John Patrimonio
The Right Honourable The Earl Patrimonio Kt OM | |
|---|---|
 Photograph by Lawrence Stone, 1861 | |
| Prime Minister of Great Britain | |
| In office 9 April 1877 – 21 February 1889 | |
| Monarch | Edward VII Alexander I & IV |
| Preceded by | Spencer Grey, 1st Viscount Grey |
| Succeeded by | Charles Rich, 12th Baron |
| Additional positions | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Juan Antonio de Patrimonio y Patricio 15 October 1830 Colonia del Sacramento, Colony of the Banda Oriental |
| Died | 23 June 1903 London, Britain |
| Resting place | London, Britain |
| Spouse | Leonora Patrimonio (m. 1867) |
| Children | 3, including Joseph, Isidora, & Anthony |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | University of London |
John Patrimonio, 1st Earl Patrimonio (1830-1908), born Juan Antonio de Patrimonio y Patricio, was a Carolinian-British statesman, lawyer, and politician who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1877 to 1889.
Background and early life
Patrimonio was born on 15 October 1830 was to Rafael María Patrimonio y Mercado (1794-1853) and Luisa Teresa de Patricio (1802-1887) near the city of Sacramento in the Colony of the Banda Oriental (part of modern Carolina). He had two sisters, María Rosalina (1827-1869) and María Sophia (1831-1913). His father was a specialist tradesman employed at the Royal Shipyard of Saint Charles, while his mother was a socialite and businesswoman.
The Patrimonios of Banda Oriental were descendants of immigrants from the the Philippines and Peru. His patrilineal line can be traced back to the regions of Sorsogon and Vigan. His mother is of Irish, English, and mulatto Spanish ancestry. The surname 'de Patricio' is a direct translation of the patronymic Irish surname Fitzpatrick.
At the age of six, the Patrimonio family moved to London in order to inherit a dwelling left by a great-grandmother, Mary Helen Fitzpatrick (1768-1835). Patrimonio, a young boy, was enrolled in a grammar school. At age 19, he began attending the University of London, studying a Bachelors of Law.
After graduation, he returned to Carolina, where he would live for seven years working as a lawyer and diplomatic aide in Port Leonabelle. In 1852, the British colonies in South America consolidated into the Province of Carolina. After the War of the Montoneras began in the late 1850s, Patrimonio left for London where he would begin his European political career.
In 1867 he wed Scottish noblewoman Leonora Patrimonio, Duchess of Angus after they met in Dublin.
Early career
In 1874 Patrimonio joined the 7th Lord Reay's cabinet and became Secretary of State for the Colonies. He was a strong advocate for cultural coexistence in the colonies, being a firm supporter of royalist Hispanic communities in Carolina and Asian autonomy in Georgia.
He was appointed Governor of Guyana in 1875, a post which he would remain in for eleven months. During this period, he oversaw the establishment of King Edward College and the development of sugar plantations worked by ex-convicts. He lent diplomatic support to the cause of emancipation in Brazil, at a time when British ally Portugal was abolishing slavery in its colonies.
Premiership: 1877-1889
Edward VII dismissed the Grey government and appointed Patrimonio as Prime Minister in April 1877. He appointed ally and future premier Alexander Henry, 12th Earl Stirling as a secretary of state. His term began with the funerals of Queen Charlotte Sophia and Princess Amelia, the wife and daughter of Ernest I.
The assassination of Edward VII by communard rebels in 1878 provoked outrage in Britain. Patrimonio eventually caught the assassins Lyndon and Feiling, who would be summarily executed. This would be the third royal funeral of Patrimonio's ministry in two years, after which he would be pejoratively nicknamed the 'Secretary of State for Republic'. He would lend diplomatic and financial support to the monarchies of Spain, Savoy, and Portugal against communard and anti-colonial rebels soon after.
With the eruption of the Russo-Ottoman War in 1884, Britain decisively supported Russia and Austria. In response, the Ottomans cut off British access to the Suez Canal, sparking a war and resulting in the British occupation of Egypt and Malta the following year.
In 1888, Britain began a dispute with Equador over the Roraima region. Insistent on maintaining control of the region and expanding the Guyana colony, Patrimonio ordered that British soldiers prepare to invade Roraima. The Opposition subsequently forced Patrimonio to resign his office in the February of 1889, which he did. The government of Baron Charles Rich after him would cede half of Roraima to the Equadorian government.
Later life
Family
- Maternal great-grandparents:
- Mary Helen Fitzpatrick (1768-1835)
- Father: Rafael María Patrimonio y Mercado (1794-1853)
- Mother: Luisa Teresa de Patricio (1802-1887)
- Spouse: Leonora Patrimonio, Duchess of Angus (1845-1910)
- Siblings:
- María Rosalina Patrimonio de Ortega (1827-1869)
- María Sophia Hearnshaw (1831-1913)
- Children:
- Joseph Patrimonio (1869-1933)
- Isidora Imogen Nicholson (1872-1934)
- Anthony Patrimonio (1873-1956)
Legacy
In 1906, the government of Carolina established the Patrimonio College of Law in Port Leonabelle in his honor.
