Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe
Encyclopedia
Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe KG
GCB
PC (4 November 1786 – 14 August 1880), was a British
diplomat and politician, best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A cousin of George Canning
, he was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to the United States between 1820 and 1824 and held his first appointment as Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1825 and 1828. He intermittently represented several constituencies in parliament between 1828 and 1842. In 1841 he was once again appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, a position he held for the next 17 years. Canning came to be seen as one of the leading figures in Constantinople, as British influence over the Porte increased and the Turks came to be seen more and more as British clients. In 1852 he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, probably in reference to his supposed descent from the great 15th. century merchant family of Canynges of Redcliffe
near Bristol. However, despite his illustrious diplomatic career Canning's hopes of high political office were frequently dashed.
, by his wife Mehitabel, daughter of Robert Patrick. His eldest brother Henry Canning
became British Consul in Hamburg
in 1823, a posting he retained for the rest of his life, while another brother, Charles Fox Canning (1784–1815), was at the time of his death Aide-de-Camp
to the Duke of Wellington
at the Battle of Waterloo. He was also a first cousin of prime minister George Canning
and Lord Garvagh
. He was educated at Eton
and King's College, Cambridge
.
later that year. His first trip to Constantinople
came in 1808, when he accompanied the mission of Robert Adair that restored peace between Britain and the Turks. When Adair left Constantinople in 1810, Canning became Minister Plenipotentiary, and it was Canning who helped mediate the Treaty of Bucharest
between the Ottomans and Russia on 28 May 1812.
Canning returned to London later that year, and helped to found the Quarterly Review
. In June 1814 was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to Switzerland, where he, along with the other allied representatives, helped negotiate Swiss neutrality and a new Swiss federal constitution. In October he went to Vienna
, where he acted as an aid to Lord Castlereagh
, the British representative at the Congress of Vienna
. After the negotiation of Swiss neutrality in 1815, Canning's role there became dull to him, but he stayed until 1819, when he was recalled and sent to Washington
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to the United States. Although he hoped for major accomplishments in Washington that would allow him to move up to a larger position, he was largely unsuccessful. The initiative of his cousin George, now once again Foreign Secretary, for a join Anglo-American guarantee of Latin American independence, led to the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine
. In 1820 Canning was made a member of the Privy Council.
Canning returned to London in 1823, and the next year was sent on a mission to Russia
, where he negotiated a treaty on the border between Russian and British North America, but failed to come to any agreement regarding the Greek Revolt. In 1825 Canning was sent to Constantinople once again, this time as Ambassador. He fled the city following the Battle of Navarino
in 1827, but after a brief return to London he, along with the French and Russian ambassadors who had also fled, set up camp at Poros
. In 1828 he and the other ambassadors signed the Poros Protocols, which granted the new Greek state the islands of Crete
, Samos
, and Euboea
. Although he had been encouraged in this generous position towards the Greeks by his superior, Lord Aberdeen
, this move was disavowed by the government, and Canning resigned.
in 1831, but was not a particularly notable figure in the Commons. When the Whigs
entered office and the Canningite Lord Palmerston became British foreign secretary, Canning returned again to Constantinople
in 1831, but returned in 1832, disapproving of Palmerston's lack of consultation with him and the choice of Prince Otto of Bavaria as King of Greece. That year, he was appointed Ambassador to Russia, but never took the office, as Tsar Nicholas I
refused to receive him.
Canning was, however, sent on a new diplomatic mission, to Madrid, where he was to deal with the rival claimants to the Portuguese throne, but was largely unsuccessful. He turned again, attempting again to pursue a course in domestic politics, associating himself with Lord Stanley's
band of renegade Whigs
, but when Stanley's followers entered government with Sir Robert Peel
in 1841, Canning again was not offered a post. Going to Lord Aberdeen, the new Foreign Secretary, with whom his relations remained ambiguous, Canning was once again offered the Constantinople embassy.
