Major-General Sir Evan John Murray-Macgregor of Macgregor, 2nd Baronet, (born Murray; 1785 – 14 June 1841) was a Scottish colonial administrator and senior British Army officer.
Murray's father was a baronet and chief of Clan Gregor; the family had a military tradition, which Murray followed, serving in the British Army from 1801. He fought in the Peninsular War (1808–11) and, after arriving in India in 1811, the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18); he was severely injured while serving in the latter. By that time a Lieutenant-Colonel, he returned to England in 1820, inherited his father's baronetcy and chieftaincy two years later (adding Macgregor to his surname) and was appointed an aide-de-camp to the King in 1825.
In 1831, he was appointed Governor of Dominica and the following year became Governor of Antigua and the Leeward Islands, during which time he implemented the abolition of slavery on the island (1834); unusually, he was able to do this without using the optional transitional and highly restrictive apprenticeship system on the islands. The relative peace which followed immediate emancipation convinced him that this could be achieved elsewhere. He became Governor of Barbados and the Windward Islands in 1836, and worked to bring about the early end of the apprenticeship system which had been implemented on the islands in 1834; although he achieved that result in 1838, the British also passed an Act of Parliament overruling the local legislature to the same effect and Murray-Macgregor was accused of duplicity by some of the island's planters, who refused his request to bring their own termination date earlier still. Murray-Macgregor proclaimed early termination, effective on 1 August 1838. In the aftermath, he also had restrictive employment contract laws overruled. Although controversial and blamed for deteriorating legislative–executive relations, he has also been regarded as conciliatory and tactful in his approach to governing, with his administration overseeing liberal reforms. Having suffered from ill health for some time, Murray-Macgregor died in office in 1841.
Early life and family Evan John Murray was born either in January 1785Cokayne, p. 303. or on 2 June 1785,Foster, p. 401. the only child of Captain John Murray (1745–1822), an officer in the Bengal Army, and his wife Anne, daughter of Roderick Macleod, WS, of Edinburgh. In 1787, his father inherited the chieftaincy of Clan Gregor (or Macgregor) and in 1795 was created a baronet.Macgregor, p. 394.
On 28 May 1808, Murray married Lady Elizabeth Murray (1787–1846), daughter of John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, and had five sons who lived to adulthood: John Atholl Bannatyne Murray-Macgregor (1810–1851), who would inherit the baronetcy and serve as President of the British Virgin Islands.Burke, p. 713. Evan John William Murray-Macgregor (1819–1850), an officer in the Austrian military. James Strathallan Murray-Macgregor (1821–1843), who died in Dominica. Lieutenant Francis Alexander Robert Murray Macgregor (1823–1857), an officer in the Indian Army who was killed by members of his regiment in Jubbulpore during the Indian Mutiny.The East-India Register and Army List for 1858 (1858), p. 304. Lieutenant-Colonel Ernest Augustus Murray Macgregor (1825–1869), an officer in the 9th Light Cavalry in the East India Company's Army and a Groom in Waiting to the Queen (1869).The Register and Magazine of Biography, vol. 1 (1869), pp. 331–332.The Edinburgh Gazette, 12 January 1869 (issue 7919), p. 49.
And three daughters: Jane Anne Maria (married John James Hamilton Burgoyne, son of Sir John James Burgoyne), Elizabeth Mary Anne (died 1857; married to Joseph Blake of London) and Amelia Georgiana.
Military career A number of Murray's relatives had military careers; his father was Military Auditor General of Bengal between 1789 and 1796, and several uncles and cousins were also officers in the East India Company's Bengal army.Hodson, p. 141. Murray purchased a commission as an Ensign in the 81st Regiment of Foot in the British Army in 1801,The London Gazette, 26 December 1801 (issue 15439), p. 1531. then bought a commission as a Lieutenant in the 9th Regiment of Foot the following year,The London Gazette, 6 February 1802 (issue 15451), p. 130. and was transferred to the 15th Dragoons with the rank in 1803. The following year, he became Captain of a Troop (by purchase) in the same regiment.The London Gazette, 7 August 1804 (issue 15726), p. 953.
Murray fought with the Cavalry in the Corunna campaign of 1808–09 during the Peninsular War, serving under Lord Paget (who later became the Marquis of Anglesey); he was present at the Battle of Sahagún in December 1808. In 1810, he exchanged his commission and transferred to the 52nd Foot; he then travelled to Cádiz on Lord Lynedoch's staff. Murray was promoted to Major in the 103rd Foot in April 1810"Major-General Sir Evan John Murray Mac Gregor, of Mac Gregor, Bart., K.C.B., K.C.H.", The United Service Journal and Naval and Military Gazette (1841, part 3), pp. 243–244. and appointed Assistant Adjutant-General in Spain and Portugal. He was present during the Siege of Cádiz.
