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Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, (June 21, 1826 – February 12, 1902) was a prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth, he became well known after publishing a best-selling account of his travels in the North Atlantic.
 Lord Dufferin During his lengthy career as a public servant, Lord Dufferin served in the United Kingdom government as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Under-Secretary of War, as well as spending many years overseas as an ambassador and administrator. He is best known for his positions as the third Governor General of Canada and the eighth Viceroy of India.
His final years were marred by personal tragedy and misguided business dealings which lost him a great deal of money.
Early life
Born in Florence in Italy, Frederick Blackwood studied at Eton, and went to university at Christ Church, Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford Union. He succeeded his father in 1841 as 5th Baron Dufferin and Claneboye in the Peerage of Ireland, and was appointed a Lord-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria in 1849. In 1850 he was created Baron Clandeboye, of Clandeboye in the County of Down, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
In 1856, Lord Dufferin commissioned a schooner, the 'Foam', and set off on a journey around the North Atlantic. He first visited Iceland, where he visited the then-minuscule Reykjavik, the plains of Thingvellir and Geysir. Returning to Reykjavik, the Foam was towed north by Prince Napoleon of France, who was on an expedition to the region in the steamer 'La Reine Hortense'. Dufferin sailed close to Jan Mayen, but was unable to land due to heavy ice, and only caught a very brief glimpse of the island through the fog. From Jan Mayen, the Foam sailed to northern Norway, stopping at Hammerfest, before sailing for Spitzbergen.
On his return, Lord Dufferin published a book about his travels, Letters From High Latitudes. With its irreverent style and lively pace, it was extremely successful, and can be regarded as the prototype of the comic travelogue. It remained in print for many years, and was translated into French and German. The letters were nominally written to his mother, Helen Selina, Lady Dufferin, with whom he had developed a very close relationship after the death of his father, Price Blackwood, when he was 15.
Despite the great success of Letters From High Latitudes, Dufferin did not pursue a career as an author, and instead became a politician. In 1860 he was appointed Commissioner to Syria, and in 1864 became Under-Secretary for India. He became Under-Secretary of War in 1866, and from 1868 he held the position of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Prime Minister Gladstone's government. In 1871 he was raised in the Peerage as Earl of Dufferin, in the County of Down, and Viscount Clandeboye, of Clandeboye in the County of Down.
Lord Dufferin married Harriet Georgina Rowan-Hamilton on October 23, 1862. They had seven children; the two youngest, a son and a daughter, were born in Canada. Shortly after his own marriage, he was deeply upset when his mother married his friend Lord Gifford, some 17 years her junior. The marriage scandalised society, but Lord Gifford died only weeks afterwards.
Governor General of Canada
Dufferin became Governor General of Canada in 1872, and his six year tenure was a period of rapid change in Canadian history. During his term, Prince Edward Island was admitted to Confederation, and several well-known Canadian institutions, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Royal Military College of Canada, and the Intercolonial Railway, were established.
Lord Dufferin concentrated on promoting Canadian unity and travelled to every province, seeking contact with as many Canadians as possible. He was at ease speaking with a wide variety of people, whether addressing the National Club in English in Toronto, la Societé Saint-Jean-Baptiste in French in Montreal, or speaking with residents of Icelandic settlements in Manitoba and labourers in British Columbia. As an orator and writer, Lord Dufferin also closely followed political debate in Parliament, although as Governor General he was not permitted inside the House of Commons. Instead, Lady Dufferin often attended the debates and reported back to him. He did, however, establish an office of the Governor General in the east wing of the Parliament buildings.
A firm believer in recognizing excellence among Canadians, in 1873 he established the Governor General's Academic Medals for superior academic achievement by Canadian students - awards that continue to be given out in high schools, colleges and universities to this day. Also that same year, the Governor General's Match for shooting was created, and the Governor General's Curling Trophy for the Royal Caledonian Curling Club was established the following year.
Lord Dufferin realized that Rideau Hall needed space where ceremonial events could be held, and so the government added the Ballroom in 1873. Three years later, he had the Tent Room built to balance the appearance of the building and to accommodate the increasing number of social functions held by the Governor General. Lord and Lady Dufferin organized numerous balls, concerts, dinners, theatrical performances and receptions of all kinds — and Lady Dufferin loved to perform the lead role in the plays at Rideau Hall. Their enthusiasm increased Rideau Hall's role as a centre for social affairs.
Other changes were made to the grounds. Lord Dufferin contributed $1,624.95 of his own money to build a skating rink, curling rink and toboggan slide at Rideau Hall in 1872-73, money later reimbursed by the government. These were available to the public on the condition that people "were properly dressed". The gasometer, currently known as the Dome Building, was constructed in 1877-78 to manufacturer gas from crude petroleum to supply fuel to Rideau Hall, avoiding the uncertain supply at the time from the city of Ottawa.
The Dufferins were the first to use the Citadel of Quebec in Quebec City as a second vice-regal residence. Like many other Governors General, Lord Dufferin and his family thought the city was beautiful. When municipal officials proposed to take down the walls that surrounded the city, a remnant from its days as a garrison town, in order to have room for the city to grow, he convinced them to abandon the idea. Saving the walls helped preserve the city's historical character, which was recognized in the 1980s when Old Quebec was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In recognition of his contributions in Quebec, Lord Dufferin's last public event was to lay the foundation stone for Dufferin Terrace, a walkway overlooking the St. Lawrence River in Quebec City, in October 1878, which was built from his design.
