Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin, PC ( – 16 January 1692), was an Irish military officer, peer and colonial administrator who served as the

governor of Tangier This is a list of governors of Tangier during the period when it was under European control. See also * Timeline of Tangier *English Tangier *Tangier {{Tangier Tangier Tangier Tangier Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a ...

from 1675 to 1680 and the

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 ...

from 1690 until his death in office in 1692. O'Brien is best known for his long career in the service of the

English Crown This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sa ...

, serving as a colonial governor in England's overseas possessions in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. Born in

Doneraile Doneraile (), historically Dunerayl, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is on the R581 regional road east of the N20 road, which runs from Limerick to Cork. It is about north of Mallow town. It is on the River Awbeg, a branch of the ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

to the 1st Earl of Inchiquin, O'Brien was raised 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 ...

growing up. After being briefly imprisoned during the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641–1653 Irish Confed ...

, O'Brien eventually left England to enlist in the service of the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army (french: Armée Royale Française) was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon Dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude ...

in 1659 alongside his father. While on board a French fleet in 1660, he was captured by

Ottoman corsairs The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe as the ...

and imprisoned for a year in North Africa before being released and returning to England. In 1671, O'Brien joined the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execu ...

, and was appointed as the

in 1674. However, O'Brien's governorship was poor and in 1680 he was recalled. After

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

succeeded to the

English throne The Throne of England is the throne of the Monarch of England. "Throne of England" also refers metonymically to the office of monarch, and monarchy itself.Gordon, Delahay. (1760) ''A General History of the Lives, Trials, and Executions of All th ...

in 1685, O'Brien was removed from the Privy Council. During the 1688

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

, he supported the

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. O ...

s and fought an unsuccessful campaign against Jacobite forces in

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

before moving to London. O'Brien was appointed as the governor 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 ...

in 1689, assuming the office a year later. During his tenure as governor, O'Brien was frequently at odds with the

Jamaican assembly The House of Assembly was the legislature of the British colony of Jamaica. It held its first meeting on 20 January 1664 at Spanish Town. Cundall, Frank. (1915''Historic Jamaica''.London: Institute of Jamaica. p. 15. As a result of the Morant Ba ...

and

governor's council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...

over the colony's finances, in addition to amassing a large personal fortune worth 15,000 pounds. He also reestablished the fledgling judiciary of Jamaica and suppressed a

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freed ...

before dying at

Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label= Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. T ...

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

in 1692.

Early life

William O'Brien was born at the town of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. His father was

Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin Murrough MacDermod O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin (September 1614 – 9 September 1673), was an Irish nobleman and soldier, who came from one of the most powerful families in Munster. Known as "''Murchadh na dTóiteán''" ("Murrough the Burner" ...

, a

Royal Irish Army Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

officer and nobleman. O'Brien's mother was Elizabeth St Leger, the daughter of

Lord President of Munster The post of Lord President of Munster was the most important office in the English government of the Irish province of Munster from its introduction in the Elizabethan era for a century, to 1672, a period including the Desmond Rebellions in Munste ...

Sir William St Leger. Growing up, O'Brien was raised in

at the home of Sir Philip Perceval, a friend of his father, where he formed a friendship with Perceval's eldest son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

. In 1648, O'Brien was briefly imprisoned by the Parliamentarian government in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

after his father defected to the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

side and took

Lord Broghill Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery (25 April 1621 – 16 October 1679), styled Lord Broghill from 1628 to 1660, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England at various times between 1654 and 1679. Boyle fough ...

's children as

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

s in the ongoing

. Four years later in 1652, O'Brien paid a visit to Ireland and met the

Lord Deputy The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...

Henry Cromwell Henry Cromwell (20 January 1628 – 23 March 1674) was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier, and an important figure in the Parliamentarian regime in Ireland. Biography Early life Henry Cromwell – the fourth son of ...

, who noted that he had made the trip without prior authorisation from the Parliamentarian government in England. After the conflict ended in a Royalist defeat, O'Brien enlisted alongside his father in the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

in 1659. On 20 February 1660, the two were captured by

while on board a

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

fleet destined for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. While his father was soon freed after O'Brien's mother and the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

intervened, O'Brien was held hostage for a year before being freed and returning to England after King Charles II paid his ransom.

