of the fall of that city, he determined to attack Pálghát, which had resisted all the efforts of Mackenzie in the previous year. He had to make his way through a dense forest. When he got through it, he had to storm the city. There, he heard that Tippoo Sultan, who had succeeded Haidar Ali on the throne, was not fulfilling the terms agreed to at the surrender of Mangalore
, and Fullarton accordingly followed up his success by the capture of the fortress of Coimbatore
. At this time, he was imperatively ordered to cease all hostilities by the government of Madras, and a sort of peace was patched up between the company and Tippoo Sahib.
James Mill
praised Fullarton as the first Anglo-Indian commander who looked after his commissariat and organised a system for obtaining intelligence of the enemy's strength and whereabouts. Fullarton returned to England, where he published his polemical tract A View of English Interests in India in 1787. This work, addressed to David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield
(previously Lord Stormont), attacked the policies of the East India Company
.
. He never again undertook service, but raised the 23rd, or Fullarton's dragoons, in 1794, and the 101st, or Fullarton's foot, in 1800, both of the regiments being reduced at the Peace of Amiens in 1802. He continued his parliamentary career, with a low profile, and sat for the Haddington burghs
from 1787 to 1790, for Horsham
from 1793 to 1796, and for Ayrshire
from 1796 to April 1803.
He was appointed first commissioner for the government of the island of Trinidad
. The commission appointed for Trinidad
consisted of Fullarton, Captain Samuel Hood of the Royal Navy, and Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Picton
, who had ruled the island since its capture by Sir Ralph Abercromby in 1797. When Fullarton asked for a return of all the criminal proceedings which had taken place in the island since Picton had been there, Picton resigned in disgust. Fullarton persisted in his inquiries, and the result of them was the sensational trial of Picton for inflicting torture on a Spanish girl named Luisa Calderon, to extort a confession from her. This trial caused a public sensation in England. In February 1806, Picton was found guilty. Fullarton was attacked in print by Edward Alured Draper, as was John Sullivan. Picton applied for a new trial, at which he was acquitted; but before it came on Fullarton died of inflammation of the lungs at Gordon's Hotel, London, on 13 February 1808. He was buried at Isleworth
.
Early life
He was only sonSon
A son is a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents. The female analogue is a daughter.-Social issues regarding sons:In pre-industrial societies and some current countries with agriculture-based economies, a higher value was, and still is, assigned to sons rather than daughters,...
of William Fullarton of Fullarton, a wealthy Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
gentleman. After spending some time at the Edinburgh University he was sent to travel on the continent with Patrick Brydone
Patrick Brydone
Patrick Brydone FRSE FRS FSA FSA was a Scottish traveller and author who served as Comptroller of the Stamp Office.Brydone was born in Coldingham, Berwickshire, where his father Robert Brydon was a Church of Scotland minister....
, at one time the travelling tutor of William Beckford
William Beckford
William Beckford may refer to:* William Beckford , English businessman, often called "Alderman Beckford", father of William Thomas* William Beckford of Somerley , Jamaican slave-owner and writer...
, and visited Sicily and Malta. Fullarton was at first intended for the diplomatic service, and was attached as secretary to Lord Stormont
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield KT, PC , known from 1748 to 1793 as The Viscount Stormont, was a British politician. He succeeded to both the Mansfield and Stormont lines of the Murray family, inheriting two titles and two fortunes.-Life:Mansfield was the son of David Murray, 6th Viscount of...
's embassy in Paris; but on his accession to the family estates he came to England and secured his election to parliament for the borough of Plympton Erle
Plympton Erle (UK Parliament constituency)
Plympton Erle, also spelt Plympton Earle, was a parliamentary borough in Devon. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-1295-1640:-1640-1832:...
in 1779.
Military commander in India
In the following year he did not seek re-election, for he had combined a plan of operations which the government accepted. This plan was that he and his intimate friend, Thomas Humberston Mackenzie, should each raise and equip a regiment on their Scottish estates at their own expense, which should be transported in government ships towards the coast of MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, in order to wait for and capture the Acapulco fleet. The regiments were accordingly raised, and Fullarton was gazetted lieutenant-colonel-commandant of the 98th regiment on 29 May 1780.
The outbreak of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
The Fourth Anglo–Dutch War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, tangentially related to the American Revolutionary War, broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality and conduct of Dutch trade with Britain's enemies in that...
changed the destination of these regiments, which were then ordered to form part of the expedition against the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
under the command of Commodore George Johnstone and General William Medows
William Medows
General Sir William Medows KB was an Englishman and a general in the British Army.-Military career:Sir William was the son of Philip Medows, deputy ranger of Richmond Park, and Lady Frances Pierrepont, daughter of the Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull.He entered the British Army as an ensign in the 50th...
. This plan also came to nothing, owing to the arrival of the French admiral, the Bailli de Suffren, at the Cape before the English expedition.
The regiments then went on to India, to take their part in the Second Anglo-Mysore War
Second Anglo-Mysore War
The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict in Mughal India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the Franco-British conflict raging on account of the American Revolutionary War helped spark Anglo-Mysorean...
against Haidar Ali. Mackenzie's regiment disembarked at Calicut, to make a diversion by invading Mysore from the Malabar coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
, while Fullarton's went round to Madras. He remained in the neighbourhood of the capital of the presidency until after the Battle of Porto Novo
Battle of Porto Novo
The Battle of Porto Novo was fought on 1 July 1781 between forces of the Kingdom of Mysore and Great Britain near the village of Porto Novo on the Indian subcontinent, during the Second Anglo-Mysore War...
, when he was sent south in command of the king's troops, in order if possible to attract the Mysore troops away from the Carnatic
Carnatic region
The Carnatic coast is the region of South India lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Coromandel Coast, in the modern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, south eastern Karnataka and southern Andhra Pradesh....
.
In June 1782 Fullarton was gazetted a colonel in the army for the East Indies, with Sir Robert Barker, Norman Macleod, John Floyd, and many others, in order to put an end to the perpetual disputes between the king's and the company's officers, and he co-operated in the winter campaign of 1782–3 in the suppression of the Kollars, the fighting tribes of Madura, and in the capture of Karur and Dindigal. Fullarton led the Madras Army against the rebel Kattaboman, a palaiyakarar of Panchalum Kurucchi, a fortress town in present day Tinnevelly District of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Fullarton's name is associated with the destruction of the fort of the rebel chieftain at Nettkelcheval, again in Tinnevelly District. In May 1783 he succeeded to the general command of all the troops south of the Coleroon, and on 2 June he took Dharapuram
Dharapuram
Dharapuram is a town and a municipality in the Tirupur district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Dharapuram one of the Oldest Town in Tiruppur District. Dharapuram, then known as Rajarajapuram was the capital of Kongu Nadu under Kongu Cholas. The Amaravathi River flows through the ancient...
. He then advanced towards General James Stuart
James Stuart (d. 1793)
Major-General James Stuart was a British Army officer who served in various colonial wars of the 18th century. His service of the British East India Company was marked by his conflict with Lord Pigot, the governor of Madras; Stuart's arrest of the latter in 1776 resulted in his suspension as...
, who was besieging Cuddalore
Cuddalore
Cuddalore is a fast growing industrial city and headquarter of Cuddalore district in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. Located south of Pondicherry on the coast of Bay of Bengal, Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city's population.Cuddalore is known...
.
On the news of the fall of that city, he determined to attack Pálghát, which had resisted all the efforts of Mackenzie in the previous year. He had to make his way through a dense forest. When he got through it, he had to storm the city. There, he heard that Tippoo Sultan, who had succeeded Haidar Ali on the throne, was not fulfilling the terms agreed to at the surrender of Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
, and Fullarton accordingly followed up his success by the capture of the fortress of Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
. At this time, he was imperatively ordered to cease all hostilities by the government of Madras, and a sort of peace was patched up between the company and Tippoo Sahib.
James Mill
James Mill
James Mill was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He was a founder of classical economics, together with David Ricardo, and the father of influential philosopher of classical liberalism, John Stuart Mill.-Life:Mill was born at Northwater Bridge, in the parish of...
praised Fullarton as the first Anglo-Indian commander who looked after his commissariat and organised a system for obtaining intelligence of the enemy's strength and whereabouts. Fullarton returned to England, where he published his polemical tract A View of English Interests in India in 1787. This work, addressed to David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield KT, PC , known from 1748 to 1793 as The Viscount Stormont, was a British politician. He succeeded to both the Mansfield and Stormont lines of the Murray family, inheriting two titles and two fortunes.-Life:Mansfield was the son of David Murray, 6th Viscount of...
(previously Lord Stormont), attacked the policies of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
.
Later life
He then settled down to a country life, and married Marianne Mackay, daughter of George Mackay, 5th Lord Reay. He took an interest in agricultural questions, and published two memoirs on the state of agriculture in Ayrshire and the advantages of pasture land. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London and Royal Society of EdinburghRoyal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
. He never again undertook service, but raised the 23rd, or Fullarton's dragoons, in 1794, and the 101st, or Fullarton's foot, in 1800, both of the regiments being reduced at the Peace of Amiens in 1802. He continued his parliamentary career, with a low profile, and sat for the Haddington burghs
Haddington Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Haddington Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885...
from 1787 to 1790, for Horsham
Horsham (UK Parliament constituency)
Horsham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
from 1793 to 1796, and for Ayrshire
Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Ayrshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1868, when it was divided into North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire....
from 1796 to April 1803.
He was appointed first commissioner for the government of the island of Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. The commission appointed for Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
consisted of Fullarton, Captain Samuel Hood of the Royal Navy, and Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Picton
Thomas Picton
Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton GCB was a Welsh British Army officer who fought in a number of campaigns for Britain, and rose to the rank of lieutenant general...
, who had ruled the island since its capture by Sir Ralph Abercromby in 1797. When Fullarton asked for a return of all the criminal proceedings which had taken place in the island since Picton had been there, Picton resigned in disgust. Fullarton persisted in his inquiries, and the result of them was the sensational trial of Picton for inflicting torture on a Spanish girl named Luisa Calderon, to extort a confession from her. This trial caused a public sensation in England. In February 1806, Picton was found guilty. Fullarton was attacked in print by Edward Alured Draper, as was John Sullivan. Picton applied for a new trial, at which he was acquitted; but before it came on Fullarton died of inflammation of the lungs at Gordon's Hotel, London, on 13 February 1808. He was buried at Isleworth
Isleworth
Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...
.