In Constantinople for the last time, Stratford came in the midst of a crisis caused by the dispute between Napoleon III and Nicholas I
over the protection of the holy places. This crisis ultimately led to the Crimean War
. Stratford is accused of encouraging the Turks to reject the compromise agreement during the Menshikov mission. It appears that he was consistently urging the Turks to reject compromises arguing that any Russian treaty, or facsimile thereof, would be to subject the Ottoman Empire to protectorate status under Tsar Nicholas I. He left Constantinople for the last time in 1857, and resigned early the next year.
regularly and spoke frequently on foreign policy matters as a cross-bencher. In 1869 he was made a Knight of the Garter
. During the Eastern Crisis of the 1870s, Stratford wrote frequent letters in The Times
on the subject.
in February 1817, probably in childbirth. His second wife, Eliza Charlotte Alexander (1805–1882), bore him (at least) five children of whom four survived to adulthood. These were:
All his children died unmarried. Lord Stratford de Redcliffe himself died at the age of 93 in 1880, his peerage becoming extinct. He is buried underneath a large very grey monument on the western side of the grave yard at Frant in Sussex, England.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
PC (4 November 1786 – 14 August 1880), was a British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
diplomat and politician, best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A cousin of George Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
, he was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to the United States between 1820 and 1824 and held his first appointment as Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1825 and 1828. He intermittently represented several constituencies in parliament between 1828 and 1842. In 1841 he was once again appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, a position he held for the next 17 years. Canning came to be seen as one of the leading figures in Constantinople, as British influence over the Porte increased and the Turks came to be seen more and more as British clients. In 1852 he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, probably in reference to his supposed descent from the great 15th. century merchant family of Canynges of Redcliffe
Redcliffe, Bristol
Redcliffe, also known as Redcliff, is a district of the English port city of Bristol, adjoining the city centre. It is bounded by the loop of the Floating Harbour to the west, north and east, the New Cut of the River Avon to the south...
near Bristol. However, despite his illustrious diplomatic career Canning's hopes of high political office were frequently dashed.
Background and education
Canning was the youngest of the five children of Stratford Canning (1744–1787), an Irish-born merchant based in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, by his wife Mehitabel, daughter of Robert Patrick. His eldest brother Henry Canning
Henry Canning
Henry Canning was appointed HM Consul General in Hamburg on 29 November 1823....
became British Consul in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in 1823, a posting he retained for the rest of his life, while another brother, Charles Fox Canning (1784–1815), was at the time of his death Aide-de-Camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
at the Battle of Waterloo. He was also a first cousin of prime minister George Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
and Lord Garvagh
George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh
George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh FRS was an Anglo-Irish Member of Parliament.Garvagh was the son of Paul Canning and the grandson of Stratford Canning of Garvagh in County Londonderry. Prime Minister George Canning and the diplomat Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, were his...
. He was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
.
Diplomatic career, 1807-1831
In 1807 Canning was given a minor role in the Foreign Office by his cousin, and was sent on a mission to DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
later that year. His first trip to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
came in 1808, when he accompanied the mission of Robert Adair that restored peace between Britain and the Turks. When Adair left Constantinople in 1810, Canning became Minister Plenipotentiary, and it was Canning who helped mediate the Treaty of Bucharest
Treaty of Bucharest, 1812
The Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, was signed on 28 May 1812, in Bucharest, at the end of the Russo-Turkish War, 1806-1812....
between the Ottomans and Russia on 28 May 1812.
Canning returned to London later that year, and helped to found the Quarterly Review
Quarterly Review
The Quarterly Review was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by the well known London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967.-Early years:...
. In June 1814 was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to Switzerland, where he, along with the other allied representatives, helped negotiate Swiss neutrality and a new Swiss federal constitution. In October he went to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where he acted as an aid to Lord Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC , usually known as Lord CastlereaghThe name Castlereagh derives from the baronies of Castlereagh and Ards, in which the manors of Newtownards and Comber were located...
, the British representative at the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
. After the negotiation of Swiss neutrality in 1815, Canning's role there became dull to him, but he stayed until 1819, when he was recalled and sent to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to the United States. Although he hoped for major accomplishments in Washington that would allow him to move up to a larger position, he was largely unsuccessful. The initiative of his cousin George, now once again Foreign Secretary, for a join Anglo-American guarantee of Latin American independence, led to the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is a policy of the United States introduced on December 2, 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention...
. In 1820 Canning was made a member of the Privy Council.