Tangier and Ireland

In 1671, O'Brien was appointed as a member of the

. Three years later, he was chosen to serve as the

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 ...

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

and was also appointed as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in the

English Army The ...

Tangier Regiment The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Ar ...

. While he was governor, O'Brien "displayed little military capability"; in 1675, he dispatched a large force from the

Tangier Garrison The Tangier Garrison was the land force which oversaw the defence of English Tangier between 1661 and 1684 when it was evacuated. It was part of the English Army, the de facto standing army that Charles II established following the Restoration ...

to launch a

cattle raid Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...

against the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinc ...

, which led to the English suffering 150 casualties. O'Brien was recalled to England and replaced as governor by Sir Palmes Fairborne in 1680 after failing to prevent the outer fortifications of English Tangier from being overrun by hostile local forces. As noted by historian W. W. Webb, he had frequently been absent from Tangier after the disastrous cattle raid in 1675. After returning to England, O'Brien presented King Charles II with a pair of North African

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...

es in order to placate him. After

succeeded to the

in 1685, O'Brien was removed from his position on the Irish Privy Council. During the

of 1688, O'Brien supported the

side. In the first months of 1689, O'Brien fought in

alongside the Protestant

Boyle family Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

(to whom he was related) against Irish Jacobite soldiers commanded by

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell PC (c. 1630 – 14 August 1691) was an Irish politician, courtier and soldier. Talbot's early career was spent as a cavalryman in the Irish Confederate Wars. Following a period on the Continent, he joined ...

during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

. However, O'Brien's Williamite troops were soon defeated by the Jacobite general

Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel Justin McCarthy, 1st Viscount Mountcashel, PC (Ire) ( – 1694), was a Jacobite general in the Williamite War in Ireland and a personal friend of James II. He commanded Irish Army troops during the conflict, enjoying initial success ...

, though McCarthy allowed O'Brien to leave for England via

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

with a large sum of money. This was against King James II's wishes, but Webb speculated that McCarthy's actions may have been influenced by the fact that his father

Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty Sir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty (1594–1665), was an Irish magnate, soldier, and politician. He succeeded as 2nd Viscount Muskerry in 1641. He rebelled against the government, demanding religious freedom as a Catholic and defendin ...

and O'Brien were former comrades-in-arms. Soon after he had arrived in England, O'Brien was named alongside his son in a

bill of attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attai ...

known as The Great Act of Attainder, passed by the

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May ...

at the behest of King James II to punish his political opponents. While in

, O'Brien met with the new English monarch

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

and offered his services to him. In September 1689, O'Brien was appointed by the king as the

of the English colonial possession of

, arriving to the island on 31 May 1690 accompanied by his wife and son.

Governorship of Jamaica and death

Once he had assumed the office (which came with an annual salary of 2,000 pounds), O'Brien spent the next nineteen months as a governor "beset by difficulties, which he struggled to overcome". O'Brien reestablished the fledgling judiciary of Jamaica, which had not been functioning since 1688, in addition to personally suppressing a

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

by 500 enslaved Africans on a

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

in Jamaica's interior. By 1691, Jamaica was sending annual shipments of

Spanish dollar The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...

s worth 100,000 pounds to England, as O'Brien noted in a report he submitted to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. Concerned about a possible French attack on Jamaica, O'Brien requested

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 ...

warships from England to be stationed on the island to augment Jamaica's garrison. In the meantime, O'Brien also formed an ''ad-hoc'' navy consisting of five newly outfitted

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

s and a captured ship in order to counteract French maritime activity from the nearby colony of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to ref ...

