Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet (c. 17101776) was a British naval officer who became Commander-in-Chief,

Jamaica Station Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...

Naval career

Burnaby was the son of John Burnaby of Kensington. He entered the navy and was promoted to lieutenant in 1732. In August 1741 he was given command of the bomb-ketch HMS ''Thunder'' and posted to Admiral Vernon's squadron in the West Indies. In 1742 he became captain 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 ...

HMS ''Lichfield''. On his return to England he bought Broughton Hall in Oxfordshire in 1747, was knighted in 1754 and served as

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much olde ...

for 1755. On the outbreak of war with France he was given command of the fourth-rate HMS ''Jersey'' and then the

first-rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying ...

HMS ''Royal Anne'' and in 1762 promoted to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

. In 1763 he was back in the West Indies in command of the fourth-rate HMS ''Dreadnought'' with orders to protect and exploit local trade. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief,

Leeward Islands Station The Leeward Islands Station originally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands was a formation or command of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at English Harbour, Antigua, L ...

in 1763 and Commander-in-Chief,

in 1764. In 1765 he sailed to Belize at the request of the loggers there to protect them from Spanish attacks, drawing up a Civil Law for the colony called

Burnaby's Code Burnaby's Code or Laws, originally entitled Laws and Regulations for the better Government of his Majesty's Subjects in the Bay of Honduras, are an early written codification of the 17th and 18th century constitution and common law of the Baymen ...

, which some claim to be the world's first

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

and that has been signed by two women. He returned to England in 1767 and on 31 October 1767 was created a baronet. He was promoted to Vice-admiral of the White on 20 October 1770 and to Vice-admiral of the Red soon afterward. He died in 1776, and was succeeded by his son Sir William Chaloner Burnaby. He had married twice: firstly Margaret, widow of Tim Donovan of Jamaica (they had the son, William Chaloner, and a daughter, Elizabeth) and secondly Grace, daughter of Drewry Ottley with whom he had six children, including Edward, who followed his father into the Royal Navy. His daughter Charlotte married the MP

Josias Du Pré Porcher Josias Du Pré Porcher (''ca.'' 1761 – 4 May 1820) was an English politician. After following his uncle into the service of the British East India Company, he became wealthy and returned to England, although he was frustrated in an attempt to o ...

. His six times great-grandson is actor

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnaby, William 1710s births 1776 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Date of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire