Henry Loch, 1st Baron Loch
Encyclopedia
Henry Brougham Loch, 1st Baron Loch GCB
, GCMG
(23 May 1827 – 20 June 1900) was a Scottish
soldier and colonial administrator.
, Member of Parliament
, of Drylaw
, Midlothian
. He entered the Royal Navy
, but at the end of two years quit it for the British East India Company
's military service, and in 1842 obtained a commission in the Bengal Light Cavalry. In the First Anglo-Sikh War
of 1845–1846 he was given an appointment on the staff of Sir Hugh Gough
, and served throughout the Sutlej
campaign. In 1852 he became adjutant of Skinner's Horse.
At the outbreak of the Crimean War
in 1854, Loch severed his connection with India, and obtained leave to raise a body of irregular Bulgaria
n cavalry, which he commanded throughout the war. In 1857 he was appointed attaché to Lord Elgin's
mission to the East, was present at the taking of Canton
during the Second Opium War
, and in 1858 brought home the Treaty of Yedo
.
In April 1860 he again accompanied Lord Elgin to China, as secretary of the new embassy sent to secure the execution by China of her treaty engagements. The embassy was backed up by an allied Anglo-French force. With Harry S. Parkes
he negotiated the surrender of the Taku forts
. During the advance on Peking
Loch was chosen with Parkes to complete the preliminary negotiations for peace at Tungchow. They were accompanied by a small party of officers and Sikhs. It having been discovered that the Chinese were planning a treacherous attack on the British force, Loch rode back and warned the outposts. He then returned to Parkes and his party under a flag of truce hoping to secure their safety. They were all, however, made prisoners and taken to Peking, where the majority died from torture or disease. Parkes and Loch were afterwards more leniently treated. After three weeks time the negotiations for their release were successful, but they had only been liberated ten minutes when orders were received from the Xianfeng Emperor
, then a fugitive in Chengde
, for their immediate execution.
In 1862 he married Elizabeth Villiers; they had two daughters and a son.
, and for a while was private secretary to Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet
, then at the Home Office
. In 1863 he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
. During his governorship the House of Keys
was transformed into an elective assembly, the first line of railway was opened, and the influx of tourists began to bring fresh prosperity to the island. In 1882 Loch, who had become Knight Commander of the Bath in 1880, accepted a commissionership of woods and forests, and two years later was made governor of the territory of Victoria
in Australia
. In June 1889 he succeeded Sir Hercules Robinson as Governor of Cape Colony
and High Commissioner for Southern Africa
.
As High Commissioner
his duties called for the exercise of great judgment and firmness. The Boer
s were at the same time striving to frustrate Cecil Rhodes's schemes of northern expansion and planning to occupy Mashonaland
, to secure control of Swaziland
and Zululand
and to acquire the adjacent lands up to the ocean. Loch firmly supported Rhodes, and, by informing President Paul Kruger
that troops would be sent to prevent any invasion of territory under British protection, he effectually crushed the Banyailand trek across the Limpopo River
(1890–1891). Loch, however, with the approval of the imperial government, concluded in July–August 1890 a convention with President Kruger respecting Swaziland, by which, while the Boers withdrew all claims to territory north of the Transvaal
, they were granted an outlet to the sea at Kosi Bay
on condition that the republic entered the South African Customs Union. This convention was concluded after negotiations conducted with President Kruger by J. H. Hofmeyr on behalf of the high commissioner, and was made at a time when the British and Bond parties in Cape Colony were working in harmony.
The Transvaal did not, however, fulfil the necessary condition, and in view of the increasingly hostile attitude of the Pretoria administration to the United Kingdom Loch became a strong advocate of the annexation by Britain of the territory east of Swaziland, through which the Boer railway to the sea would have passed. He at length induced the British government to adopt his view and on 15 March 1895 it was announced that these territories (Amatongaland
, etc.), would be annexed by Britain, an announcement received by Kruger with the greatest astonishment and regret.
Meanwhile Loch had been forced to intervene in another matter. When the commandeering difficulty of 1894 had roused the Uitlander
s in the Transvaal to a dangerous pitch of excitement, he travelled to Pretoria
to use his personal influence with President Kruger, and obtained the withdrawal of the obnoxious commandeering regulations. In the following year he entered a strong protest against the new Transvaal franchise law. Meanwhile, however, the general situation in South Africa was assuming year by year a more threatening aspect. Cecil Rhodes, then prime minister of Cape Colony, was strongly in favor of a more energetic policy than was supported by the Imperial government, and at the end of March 1895 the high commissioner, finding himself, it is believed, out of touch with his ministers, returned home a few months before the expiry of his term of office. In the same year he was raised to the peerage
.
When the Second Boer War
broke out in 1899 Loch took a leading part in raising and equipping a body of mounted men, named after him Loch's Horse. He died in London on 20 June 1900, and was succeeded as Baron Loch by his son Edward Douglas Loch
(1873–1942).
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...
, GCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(23 May 1827 – 20 June 1900) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
soldier and colonial administrator.
Military service
He was the son of James LochJames Loch
James Loch was a Scottish estate commissioner and later a Member of Parliament.-Early life:Loch was born near Edinburgh in 1780. After his father's death in 1788, he lived on the Blair Adam estate with his uncle....
, Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, of Drylaw
Drylaw
Drylaw is a suburb in the north west of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland between Blackhall and Granton. Formerly the estate of Drylaw House, the home of the Loch family, the area became the site of a major housing scheme in the 1950s designed to rehouse the occupants in Leith. It is on the A902...
, Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
. He entered the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, but at the end of two years quit it for the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
's military service, and in 1842 obtained a commission in the Bengal Light Cavalry. In the First Anglo-Sikh War
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...
of 1845–1846 he was given an appointment on the staff of Sir Hugh Gough
Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough
Field Marshal Sir Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCSI, KCB, PC , was an Irish British Army officer. He was said to have commanded in more general actions than any other British officer of the 19th century except the Duke of Wellington.- Early career :Born at Woodstown House, Co...
, and served throughout the Sutlej
Sutlej
The Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. It is located north of the Vindhya Range, south of the Hindu Kush segment of the Himalayas, and east of the Central Sulaiman Range in Pakistan.The Sutlej...
campaign. In 1852 he became adjutant of Skinner's Horse.
At the outbreak of 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...
in 1854, Loch severed his connection with India, and obtained leave to raise a body of irregular Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n cavalry, which he commanded throughout the war. In 1857 he was appointed attaché to Lord Elgin's
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
mission to the East, was present at the taking of Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
during the Second Opium War
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
, and in 1858 brought home the Treaty of Yedo
Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce
The was signed on August 26, 1858 by Lord Elgin and the then representatives of the Japanese government . This was an unequal treaty, that gave Japan semi-colonial status.The concessions which Japan made were threefold:...
.
In April 1860 he again accompanied Lord Elgin to China, as secretary of the new embassy sent to secure the execution by China of her treaty engagements. The embassy was backed up by an allied Anglo-French force. With Harry S. Parkes
Harry Smith Parkes
Sir Harry Smith Parkes was a 19th century British diplomat who worked mainly in China and Japan...
he negotiated the surrender of the Taku forts
Taku Forts
The Dagu Forts , also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of the Tianjin urban center.-History:The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Jiajing...
. During the advance on Peking
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
Loch was chosen with Parkes to complete the preliminary negotiations for peace at Tungchow. They were accompanied by a small party of officers and Sikhs. It having been discovered that the Chinese were planning a treacherous attack on the British force, Loch rode back and warned the outposts. He then returned to Parkes and his party under a flag of truce hoping to secure their safety. They were all, however, made prisoners and taken to Peking, where the majority died from torture or disease. Parkes and Loch were afterwards more leniently treated. After three weeks time the negotiations for their release were successful, but they had only been liberated ten minutes when orders were received from the Xianfeng Emperor
Xianfeng Emperor
The Xianfeng Emperor , born Aisin-Gioro I Ju, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1850 to 1861.-Family and his early years:...
, then a fugitive in Chengde
Chengde
Chengde , previously known as Jehol or Re He , is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China, situated northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as summer residence...
, for their immediate execution.
In 1862 he married Elizabeth Villiers; they had two daughters and a son.
Colonial administrator
Loch never entirely recovered his health after this experience in a Chinese dungeon. Returning home he was made Companion of the Order of the BathOrder 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...
, and for a while was private secretary to Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet, PC was a British Whig politician. He held office under four Prime Ministers, Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell, Lord Aberdeen, and Lord Palmerston, and notably served three times as Home Secretary.-Background and education:Grey was the only son of Sir George Grey, 1st...
, then at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. In 1863 he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
The Lieutenant Governor is the representative on the Isle of Man of the Lord of Mann . He/she has the power to grant Royal Assent and is styled His Excellency. In recent times the Governor has either been a retired diplomat or senior military officer...
. During his governorship the House of Keys
House of Keys
The House of Keys is the directly elected lower branch of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council....
was transformed into an elective assembly, the first line of railway was opened, and the influx of tourists began to bring fresh prosperity to the island. In 1882 Loch, who had become Knight Commander of the Bath in 1880, accepted a commissionership of woods and forests, and two years later was made governor of the territory of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In June 1889 he succeeded Sir Hercules Robinson as Governor of Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
and High Commissioner for Southern Africa
High Commissioner for Southern Africa
The British office of High Commissioner for South Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates Basutoland , the Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland, as well as for relations with autonomous governments in the area...
.
As High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
his duties called for the exercise of great judgment and firmness. The Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
s were at the same time striving to frustrate Cecil Rhodes's schemes of northern expansion and planning to occupy Mashonaland
Mashonaland
Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. It is the home of the Shona people.Currently, Mashonaland is divided into three provinces, with a total population of about 3 million:* Mashonaland West* Mashonaland Central* Mashonaland East...
, to secure control of Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
and Zululand
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
and to acquire the adjacent lands up to the ocean. Loch firmly supported Rhodes, and, by informing President Paul Kruger
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
that troops would be sent to prevent any invasion of territory under British protection, he effectually crushed the Banyailand trek across the Limpopo River
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in central southern Africa, and flows generally eastwards to the Indian Ocean. It is around long, with a drainage basin in size. Its mean annual discharge is 170 m³/s at its mouth...
(1890–1891). Loch, however, with the approval of the imperial government, concluded in July–August 1890 a convention with President Kruger respecting Swaziland, by which, while the Boers withdrew all claims to territory north of the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, they were granted an outlet to the sea at Kosi Bay
Kosi Bay
Kosi Bay is a series of four interlinked lakes in the Maputuland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.The lakes form part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site....
on condition that the republic entered the South African Customs Union. This convention was concluded after negotiations conducted with President Kruger by J. H. Hofmeyr on behalf of the high commissioner, and was made at a time when the British and Bond parties in Cape Colony were working in harmony.
The Transvaal did not, however, fulfil the necessary condition, and in view of the increasingly hostile attitude of the Pretoria administration to the United Kingdom Loch became a strong advocate of the annexation by Britain of the territory east of Swaziland, through which the Boer railway to the sea would have passed. He at length induced the British government to adopt his view and on 15 March 1895 it was announced that these territories (Amatongaland
Amatongaland
Tongaland, or Amatongaland, existed in southeast Africa, lastly as a district of Zululand, forming the northern neck of Zululand. Bordered on the west by the Lebombo Mountains, the area comprised 1280 mi²...
, etc.), would be annexed by Britain, an announcement received by Kruger with the greatest astonishment and regret.
Meanwhile Loch had been forced to intervene in another matter. When the commandeering difficulty of 1894 had roused the Uitlander
Uitlander
Uitlander, Afrikaans for "foreigner" , was the name given to expatriate migrant workers during the initial exploitation of the Witwatersrand gold fields in the Transvaal...
s in the Transvaal to a dangerous pitch of excitement, he travelled to Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
to use his personal influence with President Kruger, and obtained the withdrawal of the obnoxious commandeering regulations. In the following year he entered a strong protest against the new Transvaal franchise law. Meanwhile, however, the general situation in South Africa was assuming year by year a more threatening aspect. Cecil Rhodes, then prime minister of Cape Colony, was strongly in favor of a more energetic policy than was supported by the Imperial government, and at the end of March 1895 the high commissioner, finding himself, it is believed, out of touch with his ministers, returned home a few months before the expiry of his term of office. In the same year he was raised to the peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
.
When the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
broke out in 1899 Loch took a leading part in raising and equipping a body of mounted men, named after him Loch's Horse. He died in London on 20 June 1900, and was succeeded as Baron Loch by his son Edward Douglas Loch
Edward Loch, 2nd Baron Loch
Major-General Edward Douglas Loch, 2nd Baron Loch CB, CMG, DSO, MVO was a senior British Army officer and peer....
(1873–1942).