In June 1811, Murray exchanged into the 8th Light Dragoons and went to the East Indies, arriving in October that year. He was appointed Deputy Quartermaster-General in January 1812 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He transferred back to the 8th Light Dragoons three years later. In June 1816, he was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General and served in the Deccan under Sir Thomas Hislop in the Third Anglo-Maratha War. An obituary in the United Service Journal records that he "distinguished himself" at the Battle of Mahidpur (December 1817) by leading the attack on the batteries under Maharaja Malhar Rao Holkar II's command. After Holkar's forces were defeated in the battle, most of his border fortresses surrendered. The last holdout was the fort at Talnar (or Talnier).H. M. Chichester, revised by Alex May, "Hislop, Sir Thomas, first baronet", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed., Oxford University Press, September 2005). Retrieved 11 April 2020. There, the following February, Murray joined Hislop's forces in storming the fort. Although the attack was successful (though controversial for Hislop slaughtered the remnants of the Maratha garrison after it had surrendered), Murray was severely wounded (sustaining seven dagger wounds); he was left unable to use his right arm. Murray's stand, surrounded by enemies, was captured in a watercolour by William Heath, which is now housed in the British Museum's collections."Collection online: museum number 1937,0308.17", British Museum. Retrieved 11 April 2020. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in October 1818 but was forced to return to England in July 1820 because of his injuries.
Murray inherited the baronetcy on his father's death in June 1822; he also became chief of Clan Gregor and in December 1822 received a Royal Licence to take the surname Murray-Macgregor. He was also made a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order (KH) in 1822. In May 1825, Murray-Macgregor was appointed an aide-de-camp to the King (with the rank of colonel) and travelled with him to Lisbon two years later. In 1831, he participated in the coronation procession of William IV in his capacity as an aide-de-camp,The London Gazette, 13 September 1831 (issue 18848), p. 1862. and was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Order (KCH). In 1837 was promoted to the rank of major-general.
Colonial governor
Dominica (1831–32) and Antigua and the Leeward Islands (1832–36) On 25 July 1831, Murray-Macgregor was appointed Governor of Dominica.The London Gazette, 26 July 1831 (issue 18828), p. 1505. On 19 December 1832, he was made Governor of Antigua, Montserrat and Barbuda, St Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla and the Virgin Islands, and Dominica,The London Gazette, 21 December 1832 (issue 19006), p. 2786. administered together as the British Leeward Islands."Leeward Islands", The National Archives. Retrieved 11 April 2020. Murray-Macgregor's gubernatorial appointments coincided with the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act in the British Parliament in 1833 and the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies. While abolishing slavery in all British colonies, the 1833 Act allowed for slaves to remain as apprentices of their former masters for a period of four to six years as part of a transition period.Latimer, pp. 52–57. Murray-Macgregor implemented laws abolishing slavery and, uniquely, foregoing apprenticeships in the Leeward Islands in 1834, granting freedom to all former slaves immediately. He believed the process to have been peaceful and successful. This likely convinced him that swift moves towards full emancipation were both possible and beneficial elsewhere.Marshall, pp. 2–3. Murray-Macgregor also appointed two non-white justices of the peace in Antigua.Lowes.
Barbados and the Windward Islands (1836–41)
Abolition of apprenticeships Murray-Macgregor left the Leeward Islands and was appointed Governor of Barbados, Saint Vincent, Grenada and Tobago (the British Windward Islands) in October 1836.The London Gazette, 18 October 1836 (issue 19429), p. 1814. By the time he took office in Barbados, the colony's planters were embittered following the 1833 Act, poor relations with Murray-Macgregor's predecessor Sir Lionel Smith, and the British government's decision to amalgamate the governorship of the island with that of the other Windward Islands in 1833.Marshall, pp. 4–6. When the Abolition of Slavery Act came into force in 1834, the islands opted to impose the apprenticeship scheme on former slaves.Sebastian Foltz, "Plantation Owners and Apprenticeship: The Dawn of Emancipation", Emancipation: The Caribbean Experience (University of Miami Library). Retrieved 13 April 2020. Criticism of the system grew from abolitionists in Britain, who argued that former slaves fared little better as apprentices;Latimer, pp. 53–54. pressure mounted on the British government to end the system early. In late 1837, the Colonial Office encouraged governors to persuade local legislatures to terminate the apprenticeship system early.Marshall, pp. 6–7.
In January 1838, Macgregor formally recommended to the Parliament of Barbados that it abolish apprenticeships, but in the following months the planters (who made up most of its membership) made clear their opposition to the notion. They resented what they saw as another attempt to weaken their position economically and impose laws on them.Marshall, pp. 8–13. In March and April, the British Parliament began debating legislation which would force an end to the apprenticeships (the Bill to Amend the Abolition of Slavery Act); Macgregor therefore encouraged the Barbadian planters to realise that they faced a choice: free the apprentices on their own terms, or be compelled on the terms of the British government.Marshall, pp. 12–13. He worked with others, notably Robert Bowcher Clarke, to champion early termination.Marshall, p. 15.Clarke received a knighthood at Murray-Macgregor's recommendation in 1840 (Schomburgk, p. 489). He had to give some concessions to planters, mainly over the right of apprentices to retain their tied tenures after termination,Marshall, p. 20. and the Bill passed on 15 May in Barbados; equivalent Bills were passed in all but the Saint Lucian assemblies within the month. The assemblies voted to abolish the apprenticeship scheme effective in August 1838, creating a system of free labour.Marshall, p. 2. This applied pressure on planters in other colonies, such as Jamaica, to do the same.Green, p. 158.