Thomas Pownall
Thomas Pownall was a British colonial administrator and politician. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1757 to 1760, and afterwards sat in the House of Commons from 1767 to 1780. He travelled widely in British North America prior to the American Revolutionary War, opposed Parliamentary attempts to tax the colonies, and was a minority advocate of colonial positions until the Revolution.
Classically educated and well-connected to the colonial administration in London, Pownall first travelled to North America in 1753. He spent two years exploring the American colonies before being appointed as the lieutenant governor of New Jersey in 1755. He became governor of Massachusetts in 1757 after helping engineer the recall of longtime Governor William Shirley. His administration was dominated by the French and Indian War, in which Pownall was instrumental in raising the provincial militia for the war effort. He pursued a policy of compromise regarding the quartering of regular troops in private homes, and had a generally positive relationship with the colonial assembly.
Returning to England in 1760, Pownall continued to be interested in colonial affairs, publishing widely read materials on conditions in the colonies, including several editions of The Administration of the Colonies. As a Member of Parliament he regularly advocated for colonial positions, without much success, but supported the war effort once the Revolutionary War began. In the early 19th century he became an early advocate of the reduction or removal of trade barriers, and the establishment of a solid relationship between Britain and the United States. Several writers have proposed that Pownall was Junius, a pseudonymous British writer who wrote several letters criticising government policies. John Adams wrote, "Pownall was the most constitutional and national Governor, in my opinion, who ever represented the crown in this province."
Early life
Thomas Pownall was the eldest son of William and Sarah Pownall, daughter of John Burniston and his wife. His father was a country gentleman and soldier whose poor health and early death in 1735 caused the family to fall upon hard times. Baptised 4 September 1722 in Lincoln, England, Thomas was educated at Lincoln Grammar School and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1743. His education exposed him to classic and current philosophers, and the sciences. His first publication, a treatise on the origins of government published in 1752, began as notes developed at Cambridge.Early career
During Thomas's years at Cambridge, his younger brother John acquired a job at the Board of Trade, which oversaw British colonial affairs, and rapidly rose in the bureaucracy. The brothers were influential supporters of each other in their efforts to advance. John secured a job for Thomas in the colonial office, where he became aware of the possibilities for advancement and influence in colonial postings. In 1753 he went to America as private secretary to Sir Danvers Osborn, just appointed governor of New York. Osborn committed suicide several days after reaching New York, leaving Pownall without a job and a sponsor. Pownall chose to remain in America, devoting himself to studying the condition of the American colonies. In the following months he travelled widely, from Maryland to Massachusetts. He was introduced into the highest circles of leadership and society in the colonies, and established relationships with a number of influential people, including Benjamin Franklin and Massachusetts Governor William Shirley.Image:EvansPownallMap1755.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Evans-Pownall map of 1755
Governor Osborn had been instructed particularly to deal with the rising discontent among the six Iroquois nations whose territory abutted New York. Pownall had studied the matter, and he was consequently invited by his Pennsylvania connections to attend the 1754 Albany Congress as an observer. His observations on the nature of colonial dealings with the Indians led him to draft a number of proposals related to colonial administration. He proposed the establishment of a crown-appointed superintendent of Indian affairs, specifically William Johnson, New York's commissioner for Indian affairs who was highly influential with the Iroquois nations. He also articulated visions for managing the expansion of the colonies to the west.
After the conference Pownall returned to Philadelphia. In this time he apparently deepened a close friendship with Franklin, with whom he began to invest in business ventures. Franklin, who had unsuccessfully proposed colonial union at the Albany conference, may have contributed to Pownall's writings, although the exact nature of his influence is unclear. While in Philadelphia Pownall also established a close collaboration with cartographer Lewis Evans, both of whom recognized the need for accurate maps of the inland regions of North America then being disputed with New France in the French and Indian War. The map Evans published in 1755 was dedicated to Pownall, and brought the latter wide publicity. Pownall's recommendation of William Johnson as superintendent of Indian affairs was implemented by the crown in 1755.
Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey
Pownall had been living at his own expense, in the hopes that a posting would eventually come his way. In May 1755 he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, with little responsibility beyond anticipating the death of the aging governor, Jonathan Belcher, and attending military conferences concerning the ongoing war. Belcher, however, proved to be longer lived than expected, and Pownall was restless. The military conferences drew him into an ongoing power struggle between Johnson and Shirley over the management of Indian affairs. Johnson capitalized on Pownall's concern over frontier security to draw him into his camp. Pownall already harboured some dislike of Shirley over an earlier snub, and his reports to New York Governor Sir Charles Hardy, combined with damaging allegations provided by other Johnson supporters, led to Shirley's dismissal as commander-in-chief. Pownall returned to England in early 1756, where he confirmed the Johnson allegations, and was rewarded with a post as "Secretary Extraordinary" to the new commander-in-chief, Lord Loudoun.While Pownall was in England, Shirley's reputation was further damaged by allegations that he had let military information fall into enemy hands, and the Board of Trade decided to recall him. Pownall was also offered the governorship of Pennsylvania by its proprietors; however, his demands for wide-ranging powers in the post led them to retract the offer. Pownall turned this to his own advantage, widely publicizing the fact that he had turned down the offer because of the "unreasonable, unenlightened attitude of the proprietors."
Image:PownallPassaicFalls.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pownall's drawing of the Passaic River's Great Falls
He accompanied Lord Loudoun back to America in July 1756, but again returned to England to represent Loudoun in hearings on Shirley's military leadership.
Lord Loudoun also instructed Pownall on his military plans and objectives.
In London he became closely involved in informing members of the new Pitt-Newcastle Ministry of the state of affairs in North America.
