Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (18 May 1788,

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 ...

– 26 January 1845,

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

), was an Irish peer and colonial governor, styled Viscount Westport until 1800 and Earl of Altamont from 1800 to 1809.

Early life

Howe Browne was the son and heir of John Browne, 1st Marquess of Sligo. He was educated at Eton and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes ...

, receiving his MA as Lord Altamont in 1808. During his early years he is reputed to have befriended Thomas De Quincey and

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

. He became

Marquess of Sligo Marquess of Sligo is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for John Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Mount Eagle, of Westport in the County of Mayo (created 10 September 1760), ...

in 1809 on the death of his father and was appointed a Knight of the

Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cr ...

on 11 November 1809. In 1812 Browne was charged with "enticing and persuading (a seaman) to desert (the navy)", a charge punishable with the death sentence at its most extreme. Browne was found guilty and sentenced to a £5,000 fine and four months in

Newgate prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

. In an odd turn of events, during the course of the trial, his mother grew amorous for the Judge Sir William Scott. Following the trial, the two were introduced and later married, despite a 20-year age gap. However, the marriage did not prove to be a happy one and was apparently on the rocks after just one year. Previous to his marriage, he had a relationship with the French

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or othe ...

Pauline 'Cherie' Pacquot. The affair produced one son, whose paternity Howe questioned upon discovering he was not Pauline's only lover. Following his split from Pauline, On 4 March 1816, Browne married the 16-year-old Hester Catherine, daughter of John de Burgh, 13th Earl of Clanricarde. His mother is said to have remarked that "the most remarkable likeness to Pauline that I ever saw". The couple had 14 children between 1817 and 1839. Lady Hester was a cultured woman who patronised the arts and renovated Westport House, the family seat in County Mayo, and its gardens. The family also had a London home at 16 Mansfield Street,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...

. With her husband, she campaigned to abolish slavery, and later to relieve the Irish famine. She was a patron of the Sisters of Mercy.

Governor of Jamaica

The grave of the Marquis of Sligo, Kensal Green Cemetery

In 1834-35 he was appointed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and Vice-Admiral of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

and received with much pomp and circumstance. The local plantation owners assumed that Browne, as a plantation owner himself, would look after their interests. However Browne's ownership of two plantations on the island had come to him via an inheritance upon the death of his grandmother, and as Browne would reveal in short order, did not think much of the institution of slavery being practised on the island. Arriving shortly after the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, Browne attempted to oversee the transition from slavery into a free society. He reformed the legal system, appointing the mixed-race Richard Hill in charge of the stipendiary magistrates during "the Apprenticeship" (a four-year period in which the black population was to be "taught" how to be "proper citizens"). He also set up schools for the black population, two of which he personally financed. These moves almost instantly made Browne a villain to the ruling class in Jamaica. They quickly mocked his past reputation in the local press; "We are fully aware of his Lordship's nautical excursions and frolics before he came to Jamaica". By 1836 the Jamaican Assembly were blocking his attempts to fully emancipate the Black Jamaican population and were able to force him to resign from the Governorship. The first free village of

Sligoville Sligoville (formerly known as Highgate) is a small community approximately 10 miles from Spanish Town in the parish of St. Catherine on the island of Jamaica. History On 10 July 1835, Reverend James Phillippo, an English Baptist minister and a ...

Saint Catherine parish Saint Catherine (capital Spanish Town) is a parish in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parishes because of its many resources. It includes the ...

, Jamaica is named after him. Lord and Lady Sligo are buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. Their grave lies in the centre of the overgrown northwest quadrant of the inner circle.

References

External links

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Lord Sligo in Greece and Jamaica
at Turtle Bunbury {{DEFAULTSORT:Sligo, Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquess of 1788 births 1845 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge 19th-century Anglo-Irish people Howe Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Governors of Jamaica Irish abolitionists Knights of St Patrick Lord-Lieutenants of Mayo Howe Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Politicians from County Mayo Irish slave owners People educated at Eton College