Sir Eric John Eagles Swayne (14 May 1863 - 9 September 1929) was a British

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 army officer and colonial administrator. He served in British Somaliland

British Somaliland

British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...

, where he was appointed Commissioner, and as Governor of British Honduras

British Honduras

British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...

, now Belize

Belize

Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

.

Early years

Swayne was born on 14 May 1863.
He was educated abroad, then attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst as a Gentleman Cadet for a year.
In 1882 he joined the Welsh Regiment, and later transferred to the Indian Staff Corps.
Swayne served in the Burma Campaign (1885-1887), the African Campaign (1898) and in Somaliland.

Somaliland

The Somali patriot leader Sheikh Haji Mohamed Abdullah Hassan was known by the British at the time as the "Mad Mullah" since he would not accept colonial rule.
In 1900 a part of the first British Somaliland expedition at Samala drove off Hassan with heavy losses.
Hassan retreated south towards Ferdiddin, near Damot, where he engaged with the main force of the British expedition under Swayne.
Hassan again suffered high losses and fled to Italian territory.
The next year, Hassan was the victor against Swayne in an engagement at Erego on 17 June 1901.
By 1901 Swayne was commander of the Somaliland Field Force.
He later was appointed Commissioner, Commander-in-Chief and Consul General of the Somaliland Protectorate.
In all he led four military expeditions in Somaliland.

British Honduras

Swayne was Governor of the British Honduras from 1906 to 1913. He was knighted in June 1910.
Throughout Swayne's governorship, his administration was attacked in Legislative Council and in the pages of the Clarion by the Creole establishment, of whom a few were white but most were mixed race.
Swayne was accused of being autocratic, as was his successor William Collet.
One of the targets of criticism was construction of the railway and subsequent sale of the Middlesex banana plantation to United Fruit.
In his correspondence with the Colonial Office, Swayne recommended extremely favorable terms to United Fruit so they would accept the offer rather than expanding in Guatemala.
Later, the hostility of the elite towards United Fruit was reversed. An editorial in the Clarion in 1914 said of a steamship subsidy requested by United Fruit that it was "well within our means ... and by no means excessive".

In 1917 Sir Eric Swayne said "We have to remember that the people of British Honduras have always been the freest people on earth. They originally had a public assembly which elected its own magistrates, and these magistrates carried out the laws which the public assembly, that is, the whole people, chose to adopt".
He also said "The mahogany cutters... used to sell themselves into a sort of slavery by receiving advances from their employers at the beginning of the season, which advances they spent most liberally in the town.. leaving their families to starve". This may be a somewhat exaggerated description.
He added "It is a pity, I think, having regard to the comfortable competency secured out of the Colony by successful merchants, that practically none have elected to remain in the country on retirement".

Later career and legacy

During the First World War Swayne's roles included Assistant Inspector of Recruiting.
He retired in 1919 as a Brigadier General and died on 9 September 1929.

The Givota genus of trees, which has light but very strong wood, is found in northeast tropical Africa including the Somaliland protectorate.
Swayne suggested that it might be useful in airplane construction, an idea that was being explored at the outbreak of World War I.
Swayne's elder brother, Colonel H. G. C. Swayne, was one of the first British officers to travel in Somaliland, and later wrote a book entitled "Seventeen Trips to Somaliland". In 1933 he donated eighty eight objects to the British Museum, including Jewellery and weapons of Somali origin, that he and Sir Eric Swayne had collected.