Lady Dufferin was very active during her husband's term as Governor General. She was the first spouse to accompany the Governor General on a tour, visiting southern Ontario in 1872. By the end of their term, she had visited every province with her husband. During a trip to Manitoba in September 1877, Lord and Lady Dufferin each drove a spike in the line of what would become the Canadian Pacific Railway. The first locomotive on the railway was named the Lady Dufferin. In May 1874, she presented the regimental colours to the Governor General's Foot Guards.
Throughout the Dufferin's time in Canada, Lady Dufferin wrote weekly letters to her mother back in Ireland. These were later published as a diary of their time in Canada, called My Canadian Journal. In it she said that, of all her experiences, she had spent her happiest times in Canada. The Dufferin's great popularity is reflected in the large number of schools, streets and public buildings named after them. Lord Dufferin is particularly well remembered in Manitoba, being the first Governor-General to visit the province, and a statue of him is situated outside the provincial legislature.
Viceroy of India
After leaving Ottawa in 1878 at the end of his term, Lord Dufferin returned to Great Britain to continue his diplomatic career. He served as ambassador to Russia from 1879–1881 and to the Ottoman Empire from 1881–1884
Lord Dufferin's public service career culminated in his posting as Viceroy of India from 1884 to 1888. Just as in Canada, he presided over some great changes in India. His predecessor as Viceroy, Lord Ripon, while popular with the Indians, was very unpopular with the Anglo-Indians, who objected to the rapid pace of his extensive reforms. To rule with any measure of success, Dufferin would need to gain the support of both communities.
By all accounts he was highly successful in this regard, and gained substantial support from all communities in India. He advanced the cause of the Indian Nationalists greatly during his term, without antagonising the conservative whites. Among other things, he presided over the formation of the Congress Party in 1885, and laid the foundations for the modern Indian Army by establishing the Imperial Service Corps, officered by Indians.
He was frequently occupied with external affairs during his tenure. He successfully dealt with the Panjdeh Incident of 1885 in Afghanistan, in which Russian forces encroached into Afghan territory around the Panjdeh oasis. Britain and Russia had for decades been engaged in a virtual cold war known as the Great Game, and the Panjdeh incident threatened to precipitate a full-blown conflict. Lord Dufferin negotiated a settlement in which Russia kept Panjdeh but relinquished the furthest territories it had taken in its advance.
His tenure also saw the annexation of Upper Burma in 1886, after many years of simmering warfare and British interventions in Burmese politics.
In 1888, he published the Report on the Conditions of the Lower Classes of Population in Bengal (commonly known as the Dufferin Report). The report highlighted the plight of the poor in Bengal, and was used by nationalists to counter the Anglo-Indian claim that British rule had been beneficial to the poorest members of Indian society. Following publication of the report, Dufferin recommended the establishment of provincial and central councils with Indian membership, a key demand of Congress at that time. The Indian Councils Act of 1892, which inaugurated the electoral politics in the country, was the outcome of his recommendations.
Later life
Following his return from India, Dufferin resumed his ambassadorial career, serving as ambassador to Italy from 1888–1891. On November 17, 1888, he was advanced in the Peerage as Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, in the County of Down and the Province of Burma, and Earl of Ava, in the Province of Burma. As ambassador to France from 1891–1896, he presided over some difficult times in Anglo-French relations, and was accused by some sections of the French press of trying to undermine Franco-Russian relations.
After returning from France, Dufferin became President of the Royal Geographical Society, and Rector of Edinburgh and St. Andrew's universities. In 1897, he was persuaded to become chairman of a mining conglomerate owned by Whitaker Wright, but in November 1900, shares in the company crashed and let to its insolvency. It subsequently transpired that Wright was a consummate fraudster. Dufferin himself lost substantial money on his holdings in the company, but was not guilty of any deception and his moral standing remained unaffected.
Soon after this misfortune, Dufferin's eldest son was killed in the Boer War. He returned to his stately home at Clandeboye in poor health, and died on February 12, 1902. Lady Dufferin died on October 25, 1936.
Succession
References and further reading
- 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (http://30.1911encyclopedia.org/D/DU/DUFFERIN_AND_AVA_MARQUESS_OF.htm)
- Banglapedia (chief editor Prof. Sirajul Islam FRHS), online edition. Lord Dufferin (http://search.com.bd/banglapedia/Content/HT/D_0301.HTM). Retrieved 18 September 2004
- Lord Dufferin (1856). Letters From High Latitudes. Seafarer Books. ISBN 085036387X
- Moore, Tim (1999). Frost On My Moustache. Abacus Books. ISBN 0349111405
- Office of the Secretary to the Governor-General. The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (http://www.gg.ca/governor_general/history/bios/dufferin_e.asp). Retrieved 3 August 2003
- Stewart, George (2002). Canada Under The Administration Of Lord Dufferin. University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 1410203190
- Yasin, Madhavi (1994) India's Foreign Policy - The Dufferin Years. Raj Publications. ISBN 8186208011
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