Lord Archibald Hamilton of Riccarton and Pardovan (1673 – 5 April 1754) was a British officer of the

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 Fr ...

, and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

between 1708 and 1747. In the 1690s, he was active in the English Channel pursuing French

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, including ''Tyger'' out of St Malo. He commanded the third-rate at the

Battle of Vigo Bay The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande (; ), was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish ...

in October 1702 and then commanded the

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the thi ...

at the Battle of Málaga in August 1704 during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. He was a controversial

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

. He then joined the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

, ultimately serving as Senior Naval Lord.

Naval career

Hamilton was baptized on 17 February 1673, the youngest son of William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton and

Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton (6 January 1632 – 17 October 1716) was a Scottish peeress. The daughter of Sir James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton and 3rd Marquess of Hamilton, Scottish General and premier peer of the realm, and La ...

, Hamilton studied at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and was then sent to study under the

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The post ...

John Flamsteed John Flamsteed (19 August 1646 – 31 December 1719) was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, ''Catalogus Britannicus'', and a star atlas called '' Atlas C ...

, in London before taking a commission in the

aboard the

. Promoted to

post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...

on 11 September 1693, he was given command of the

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

in 1694 and of the

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

in 1697. In December 1695 he was active in the English Channel pursuing French

s, including ''Tyger'' out of St Malo, an encounter commemorated in a painting by

Willem van de Velde the Younger Willem van de Velde the Younger (18 December 1633 (baptised)6 April 1707) was a Dutch marine painter, the son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, who also specialised in maritime art. His brother, Adriaen van de Velde, was a landscape painter. ...

. Hamilton went on to take command of the third-rate in 1698, of the third-rate in 1699 and of the third-rate in 1702. After that he became captain of the third-rate in September 1702 and commanded her at the

in October 1702 during the

. He took command of the third-rate in 1704 and commanded her at the Battle of Málaga in August 1704. He became captain of the

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer gun ...

in 1706.

Political career

After his naval career, Hamilton saw a place in parliament as a way of finding favour with the Government and hopefully a lucrative office. At the 1708 general election, Hamilton stood for Parliament at Great Marlow, and also at the family seat of

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

. He was defeated at Marlow, but was returned in a hard-fought contest as

Member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Lanarkshire. He opposed the Treason Act of 1709, which altered Scottish law in direct contravention of the safeguards included in the Union, but his opposition was short lived as he sought payment for arrears with his pension. He supported the ministry in the vote for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell and with the support of the Duke of Marlborough was appointed Governor of Jamaica in May 1710. Hamilton did not stand at the 1710 general election and took up his post in Jamaica in 1711. He played a controversial role in setting up some of the founders of the infamous Bahamanian pirate gang, including

Henry Jennings Henry Jennings (died possibly 1745) was an 18th-century English privateer from the colony of Bermuda, who served primarily during the War of the Spanish Succession and later served as leader of the pirate haven or "republic" of New Providence. ...

, Francis Fernando, and Leigh Ashworth, for which he was arrested and brought back to England in 1716 by the Royal Navy. He was acquitted by a board of Trade inquiry and released. Hamilton was returned as MP for Lanarkshire at a by-election on 23 December 1718. He retained his seat at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Th ...

, with the help of his 19-year-old nephew, the 5th Duke of Hamilton, a Tory who was actually on the opposing side politically. He was returned again unopposed for Lanarkshire at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trig ...

and joined the

under the Walpole–Townshend ministry in May 1729. He was advanced to First Naval Lord in June 1733Rodger, pp. 51–52 He did not stand at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

, but was returned as MP for

Queenborough Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England. Queenborough is south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to the Swale where it joins the R ...

at a by-election on 22 February 1735. After he failed to support a bill for the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

's allowance, he was forced to stand down as First Naval Lord in March 1738. However he was appointed cofferer and surveyor general to the Prince of Wales in 1738. He did not stand at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

, but was returned as MP for Dartmouth at a by election on 27 March 1742. He rejoined to Board, as Senior Naval Lord again, in March 1742 under the Carteret ministry and remained on the Board until the Broad Bottom ministry fell in February 1746. He served as Governor of Greenwich Hospital from 1746 until his death. He kept his post under the Prince of Wales until 1747, when he was turned out for refusing to follow him into opposition. He gratefully accepted a pension of £1,200 a year offered by the Prince. For much of his life, Hamilton lived at Park Place at Remenham in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

. He died on 5 April 1754.

Family

Hamilton's first wife was Anne Cary (née Lucas) (a daughter of

Charles Lucas, 2nd Baron Lucas Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

and mother of Lucius Cary, 6th Viscount Falkland). She died in 1709 and Hamilton then married Lady Anne Hamilton around 1714 (widow of Sir Francis Hamilton, 3rd Baronet Hamilton of Castle Hamilton, Killeshandra, Cavan, Ireland). She died in 1719 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Later that year, he married Lady Jane Hamilton (a daughter of the 6th Earl of Abercorn). Hamilton and his third wife later had six children: * Charles (?–1751) Married Mary Dufresne. * Elizabeth (1720–1800), married Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick (10 October 1719 6 July 1773) * Frederic (1728–1811), religious minister. Married 11 June 1757 Rachel Daniel. * Archibald (accidentally drowned, 1744) * William Hamilton (1730–1803), diplomat. Married 25 January 1758 Catherine Barlow (died 1783). Married 6 September 1795 Emma Hart (died 1815). *

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * Jane (1915 film), ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * Jane (2016 film), ''Jane'' (20 ...

(19 August 1726 – 13 November 1771), married 24 July 1753 Charles Schaw later Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Hamilton biography
a
Republic of Pirates
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Lord Archibald 1673 births 1754 deaths British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 Governors of Jamaica Archibald Hamilton Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dartmouth Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies People from Remenham Rectors of the University of Glasgow Younger sons of dukes Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies People involved in anti-piracy efforts Piracy Lords of the Admiralty