Monarch William IV
Victoria Spouse Julia Valenza (m. 1816) Name Francis Head | Signature Religion Anglican Siblings George Head | |
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Preceded by Sir John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, GCB, GCMG, GCH Succeeded by Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet KCH PC Profession Commissioned Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers Died July 20, 1875, Croydon, United Kingdom Education Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Books Rough Notes Taken Du, Stokers and Pokers and High, The emigrant, A Fortnight in Ireland, A Faggot of French Sticks Or | ||
Rough Notes Taken During Some Rapid Journeys Across the Pampas and Among the Andes Audiobook
Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet KCH PC (1 January 1793 – 20 July 1875), known as "Galloping Head", was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the rebellion of 1837.
Contents
- Rough Notes Taken During Some Rapid Journeys Across the Pampas and Among the Andes Audiobook
- Biography
- Legacy
- Works
- References
Biography
Bond Head was an officer in the corps of Royal Engineers of the British Army from 1811 to 1825; as such he earned a Waterloo Medal. Afterwards he attempted to set up a mining company in Argentina. He married Julia Valenza Somerville in 1816, and they eventually had four children. Bond Head was born to parents James Roper Mendes Head and Frances Anne Burgess. He was descended from the Spanish Jew Fernando Mendes, who accompanied as her personal physician Catherine of Braganza in 1662 when she came to England to marry Charles II. His grandfather Moses Mendes married Anna Gabriella Head and took on the Head name following the death of his wife's father.
Bond Head was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada in 1835 in an attempt by the British government to appease the reformers in the colony, such as William Lyon Mackenzie, who wanted responsible government. He appointed reformer Robert Baldwin to the Executive Council, though this appointment was opposed by the more radical Mackenzie. In any case he ignored Baldwin's advice, and Baldwin resigned; the Legislative Assembly of the 12th Parliament of Upper Canada then refused to pass any money bills, so Bond Head dissolved the government. In the subsequent election campaign, he appealed to the United Empire Loyalists of the colony, proclaiming that the reformers were advocating American republicanism. The Conservative party, led by the wealthy landowners known as the "Family Compact", won the election to the 13th Parliament of Upper Canada.
In December 1837, Mackenzie led a brief and bungled rebellion in Toronto. Sir Francis Bond Head later boasted that despite the evidence that poured in from every district in the Province he allowed Mackenzie to prepare a revolt. He further claimed that he encouraged the outbreak by sending all the troops from the province, laying a trap for Mackenzie. Despite there being no troops the York Militia had been preparing for an attack. Bond Head sent the colonial militia to put down the rebellion, which they did within four days. In response to the rebellion, Britain replaced Bond Head as Lieutenant-Governor with Sir George Arthur then Lord Durham. Bond Head returned to England and settled down to write books and essays.
In later life Bond Head lived at Duppas Hall, overlooking Duppas Hill in Croydon, where he organised protests against the proposed outlawing of horse-riding in the area. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1867.
Legacy
Several places in Ontario are named for Bond Head: