Sir William MacBean George Colebrooke, (9 November 1787 – 6 February 1870) was an English career soldier and colonial administrator.

Early life and education

The son of Colonel Paulet Welbore Colebrooke, R.A. (died 1816), and a daughter of Major-General Grant, he was educated at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

, entering the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

as a first lieutenant on 12 September 1803.

Career

Ceylon and India

In 1805, he was ordered to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

—first to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, then in 1806 to Malabar, and back to Ceylon in 1807. He went to India in 1809 and served with the field army there through 1810, becoming a captain on 27 September 1810.

Indonesia

Colebrooke next served in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, and was wounded in the operations against the Dutch in that island in 1811. Here he remained under the British occupation and was deputy quartermaster-general in 1813, being promoted major on 1 June 1813. He was sent as political agent and commissioner to Palembong in

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

, and on to

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

in 1814. He resumed his old duties in Java in 1815, and was ordered to India on the conclusion of peace and the restoration of Java to the Dutch on 19 August 1816. He served through the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an in ...

of 1817–8, and accompanied the expedition to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

in 1818. He returned to England in 1821.

Ceylon inquiry

From 1822 to 1832, Colebrooke was one of the commissioners of what was known as the

Colebrooke–Cameron Commission The Colebrooke–Cameron Commission was appointed in 1833 as a Royal Commission of Eastern Inquiry by the British Colonial Office to assess the administration of the island of Ceylon and to make recommendations for administrative, financial, econo ...

(Eastern Inquiry): a long and elaborate investigation into the administration and revenues of

, where he resided on the business of the inquiry from 1825 to 1831.

Bahamas

On 9 September 1834 he became Lieutenant-Governor of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

; he went by way of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, spending about a month there and arriving at Nassau on a ship-of-war on 26 February 1835. His first speech to the Assembly was on 7 April 1835. He administered the colony during the days when

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

gave way to the apprenticeship system prior to its final abolition.

Antigua and the Leeward Islands

On 13 February 1837, Colebrooke was gazetted as Governor of the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

, being at the time on leave in England. He assumed the government of

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

and the other islands on 11 May 1837, and one of his earliest official acts was the proclamation of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. In this government, as in the Bahamas, he tried to improve education and reform prison discipline; he also urged the restoration of the old general council of the Leewards.

New Brunswick, Canada

On 25 July 1840, Colebrooke left Antigua for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and, after an extended leave, was, on 26 March 1841, made lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick. Here his tenure of office was uneventful, the question of the

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

boundary being the chief public matter affecting the colony at that time; he did, however, suggest a special scheme for colonisation, which had no practical results.

Barbados and the Windward Islands

On 9 November 1846, he became Colonel in the army, though he was not Colonel of artillery until later. On 27 November 1847 he was gazetted to

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, but never took up the appointment, going instead on 11 August 1848, as governor, to

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, where he also administered the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

. Colebrooke worked for the suppression of crime and the improvement of the prisons. He also suggested a federation of all the Windward Islands, anticipating later proposals. In 1854, the withdrawal of imperial troops from the smaller islands caused some apprehension, but the peace of the islands was not really disturbed.

Return to England

He became Major-general on 20 June 1854. In January 1856 he relinquished his government and returned to England. He was promoted

Lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

on 16 January 1859 and general 26 December 1865, and he was colonel commanding the Royal Artillery from 25 September 1859 until his death.

Personal life and death

In 1820, Colebrooke married Emma Sophia Colebrooke, daughter of Lieutenant-colonel Robert Colebrooke (d. 1808), surveyor-general of Bengal. His wife died in 1851. Colebrooke resided at Salt Hill, near

Slough, Buckinghamshire Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the p ...

, where he died on 6 February 1870. He had become K.H. in 1834,

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in 1837, and received C.B. (civil) in 1848.

References

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colebrooke, William MacBean George 1787 births 1870 deaths Governors of the Colony of New Brunswick Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British Army generals Royal Artillery officers People from Charlton, London British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Maratha War Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Bath British governors of the Bahamas Governors of Antigua and Barbuda Governors of Barbados Governors of the Windward Islands British people in colonial India