Lord Castlereagh
Foreign Secretary 1812–1822

Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC (18 June 1769 in Dublin – 12 August 1822 at Loring Hall, Kent), known until 1821 by his courtesy title of Viscount Castlereagh, was an Anglo-Irish politician born in Dublin who represented the United Kingdom at the Congress of Vienna. He was also intimately involved in securing the passage of the controversial Irish Act of Union. He was the son of Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry, a landowner who was created an earl and subsequently a marquess by King George III of the United Kingdom. He received his early education at The Royal School, Armagh, and later attended St. John's College, Cambridge for a single year. Additionally, the elder Robert Stewart was also known as The Viscount Castlereagh for about one year. Lord Castlreagh The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Lord Castlreagh The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The insignia of a knight of the Order of the Garter. ... The Royal Guelphic Order was a British order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later George IV). ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The coronation banquet for George IV 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Anglo-Irish was a term used historically to describe a ruling class inhabitants of Ireland who were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy[1], mostly belonging to the Anglican Church of Ireland or to a lesser extent one of the English dissenting churches, such as the Methodist church. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... The Congress of Vienna by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1819. ... The Act of Union 1800 merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain (itself a merger of England and Wales and Scotland under the Act of Union 1707) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. ... Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry (September 27, 1739) - (April 6, 1821) was an Irish politician and landowner, and father of the famous politician Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh. ... George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... // Royal School Armagh The Royal School, Armagh, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in the city of Armagh, Northern Ireland. ... Full name The College of Saint John the Evangelist of the University of Cambridge Motto - Named after The Hospital of Saint John the Evangelist, Cambridge, named after John the Evangelist Previous names - Established 1511 Sister College Balliol College Master Prof. ...

Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry, and is generally known to history by that title. He became briefly 2nd Marquess of Londonderry in the Peerage of Ireland on the death of his father in 1821. A courtesy title is a form of address in the British peerage system used for wives, children, and other close relatives of a peer. ... Year 1796 (MDCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The title of Marquess of Londonderry (pronounced Lundundry) is a title in the Peerage of Ireland created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry, father of Lord Castlereagh, the Foreign Secretary at the time. ... The Peerage of Ireland the term used for those peers created by British monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. ... The coronation banquet for George IV 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Early Career and Ireland

In 1790, Stewart was elected MP for County Down and entered the Irish House of Commons as a Whig on a platform supporting electoral reform and Catholic emancipation. He was, however, enrolled in the militia shortly thereafter as an officer, a matter of course for a young aristocrat, and got to see very little of the Commons. In 1794, he won the English seat of Tregony on a similar platform. In 1795, he crossed the floor to join the Tories, but his initial principles of reform and emancipation continued to hold a place in his political thought. Year 1790 (MDCCXC) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Irish House of Commons Members of the lower House of the Irish Parliament, the Irish House of Commons, were like their British counterparts known as Members of Parliament. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Downpatrick Area: 2,448 km² Population (est. ... The Irish House of Commons by Francis Wheatley (1780) The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from mediæval times until 1800. ... The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid 19th centuries. ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Tregony (sometimes in the past Tregoney) civil parish and village in the Carrick district of Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. ...

In 1794, Stewart married Emily Hobart-Maxwell, a woman noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness and eccentricity. The two remained devoted to each other to the end, and had no children of their own. 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

By 1797, he had risen to the post of Chief Secretary for Ireland. In this capacity, he played a key role in quashing the Irish Rebellion of 1798, offering clemency to commoners who had supported the rebellion, and focusing instead on pursuing rebel leaders. In 1800, he began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for an official union between the two, convinced that it was the best way to soothe the long-standing sectarian divides in Ireland. After an outstanding display of machiavellian tactical prowess, he got his wish and the Irish Act of Union succeeded in passing both parliaments. 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Chief Secretary was the most important position for determining British policy in Ireland after the Lord Lieutenant, and was frequently a cabinet level position in the 19th and early twentieth centuries. ... The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (Éirí Amach 1798 in Irish), or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally, was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against the British dominated Kingdom of Ireland. ... // ON MAY 5 1853 MR.FADER HAD SEX WITH A MAN NAME MR WIEN THEN THEY HAD SON NAMEDMRS COTURE AND MR MANOOGIAN WENT INTO MRS HASKELLS OFFICE NAKED AND DANCED AROUND AND MASTERBATED ON HER CHEST AND SHE LICKED IT OFF THEN THEY HAD ORAL SEEX WITH NAPLOEAN OF... The Act of Union 1800 merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain (itself a merger of England and Wales and Scotland under the Act of Union 1707) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. ...

