George James Bruere (1720/21 – 10 September 1780) was the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Governor of Bermuda from 1764 until his death. Of all Bermuda's governors since 1612, his term of office was the longest. He had a difficult time during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and is thought to have died of

stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...

caused by the interplay of Bermudians and Continental rebels.

Life

Born about 1721, on 17 July 1743 Bruere married Elizabeth Neale, daughter of Richard Neale by his marriage to Anne Pendock, in St Mary's Church,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, England. After an early career as a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, Bruere was appointed Governor of Bermuda in 1764.Michael J. Jarvis, ''In the eye of all trade: Bermuda, Bermudians, and the Maritime Atlantic World, 1680–1783'' (2010), p. 390: "Plate 23 Portrait of Governor George James Bruere, attributed to John Russell, RA, n.d. A former British Army officer, Bruere served as Bermuda's governor between 1764 and 1780." Previously serving in the army with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he arrived in Bermuda on the ''Prince of Wales'' in August 1764, bringing with him his wife and nine children.Keith Archibald Forbes
Bermuda's History from 1700 to 1799
at bermuda-online.org, accessed 25 February 2011 He has been described as "a benign, simple and kindly man with a large family" and by the historian Sir John William Kaye as "a staunch royalist... loyal to the core". John William Kaye, ''The life and correspondence of Henry St George Tucker'' (1854)
pp. 1–2
/ref> However, Kaye reports further that -

Governorship of Bermuda

On taking up his appointment as governor, Bruere was taken aback by the way slaves were treated in the Bermuda islands. He made a speech to the House of Assembly of Bermuda in 1766 in which he proposed the need for stricter controls, including "...haveing the Doors lock'd where they are, under the inspection of a white Person". Familiar with the control of slaves in other colonies, he advised the Bermudians:Virginia Bernhard, ''Slaves and slaveholders in Bermuda, 1616–1782'' (1999)
p. 235
/ref> On 21 March 1767, the House of Assembly resolved to appoint a Committee consisting of its

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

and eleven other members to address His Majesty the King on "the tyranny and oppression of the Governor" if they deemed it necessary during the House's adjournment. Bruere was interested in agriculture, and he and his wife bought of land to the north of St George's to grow grapes, hoping to produce the equivalent of Madeira.

American War of Independence

On 20 August 1774, Bruere wrote to the Colonial Secretary, the Earl of Dartmouth, that some Bermudians were showing sympathy for the rebellion on the North American mainland: In 1775, after the

Battle of Lexington The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, ...

, the Continental Congress announced a trade embargo against British colonies remaining loyal to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

. Bermuda offered to supply the Patriots with salt, but they were unimpressed and asked for

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

. Meanwhile, in June 1775 Bruere lost his son John, who was killed fighting on the British side at the Battle of Bunker Hill. On 14 August, to the fury of Bruere, Bermudians sympathetic to the Revolution stole the island's supply of gunpowder from the Powder Magazine in St George's and shipped it to the rebels. Trade with Bermuda developed, for which Bruere was not blamed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.W. Kerr, 'Bermuda and the American Revolution' in ''Bermuda Historical Quarterly'', vol. XXV, No. 1 (1968), p. 47 This was despite the implication of his Bermudian relatives in the act of treason. The President of the Governor's Council, and occasional acting governor, was Henry Tucker, the husband of Bruere's daughter, Frances. Henry's father, a Colonel of the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, as well as Henry's brother, St. George Tucker, were suspected of involvement in organising the gunpowder theft. Colonel Henry Tucker had been one of the Bermudian delegates to the Continental Congress, and had met with

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, with whom he is believed to have orchestrated the gunpowder theft. St. George had moved to Virginia to study law in 1772. He later moving to

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, which had been colonised from Bermuda in 1670 by

William Sayle Captain William Sayle (c. 1590–1671) was a prominent British landholder who was Governor of Bermuda in 1643 and again in 1658. As an Independent in religion and politics, and an adherent of Oliver Cromwell, he was dissatisfied with life in Ber ...

(and which still had a sizeable and important enclave of Bermudians). He served during the American War of Independence as a colonel in the Virginia Militia. Another of Henry's brothers,

Thomas Tudor Tucker Thomas Tudor Tucker (June 25, 1745May 2, 1828) was a Bermuda-born American physician and politician representing Charleston, South Carolina. He was elected from South Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the U.S. House. He later w ...

, had emigrated to the continent before the war, and was serving in the rebel administration (he later became the longest serving

Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage produc ...