. During his tenure as governor, O'Brien was frequently at odds with the Jamaican governor's council; O'Brien would describe the council's members as a group of "turbulent and pernicious advisers". While he was in Jamaica, O'Brien amassed a personal fortune of 15,000 pounds; this was alleged by his contemporaries to be made in part by O'Brien's involvement in the profitable

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. He was also a supporter of the Jewish community in Jamaica, granting them the privilege of being allowed to conduct trade in the colony on the same terms as non-Jewish merchants. This was resented by many Anglo-Jamaican merchants, a group of whom submitted a petition to the

in concert with the Jamaican governor's council after his death to overturn this policy. In August 1691, O'Brien dissolved the Jamaican House of Assembly after a six-week session, claiming that its members were attempting to "undermine his authority and deprive him of revenue". During the session, O'Brien's proposal for a

land tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or a site-value r ...

was rejected, and he refused to support a tax on the slave trade which the assembly's members proposed as an alternative. By this point, his health was deteriorating, and he sought permission to return to England. On 16 January 1692, O'Brien died at

of the bloody flux, and his body was buried in the parish church. After his death, O'Brien was succeeded as governor by John White and John Bourden, though they only served in an

acting capacity In law, a person is acting in a position if they are not serving in the position on a permanent basis. This may be the case if the position has not yet been formally created, the person is only occupying the position on an interim basis, the perso ...

. Despite O'Brien being King William III's first choice to serve as governor of Jamaica, American historian Richard Slator Dunn noted that he was deeply unpopular among the Jamaican

plantocracy A slavocracy, also known as a plantocracy, is a ruling class, political order or government composed of (or dominated by) slave owners and plantation owners. A number of early European colonies in the New World were largely plantocracies, usually ...

. Taking this into consideration, the king appointed

William Beeston William Beeston (1606? – 1682) was an English actor and theatre manager, the son and successor to the more famous Christopher Beeston. Early phase William was brought up in the theatrical world of his father; he became an actor, and also his ...

, a wealthy planter who frequently served as a

colonial agent A colonial agent was the official representative of a British colony based in London during the British Empire. About 200 men served. They were selected and paid a fixed salary by the colonial government, and given the long delays in communication ...

in London (and had been one of the chief lobbyists for Jamaican interests in England) as the new governor of Jamaica.

Personal life, family and legacy

O'Brien married twice during his life. The first marriage was to Lady Margaret Boyle, the third daughter of

Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery (25 April 1621 – 16 October 1679), styled Lord Broghill from 1628 to 1660, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England at various times between 1654 and 1679. Boyle fough ...

, which took place in December 1665. He had four children with her, including a son named

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, before Margaret died in December 1683. His second wife was Lady Elizabeth Brydges, whom O'Brien married on 1684; she was the daughter of George Brydges, 6th Baron Chandos. The couple had no children during their marriage. After his father died in 1674, O'Brien succeeded to his title in the

peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

as the

Earl of Inchiquin Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

. O'Brien was also given control over his father's estate, which consisted of 60,000 acres of land in Munster and Rostellan Castle, which O'Brien resided in after returning from Tangier. Despite the valuable estate he inherited, O'Brien was frequently in debt, and unsuccessfully attempted to arrange a marriage between William and a London merchant's daughter. William succeeded to O'Brien's title in the Irish peerage as the Earl of Inchiquin after he died in 1692. Of O'Brien's other two sons, Henry died in infancy while James died in 1693. William married

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, the daughter of

Sir Edward Villiers Sir Edward Villiers (c. 1585 – 7 September 1626) was an English nobleman from Leicestershire and member of the Villiers family, whose younger half-brother George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was a favourite of both James VI and I a ...

. Like his father, William was beset by monetary issues during his lifetime; during the reign of Queen Anne, William complained to the Parliament of Ireland that his financial situation had left him "absolutely encumbered" with debts. In Jamaica, the memory of O'Brien's governorship became contested after his death. A political opponent of his with a "personal bias" against O'Brien wrote that "No governor ever had so much money in so short a time... nor strove so earnestly to get it". These claims were disputed by O'Brien's personal secretary, who argued that "the very men he delivered from the oppression of a former government... now strive to misrepresent his actions and asperse his memory".

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inchiquin, William Obrien, 2nd Earl Of 1692 deaths 17th-century Irish military personnel British colonels Earls of Inchiquin Governors of Jamaica Governors of Tangier Irish colonial officials Irish people of English descent Irish soldiers in the French Army

Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Military personnel from County Cork Soldiers of the Tangier Garrison Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland Year of birth uncertain