During his campaign for the Act of Union, he had promised that Irish Catholics would be allowed to sit in parliament, a move that was opposed by much of the British establishment, including George III. When it came to light in that the king had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace the pro-emancipation Pitt, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned in protest. George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738–29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (May 30, 1757 - February 15, 1844) was a British statesman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804. ... Catholic Emancipation was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the Penal Laws. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the the United Kingdom. ...

Diplomatist

After a few years, tensions between Tories supporting emancipation and those opposing it had cooled, and Castlereagh returned to the cabinet as President of the Board of Control. In 1804, after much urging by Castlereagh, Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amidst the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. After that cabinet collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in the Duke of Portland's administration in 1807. In that role he became involved in disputes with Foreign Secretary George Canning over the failure of the Walcheren Expedition, and the two fought a duel late in 1809. This forced both of their resignations from the government. The President of the Board of Control was a British government official in the late 18th and early 19th century responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally serving as the chief official in London responsible for Indian affairs. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India). ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1806-1807. ... William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (April 14, 1738 - October 30, 1809) was a British Whig and Tory statesman and Prime Minister. ... Year 1807 (MDCCCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdoms governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices. ... George Canning (11 April 1770-8 August 1827) was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and, briefly, Prime Minister. ... The Walcheren expedition (July 30 - December 10, 1809), a British military operation during the Napoleonic Wars, formed the last in a series of operations in Flanders (present-day Belgium) in 1809. ... Year 1809 (MDCCCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812. In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as a quadruple alliance between the United Kingdom, Austria, Russia and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. According to the Congress system the main signatory powers were to meet periodically (every two years or so) and collectively manage European affairs. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the unreconcilable differences of opinion between the United Kingdom, Austria and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. For the overture by Tchaikovsky, see 1812 Overture; For the wars, see War of 1812 (USA - United Kingdom) or Patriotic War of 1812 (France - Russia) For the Siberia Airlines plane crashed over the Black Sea on October 4, 2001, see Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 1812 was a leap year starting... Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and Prime Minister. ... Motto: Suum cuique Latin: To each his own Prussia at its peak, as leading state of the German Empire Capital Königsberg, later Berlin Political structure Duchy, Kingdom, Republic Duke1  - 1525–68 Albert I  - 1688–1701 Frederick III King1  - 1701–13 Frederick I  - 1888–1918 William II Prime Minister1,2... Chaumont is the name or part of the name of several communes in [[France], as well as a town in New York Chaumont, Cher, in the Cher département Chaumont, Haute-Marne, in the Haute-Marne département Chaumont, Orne, in the Orne département Chaumont, Haute-Savoie, in the... The 1814 Treaty of Paris, signed on May 30, 1814, ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition of the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, Sweden and Prussia. ... The Congress of Vienna by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1819. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... The Congress system is a diplomatic process adhered to between 1815 and 1822, under which all matters of international importance were discussed at meeting of all European powers in order to ensure uniform action on the part of all concerned. ...

In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued competently to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century.

Castlereagh was not known to be an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. He did however enjoy a great reputation for integrity, consistency and good will, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of his time. His views on foreign policy were, unfortunately, ahead of his time.

Decline and Death

Despite his many achievements, Castlereagh was extremely unpopular within the country as a result of his supposed reactionism abroad, and his association with the repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth. He attracted this last criticism because, as the Leader of the House of Commons, he was often called upon to defend his colleagues' policies in that most public of British forums. If he wanted to remain in cabinet, he had to defend the almost universally despised measures taken by Sidmouth and the others. For these reasons, Castlereagh is immortalised next to others in Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, a poem heavily critical of, and inspired by the Peterloo massacre: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office and is responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the whole United Kingdom (including Scotland and Northern Ireland). ... The Right Honourable Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, PC (30 May 1757–15 February 1844) was a British statesman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804. ... Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyrical poets of the English language. ... The Masque of Anarchy is a political poem written in 1819 by Percy Bysshe Shelley following the Peterloo massacre of that year. ... Print of the Peterloo Massacre published by Richard Carlile Peterloo Massacre of August 16, 1819 was the result of a cavalry charge into the crowd at a public meeting at St Peters Fields, Manchester, England. ...

I met Murder on the way –

He had a face like Castlereagh –

Very smooth he looked, yet grim;

Seven bloodhounds followed him

All were fat; and well they might

Be in admirable plight,

For one by one, and two by two,

He tossed them human hearts to chew

Which from his wide cloak he drew.

After the death of his father in 1821 he became Lord Londonderry. That same year, he appeared to be suffering from a form of paranoia. On 9 August 1822 he had an audience with King George IV in which he revealed to the King that he was being blackmailed. He said, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, the Bishop of Clogher until that July, had been caught in the back room of a public house with his trousers down, accompanied by a young soldier. The King is said to have advised Londonderry to "consult a physician". Londonderry returned to his country seat at Loring Hall in Water Lane North Cray in Kent, and on 12 August committed suicide by cutting his throat with a letter opener. The coronation banquet for George IV 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... For other senses of this word, see paranoia (disambiguation). ... August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death. ... Percy Jocelyn (November 29, 1764 - September 3, 1843) was Anglican bishop of Clogher from 1820 to 1822. ... The Bishop of Clogher is the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland Diocese of Clogher. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Pants. ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the willful act of killing oneself. ... A letter opener is a knife like object used to cut open envelopes in which letters are sent or to slit uncut pages of books. ...

Londonderry's suicide by George Cruikshank. 1822

An inquest concluded that the act had been committed whilst insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of the felo de se verdict that would have seen the suicide victim buried with a stake in his heart at a crossroads – an action that last occurred in 1823 before the law was amended in the same year. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, construed this to be indicative of a "cover-up" within the ministry and a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. His funeral on 20 August was greeted with jeering and insults along the processional route, although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press. A final cheer was raised as the coffin entered into Westminster Abbey, departing from the public eye for the last time. Lord Londonderry was buried in the Abbey in the shadow of his mentor, William Pitt the Younger; a funeral monument was not erected until 1850 by his half-brother and successor, the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. Image File history File links Castlereagh_death. ... Image File history File links Castlereagh_death. ... George Cruikshank (September 27, 1792 – February 1, 1878) was an English artist and caricaturist, well-known for his satirical illustrations of contemporary figures and events. ... Felo de se, Latin for felon of himself, is an archaic legal term meaning suicide. ... William Cobbett, portrait in oils possibly by George Cooke around 1831. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. ... Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCB, GCH (May 18, 1778) - (March 6, 1854) was a British soldier, politician and nobleman, the son (by his second wife) of Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry, and half-brother to Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh. ...

Sometime after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a sarcastic quip about his grave: Lord Byron, Anglo-Scottish poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (January 22, 1788–April 19, 1824) was an Anglo-Scottish poet and a leading figure in Romanticism. ...

Posterity will ne'er survey

A nobler grave than this:

Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:

Stop, traveller, and piss.

And yet, some of Castlereagh's political opponents were gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, Whig politician and later Lord Chancellor, wrote: Lord Henry Peter Brougham Baron Brougham & Vaux sitting as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (September 19, 1778 - May 7, 1868) was Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ...

Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other -- single he plainly weighed them down...One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.

A blue plaque is displayed at the entrance to this listed mansion in commemoration of its most famous resident, who occupied the property in St. James Square from 1811. A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ... Categories: Disambiguation | Stub ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Titles

Castlereagh's titles from birth to death:

• Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769-1789)
• The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789-1796)
• Viscount Castlereagh (1796-1798)
• The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1798-1821)
• The Most Honourable The Marquess of Londonderry (1821-1822)

Trivia

• Castlereagh spoke three languages: English, his mother tongue, French, the language of his trade, and Latin, which he learned at Cambridge.

• Castlereagh was born with a club foot.

The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

References

• Harold Nicolson, 'The Congress of Vienna' (1946)
• H. Montgomery Hyde, 'The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh'
• John Derry, 'Castlereagh' (London 1976)
• Wendy Hinde, 'Castlereagh' (London 1981)
• Henry Kissinger, 'A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace, 1812-22'
• Charles Webster
• Robert Stewart, 'The Lightning Rod for Lord Liverpool's Government: Lord Castlereagh and HIs Critics, 1812 to 1822' (Unpublished M.A. Thesis, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario 1993)

Sir Harold Nicolson (November 21, 1886 – May 1, 1968) was a British diplomat, author and politician. ... Harford Montgomery Hyde (1907-1989) was a barrister, politician and author from Northern Ireland. ... Sir Charles Kingsley Webster (1886-04-25 – 1961) was a British historian and diplomat. ...

External links

• Spartacus page
• Chapter 1 of Victorian Suicide: Mad Crimes and Sad Histories, Barbara T. Gates

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.