John Hay Drummond Hay
Encyclopedia
Right Hon. Sir John Hay Drummond Hay, (1816– 27 November 1893) GCMG
, KCB
was the United Kingdom's Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Morocco
in the nineteenth century.
John Drummond Hay was born in 1816, the son of Captain Edward Drummond Hay, who was a nephew of the ninth Earl of Kinnoul
. He was educated at Charterhouse School
alongside his brother Edward Hay Drummond Hay
.
At the age of 24 he was appointed a paid attaché
to the Embassy of Constantinople
, where he remained for four years, and was then sent to Morocco to assist the Agent and Consul-General in his communications with the Court of Morocco during the difficulties with the French Government. In this mission he displayed so much ability that a few months afterwards, though still having merely the rank of a paid attaché, he succeeded his temporary chief as Agent and Consul-General. Thus began diplomatic activity, involving considerable personal initiative and freedom of action, which lasted without interruption for more than 40 years. During this long period his intelligence, energy, and thorough knowledge of the Oriental character enabled him to exercise an amount of influence, both with the Government and with the native of all classes with whom he came in contact, such as had never been enjoyed by any of his predecessors, and such as none of his successors is ever likely to obtain. He belonged, in fact, to a category of diplomatists who are very useful in semi-civilized countries, but who are no longer to be found so near to Europe, and who are not well adapted to the present methods of bureaucratic and Parliamentary control. In 1845 he acted as a mediator in the difficulties which Morocco had with Denmark, Sweden and Spain, and signed in that capacity the convention which the Sultan concluded with the Court of Madrid. In 1856 he negotiated and signed a general treaty and a commercial convention with the Moroccan Government, and was raised five years afterwards to the rank of Minister Resident. In 1861 he was appointed by Emperor Peter II of Brazil a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Rose
. His further promotion to the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary took place in 1872, and to that of Envoy Extraordinary in 1880. In July, 1886, he retired on a pension, and was sworn a Privy Councillor, but he continued to reside privately a great part of the year in the country where he had served his country, so long and so successfully. He died at Wedderburn Castle
, near Duns
, in Scotland.
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....
, KCB
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...
was the United Kingdom's Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in the nineteenth century.
John Drummond Hay was born in 1816, the son of Captain Edward Drummond Hay, who was a nephew of the ninth Earl of Kinnoul
Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull
Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull PC was a Scottish peer and British politician.Hay was elected for Scarborough in 1736, but his election was overturned on petition. He sat as Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 1741 until 1758...
. He was educated at Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
alongside his brother Edward Hay Drummond Hay
Edward Hay Drummond Hay
Sir Edward Hay Drummond-Hay was a British naval officer, diplomat and colonial administrator.He was born in England, son of Captain Edward Drummond Hay, who was a nephew of the ninth Earl of Kinnoul, and educated at Charterhouse and was a Colonel of the 5th West India Regiment from 6 November 1854...
.
At the age of 24 he was appointed a paid attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
to the Embassy of 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:...
, where he remained for four years, and was then sent to Morocco to assist the Agent and Consul-General in his communications with the Court of Morocco during the difficulties with the French Government. In this mission he displayed so much ability that a few months afterwards, though still having merely the rank of a paid attaché, he succeeded his temporary chief as Agent and Consul-General. Thus began diplomatic activity, involving considerable personal initiative and freedom of action, which lasted without interruption for more than 40 years. During this long period his intelligence, energy, and thorough knowledge of the Oriental character enabled him to exercise an amount of influence, both with the Government and with the native of all classes with whom he came in contact, such as had never been enjoyed by any of his predecessors, and such as none of his successors is ever likely to obtain. He belonged, in fact, to a category of diplomatists who are very useful in semi-civilized countries, but who are no longer to be found so near to Europe, and who are not well adapted to the present methods of bureaucratic and Parliamentary control. In 1845 he acted as a mediator in the difficulties which Morocco had with Denmark, Sweden and Spain, and signed in that capacity the convention which the Sultan concluded with the Court of Madrid. In 1856 he negotiated and signed a general treaty and a commercial convention with the Moroccan Government, and was raised five years afterwards to the rank of Minister Resident. In 1861 he was appointed by Emperor Peter II of Brazil a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Rose
Order of the Rose
The Imperial Order of the Rose is an Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg....
. His further promotion to the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary took place in 1872, and to that of Envoy Extraordinary in 1880. In July, 1886, he retired on a pension, and was sworn a Privy Councillor, but he continued to reside privately a great part of the year in the country where he had served his country, so long and so successfully. He died at Wedderburn Castle
Wedderburn Castle
Wedderburn Castle, near Duns, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders, is an 18th century country house. It is the historic family seat of the Home of Wedderburn family, cadets of the Home family .-History:...
, near Duns
Duns
Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...
, in Scotland.