Sir Palmes Fairborne (1644 27 October 1680) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

soldier and

Governor of Tangier This is a list of governors of Tangier during the period when it was under European control (1471–1684). Portuguese Tangier (1471–1661) English Tangier (1661–1684) See also * Timeline of Tangier *Tangier Garrison *Tangier Regiment ...

Early life

Fairborne was the son of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Stafford Fairborne Admiral of the Fleet Sir Stafford Fairborne (1666 – 11 November 1742) was a Royal Navy officer and Whig politician. As a captain he saw action in command of various ships at the Battle of Beachy Head, at the Battle of Barfleur and at the Ba ...

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent () or Newark is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

. He fought as a soldier of fortune in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

at the

siege of Candia The siege of Candia (now Heraklion, Crete) was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled capital city of the Kingdom of Candia. It lasted from 1648 to 1669 (a total of 21 years) and is one of the longest sieges in ...

by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

; a Turk's head was afterwards included in his arms. At the age of seventeen Fairborne was back in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

The Tangier Regiment

In the autumn of 1661, he was commissioned a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the newly formed Tangier Regiment of Foot. The

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

mustered one thousand strong, besides officers, on

Putney Heath Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

, 14 October, and sailed to garrison

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

, under the command of the Earl of Peterborough, in January 1662. During the next eighteen years Fairborne took a prominent part in the defense of Tangier, which was exposed to attacks from

the Moors The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

, receiving the honour of knighthood for his services. By 1664, he had risen to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, and in 1667, he fought a duel with a brother officer. The account Fairborne gives of the condition of the city in his letters home is deplorable; stores and victuals ran short, and constant desertions took place. Fairborne rode on one occasion alone into the enemy's lines, and brought a deserter back in triumph on his horse (26 December 1669). Knighted in April 1675 and in May 1676, he was made joint deputy-governor in the absence of

William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin Colonel William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire) ( – 16 January 1692), was an Irish army officer and colonial administrator who served as the List of governors of Tangier, governor of Tangier from 1675 to 168 ...

, and on the death (21 November) of his coadjutor, Colonel Allsop, he had the sole command for the next two years. Under Fairborne, improvements took place both in the discipline of the garrison and in the construction of the mole for defence of the harbour. But pay was two years and a quarter in arrears; in December 1677 a mutiny took place. Fairborne wrenched a

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

from a leading mutineer and shot him dead on the spot. During some point during his service at Tangier, he fought a duel with Colonel John Fitzgerald.

Governor of Tangier

In the spring of 1678 Fairborne went to England. Two years later, 25 March 1680, the Moors under their Sultan

Ismail Ibn Sharif Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (, – 22 March 1727) was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672 to 1727, as the second ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was the seventh son of Sharif ibn Ali, Moulay Sharif and was governor of the province of Fez and the north o ...

(Muley Hassan), blockaded Tangier, and Fairborne returned early in April to conduct the defence as sole governor and commander-in-chief. In July a new governor,

Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory Vice-Admiral Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory (8 July 1634 – 30 July 1680) was an Irish soldier and politician. He was the eldest son of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond but predeceased his father and therefore never succeeded as duke. ...

, was appointed over Fairborne's head, in Inchiquin's place. Fairborne petitioned in August that his pay as commander-in-chief might not be taken away. Ossory died on 30 July, and Fairborne remained as sole defender of Tangier.

Death

The Moors made a further attack in October. On 24 October, Fairborne, riding out of the town to inspect the defences, took part in a slight skirmish and was mortally wounded by a shot. After three days' fighting, which the dying governor watched from a balcony, the Moors were forced to raise the siege and repulsed with great loss, while Fairborne, lingering until the evening of 27 October, saw his troops march into the town. An account was given of his dying speech in a paper called ''The Tangiers Rescue'', by John Ross, 1681. Three years after Fairborne's death Tangier was abandoned to the Moors, and the fortifications razed to the ground.

Family

By his wife, Margaret ( Devereux; formerly having been married to a Mr Mansell), he had a large family, left in poverty after his death. But, in 1681, the king granted Lady Fairborne an annuity of £500; their eldest son,

, became a knight and rear-admiral. Lady Fairborne later remarried Jasper Paston, son of

Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth, FRS (29 May 1631 – 8 March 1683) was an English scientist and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1660 and 1673 when he was created Viscount Yarmouth. He was created Earl of Yarmouth in 167 ...

. In 1680 she erected a monument in the nave of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

to Fairborne, by the sculptor

John Bushnell John Bushnell (1636–1701) was an English sculptor, known for several outstanding funeral monuments in English churches including Westminster Abbey. Life He was born in 1636 in Holborn in London the son of a plumber. Around 1650 he was appr ...

, with an epitaph by

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

recounting his exploits. Lady Fairborne died in 1698, and was buried in

References

* ;Attribution , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairborne, Palmes 1640s births 1680 deaths 17th-century English soldiers Knights Bachelor People from Newark-on-Trent Governors of Tangier Soldiers of the Tangier Garrison