James Henry Craig
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Sir James Henry Craig (1748 – 1812) was a British military officer and colonial administrator.
In 1795, the Netherlands, having fallen under the revolutionary government of Napoleon's France, a British force under General Sir James Craig set out to Cape Town to secure the colony for the Stadtholder Prince William V of Orange - a refugee in England - against the French. The expedition was successful, though the colony was held in British interests, not William V of Orange's.
Craig concurrently held the positions of Governor-General of the Canadas and lieutenant-governor of Lower Canada from 1807 to 1811. In 1810 he imprisoned leaders of the parti canadien without trial in an attempt to suppress French-Canadians, French nationalism and demands for responsible government. Craig considered measures such as creating English counties and replacing the legislative assembly with an appointed government as a means of increasing the power of English speakers in predominantly French Lower Canada. He also tried to encourage immigration from Britain and the United States in hopes of making the French a minority.
See also: List of Governors General of Canada and List of Lieutenant Governors of Quebec
Preceded by: Sir Alured Clarke | Commander-in-Chief, India 1801 | Succeeded by: Gerald Lake |
Preceded by: Robert Prescott | Governor General of British North America 1807–1811 | Succeeded by: Sir George Prevost External links
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