Canning returned to London in 1823, and the next year was sent on a mission to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where he negotiated a treaty on the border between Russian and British North America, but failed to come to any agreement regarding the Greek Revolt. In 1825 Canning was sent to Constantinople once again, this time as Ambassador. He fled the city following the Battle of Navarino
Battle of Navarino
The naval Battle of Navarino was fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence in Navarino Bay , on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. A combined Ottoman and Egyptian armada was destroyed by a combined British, French and Russian naval force...
in 1827, but after a brief return to London he, along with the French and Russian ambassadors who had also fled, set up camp at Poros
Poros
Poros is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, at a distance about 58 km south from Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a 200-metre wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the strait. Its surface is about and it has 4,117...
. In 1828 he and the other ambassadors signed the Poros Protocols, which granted the new Greek state the islands of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, Samos
Samos Island
Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...
, and Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
. Although he had been encouraged in this generous position towards the Greeks by his superior, Lord Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen KG, KT, FRS, PC , styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a Scottish politician, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855.-Early life:Born in Edinburgh on 28 January 1784, he...
, this move was disavowed by the government, and Canning resigned.
Diplomatic career, 1831-1841
Following his return, Canning attempted to enter British politics, entering the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in 1831, but was not a particularly notable figure in the Commons. When the Whigs
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
entered office and the Canningite Lord Palmerston became British foreign secretary, Canning returned again to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1831, but returned in 1832, disapproving of Palmerston's lack of consultation with him and the choice of Prince Otto of Bavaria as King of Greece. That year, he was appointed Ambassador to Russia, but never took the office, as Tsar Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
refused to receive him.
Canning was, however, sent on a new diplomatic mission, to Madrid, where he was to deal with the rival claimants to the Portuguese throne, but was largely unsuccessful. He turned again, attempting again to pursue a course in domestic politics, associating himself with Lord Stanley's
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley...
band of renegade Whigs
Derby Dilly
The Derby Dilly was a name given to a group of dissident Whigs and others in the United Kingdom led by the former Cabinet minister Edward, Lord Stanley, who would later become 14th Earl of Derby...
, but when Stanley's followers entered government with Sir Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
in 1841, Canning again was not offered a post. Going to Lord Aberdeen, the new Foreign Secretary, with whom his relations remained ambiguous, Canning was once again offered the Constantinople embassy.
Ambassador to Constantinople, 1842-1858
Canning's term in Constantinople lasted from 1842 to 1852, and in this period he came to be seen as one of the leading figures in Constantinople, as British influence over the Porte increased and the Turks came to be seen more and more as British clients. When Canning's old ally Stanley, now Earl of Derby, formed a government in 1852, Canning hoped to receive the foreign office, or at least the Paris embassy. Instead, he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, in the County of Somerset. He returned home in 1852, but when Aberdeen's coalition government was formed, Stratford de Redcliffe was sent back to Constantinople once again.In Constantinople for the last time, Stratford came in the midst of a crisis caused by the dispute between Napoleon III and Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
over the protection of the holy places. This crisis ultimately led to the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. Stratford is accused of encouraging the Turks to reject the compromise agreement during the Menshikov mission. It appears that he was consistently urging the Turks to reject compromises arguing that any Russian treaty, or facsimile thereof, would be to subject the Ottoman Empire to protectorate status under Tsar Nicholas I. He left Constantinople for the last time in 1857, and resigned early the next year.
Retirement
For the next twenty-two years Lord Stratford de Redcliffe lived in retirement, pursuing scholarly activities and deeply bored by his absence from public life. He attended the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
regularly and spoke frequently on foreign policy matters as a cross-bencher. In 1869 he was made a Knight of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
. During the Eastern Crisis of the 1870s, Stratford wrote frequent letters in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
on the subject.
Family
Lord Stratford de Redcliffe was twice married. His first wife, Harriet daughter to Thomas and Harriet Raikes, died in her 27th year at LausanneLausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in February 1817, probably in childbirth. His second wife, Eliza Charlotte Alexander (1805–1882), bore him (at least) five children of whom four survived to adulthood. These were:
- Hon. Louisa Charlotte Canning (1828–1908)
- Hon. George Stratford Canning (1832–1878)
- Hon. Catherine Jane Canning (1835–1884)
- Hon. Mary Elizabeth Canning (1837–1905)
All his children died unmarried. Lord Stratford de Redcliffe himself died at the age of 93 in 1880, his peerage becoming extinct. He is buried underneath a large very grey monument on the western side of the grave yard at Frant in Sussex, England.
External links
- Canning Genealogy
- Meeting with John Stokes 20-Jul-1856 in Constantinople