Sir William Edward Maxwell
KCMG
Governor of the Gold Coast
In office
7 April 1895 – 6 December 1897
MonarchQueen Victoria
Preceded byWilliam Brandford Griffith
Succeeded byFrederick Mitchell Hodgson
Acting Governor of the Straits Settlements
In office
30 August 1893 – 1 February 1894
MonarchQueen Victoria
Preceded bySir Cecil Clementi Smith
Succeeded bySir Charles Mitchell
6th Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements
In office
9 March 1892 – 1895
MonarchQueen Victoria
GovernorSir Cecil Clementi Smith
Sir Charles Mitchell
Preceded bySir John Frederick Dickson
Arthur Philip Talbot (Acting)
Succeeded byJames Alexander Swettenham
British Resident of Selangor
In office
1889–1892
Preceded byFrank Athelstane Swettenham
John Pickersgill Rodger (Acting)
Succeeded byWilliam Hood Treacher
Personal details
Born5 August 1846
Died10 December 1897(1897-12-10) (aged 51)
sea off Grand Canary[1]
Spouse
Lillias Grant Aberigh-Mackay
​
​
(m. 1870)​
ChildrenSir William George Maxwell
Parents
  • Sir Peter Benson Maxwell (father)
  • Frances Dorothea (mother)
OccupationColonial administrator

Sir William Edward Maxwell, KCMG (5 August 1846 – 14 December 1897)[1] was a British colonial official who served as Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements and Governor of the Gold Coast, then a British colony.

Early days

Born on 5 August 1846, William Edward Maxwell was the son of Sir Peter Benson Maxwell, the Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements.

Career

Straits Settlements

Maxwell followed his father into the legal profession, and also served in the courts of the Straits Settlements.[1]

In 1883, Maxwell was appointed the Commissioner of Land Titles in the Straits Settlements, to be a Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils of those Settlements.[2] In 1889, he was appointed the Resident of Selangor. He became the Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements in 1892,[3] and was acting governor from 30 August 1893 to 1 February 1894.

Anglo-Ashanti War

In 1895, Maxwell was promoted to the governorship of the Gold Coast (now Ghana).[4] Under his governorship the British declared war on the Asante Empire, the fourth Anglo-Ashanti War, known as the "Second Ashanti Expedition" in 1895.

An earlier Treaty signed by the Asantes in 1874, but whose terms were widely considered as absurd and unenforceable, was invoked by Maxwell. When the Asante King, Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh, could not meet the terms, Maxwell had him arrested, together with his mother, father, brother, uncles and a dozen advisors.[5] They were later exiled to the Seychelles, not returning to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) until the 1920s.

Death and legacy

Suffering malaria, Maxwell died at sea off the Canary Islands and was buried at sea. He had married Lillias Grant Aberigh-Mackay in 1870, and left issue. At the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Accra in Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast) a memorial tablet to him exists. It reads:

"To the glory of God in memory of Sir William Maxwell KCMG Governor of the Gold Coast Colony, who sacrificed his life to his unselfish devotion to duty. Under his rule the Kingdom of Ashanti was brought under British control. In impaired health he undertook an expedition to the northern territories of the colony to extend peace and protection to slave raided tribes and contracted fever of which to the undying regret of all who knew him died on the voyage home. Born 5th August 1846. Died 14th December 1897. 'Neither count I my life dear unto myself so that I might finish my course.'"[6]

Under the terms of his last will, he requested his niece to burn his private letters and diaries without examination, which was undertaken.[6]

Awards and honours

Maxwell was invested with Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) in 1885[7] and Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG) in 1896.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Maxwell, William Edward".
  2. ↑ "No. 25256". The London Gazette. 3 August 1883. p. 3867.
  3. ↑ "No. 26260". The London Gazette. 23 February 1892. p. 991.
  4. ↑ "No. 26596". The London Gazette. 8 February 1895. p. 773.
  5. ↑ Jeal, Tim (1989) Baden-Powell, London: Hutchinson, p.168
  6. 1 2 Mohamad Rashidi Pakri, 'An Imperial or a Personal Legacy? The Rivalry of W. E. Maxwell and F. A. Swettenham in British Malaya', Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 84, No. 2 (301) (December 2011), pp. 33-44
  7. ↑ "No. 25461". The London Gazette. 14 April 1885. p. 1669.
  8. ↑ "No. 10770". The Edinburgh Gazette. 14 April 1896. p. 361.
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