His performance in these matters resulted in his appointment as governor of Massachusetts in March 1757. Although he was admired for his competence in colonial affairs, he was also criticised for his vanity and temper, as well as his role in bringing about Shirley's fall.
Governor of Massachusetts Bay
Pownall arrived in Boston in early August 1757. He was well received and assumed his duties on 3 August.He was immediately thrust into a war-related crisis. A French force was reported to be moving toward Fort William Henry, in northern New York, and the military commander there had made an urgent call for militia. Pownall was energetic in organizing the militia, but the call to arms came too late, since Fort William Henry fell after a brief siege that was followed by some of the worst atrocities by Indians of the war. Loudoun was upset that the Massachusetts General Court had not fully implemented a variety of demands that he had made, and he held Pownall responsible. Pownall objected to the interference of the military in civilian affairs, the threat of which Loudoun used to implement his agenda, by maintaining that it was necessary for the governor to lead, not drive, the provincial assembly. The meeting was acrimonious, and Loudoun afterward wrote a letter to London that harshly criticised Pownall's position and called his ideas on governance "high-handed".
Image:4thEarlOfLoudoun.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Pownall had a sometimes-contentious relationship with John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun.
In September 1757 Pownall travelled to New Jersey to attend the funeral of Governor Jonathan Belcher and stopped in New York to meet with Lord Loudoun. Loudoun demanded that Massachusetts authorities billet his troops in civilian homes in Boston, which was opposed by the General Court. In response, Loudoun threatened to order additional troops into the colony and acquire housing by force. Pownall requested for the General Court to accede in some way to Loudoun's demands and eventually signed a bill authorizing the quartering of troops in inns and other public spaces. The bill was unpopular, and Pownall was negatively cast in the local press as supportive of Loudoun. Pownall's exchanges with Loudoun, however, show that he was keenly aware of the colonists' position: "the inhabitants of this province are intitled to the natural rights of English born subjects... the enjoyment of these rights... will animate and encourage them to resist... a cruel, invading enemy." He was equally clear on the relationship between the governor and assembly: "a governor must endeavour to lead those people for he cannot drive them and must lead them step by step as he can gett footing". Pownall was so committed to his ideas that he offered to resign, but Loudoun encouraged him to remain in the post; Pownall would later author portions of the 1765 Quartering Act, a parliamentary bill whose implementation was widely resisted in the colonies.
In January 1758, Pownall wrote several letters to William Pitt the Elder to outline the difficult issues surrounding relations between the colonial government and the military and civil administrations of the British establishment.
He specifically recommended for London to offer to pay more of the colonial expenses of the war; the implementation of that idea led to a significant increase in militia recruitment for the remaining years of the war, including 7,000 men from Massachusetts for the 1758 campaign.
Pownall was able to move a bill through the General Court to implement reforms of the militia system. The bill did not include all of the changes that Pownall had sought to achieve a more flexible and less costly organization, and its terms also handed more power over the militia in the hands of local officials and reduced the governor's control.
Despite the reforms, recruiting for the militia proved difficult, and recruiting parties were often harassed and stoned, which led to rioting on several occasions.
Pownall was, however, successful in recruiting the province's full quota of militia, and his energetic assistance in the war effort earned him approbation from Pitt; the Board of Trade; and the new commander-in-chief, James Abercrombie.
Flush with success, Pownall proposed to General Jeffery Amherst the idea of establishing a fort on Penobscot Bay to contest potential French movements in the area.
The area had been the site of periodic frontier raids since 1755, including a major attack on St. George in spring 1758.
The idea developed into a major expedition to the area, which received not only Amherst's approval but also the assembly's. Pownall led the expedition, oversaw the construction of Fort Pownall and counted it as a major success of the year. Its success kicked off a minor land rush in the area.
Although Pownall's start in power was somewhat rocky, his popularity in the province grew as his term progressed. He assiduously saw to the needs of its many fishermen, successfully convinced the military authorities to eliminate burdensome red tape and courted local merchants. He invested in ventures managed by Thomas and John Hancock and was lauded by a group of Massachusetts merchants upon his departure.
A bachelor, he was reported to be a ladies' man who was highly engaged in the social scene.
Although he was not strongly religious, he regularly attended Anglican services but was also a frequent visitor to local Congregational services.
He successfully finessed contentious issues surrounding the recruitment, deployment, and provisioning of militia by negotiating compromises between military and provincial demands.
He, however, had a strained relationship with his lieutenant governor, Thomas Hutchinson. The two men never trusted each other, and Pownall regularly excluded Hutchinson from his inner council meetings but instead sent him on missions such as to deal with militia recruitment issues.
One of Pownall's last acts before leaving the colony was to approve the appointment of James Otis Sr., a longtime Hutchinson adversary, as speaker of the assembly.
In the later months of 1759, Pownall wrote a letter to Pitt to request leave to return to England because "I might be of some service" there. The biographer John Schutz speculates that the underlying reason for Pownall's request was related to frustration with his exclusion from the major military actions of the later war years, which was possibly compounded by his desire to acquire a more significant post, such as a governor-generalship of the conquered New France. The historian Bernard Bailyn is of the opinion that Pownall's divisive dislike and distrust of Shirley supporters like Thomas Hutchinson and ensuing local political infighting contributed to the request, as did his difficult relationships with the military commanders.
Whatever the reason, the Board of Trade engaged in a reshuffling of colonial positions after King George II died, and Pownall was given the governorship of South Carolina and permission first to take leave in England. His departure from Boston was delayed by militia-recruiting issues and the need to deal with the aftermath of a major fire in the city, and he did not leave until June 1760.