, as well as serving as a US Congressman and Senator). It has been suggested that George Washington (possibly unaware of the plotting of Franklin and Colonel Tucker) wrote the letter addressed to the people of Bermuda, which had sparked the treason, at the suggestion of Thomas, and that it had been delivered into the hands of his relatives in Bermuda. The theft, during which a visiting French officer was murdered and buried on the spot, was organised by persons highly-enough placed that no one was ever prosecuted. The letter from Washington had read: In 1776, in the course of the

, Admiral Lord Howe sent two

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

sloops of war, HMS ''Nautilus'' and ''

Galatea Galatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white". Galatea, Galathea or Gallathea may refer to: In mythology * Galatea (Greek myth), three different mythological figures In the arts * ''Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'', cantata by H ...

'', to Bermuda with the task of stopping the trade between Bermuda and the Colonies in rebellion. In 1777, American forces (reportedly Bermudian expatriates, familiar with local waters) briefly seized control of the fort and battery near Wreck Hill on Bermuda's Somerset Island, a strategic position for the protection of the West End Channel, one of the few passages through the ring of reefs. The Bermudian militia men retreated, and the Americans spiked the fort's guns and destroyed its walls, then withdrew before local forces could retaliate. Between 1778 and 1780, Bruere commissioned several

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s, which were fitted out in Bermuda, "to cruise against the French, Spanish, and Americans". During the early years of the war, however, when rebel sympathy was strongest, Bermudians reportedly built large numbers of

Bermuda sloop The Bermuda sloop is a historical type of fore-and-aft rigged single-masted sailing vessel developed on the islands of Bermuda in the 17th century. Such vessels originally had gaff rigs with quadrilateral sails, but evolved to use the Bermuda ri ...

s for sale to the Americans, via neutral ports, for use as privateers.

Death

Exhausted by his last years in office, Bruere became ill in July 1780, probably a result of

chronic stress Chronic stress is the physiological or psychological response induced by a long-term internal or external stressor. The stressor, either physically present or recollected, will produce the same effect and trigger a chronic stress response. There i ...

, and he died in St George's on 10 September 1780, at the age of fifty-nine. He was later said by the historian Henry Wilkinson to be "the victim in the eyes of his family of five years of incessant strain and foul play", in particular caused by the dealings of the islanders with the rebel colonists. Perhaps because he was said to have died of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

, he was buried under the floor of St Peter's Church, St George's. Sir John William Kaye noted that Bruere was succeeded as governor by his son, George Bruere (1744–1786), who as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the

18th Regiment of Dragoons 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

had been wounded at Bunker Hill, and who in 1777 had married Martha Louisa Fatio, then aged fourteen. The younger Bruere was Lieutenant Governor of the Bermudas from 1780 to 1781.J. L. Bell,
George James Bruere
' at Boston 1775 web site A surviving

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

of Bruere ''(pictured)'' is attributed to John Russell, RA and now hangs in the Tucker House Museum (located in the former home of President Henry Tucker), St. George's. In 2008, Bruere's skeleton was unexpectedly found under the floorboards of St Peter's Church when archaeologists from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

were searching for evidence of the foundations of the original church on the site, built in 1612. His wooden coffin had crumbled away, but a copper plate supposed to be from the top of the coffin was found in the skeleton's chest cavity, bearing the inscription "His Excellency / George James Bruere ESQr / Governor of Bermuda / And Lieut. Colol. In His/ Majestys Service OB / The 10 September 1780/ AE 59 Years". The

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the church commented that he had no record of the funeral. From the bones, it was estimated that Bruere was , in height, which was about the average for the 18th century.

Children

Bruere had at least nine children: William; George (''ca.'' 1744–1786); John (killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775); Frederick; Elizabeth; Pendock; Frances (born 18 May 1749, Bermuda, died 20 November 1813, Cheltenham); Charlotte (born 1762, at Alderston, East Lothian, died 22 February 1827); and James (1765–1838). Bruere's son William Bruere became secretary to the Government of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and a member of the Council of India. He married Anne Sadleir, and their daughter Nancy Sadleir Bruere married in 1846

William Otter William Otter (23 October 1768 – 20 August 1840) was the first Principal of King's College, London, who later served as Bishop of Chichester. Early life William Otter was born at Cuckney, Nottinghamshire on 23 October 1768, the son of Do ...

, later Principal of King's College London and

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...

.A. E. Lawson Lowe, ''Family of Otter of Welham'' (1880)

References