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Henry Bartle Frere

Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, GCB, GCSI, PC (29 March 1815 – 29 May 1884) was a British colonial administrator. He had a successful career in India, rising to become Governor of Bombay (1862–1867). However, as High Commissioner for Southern Africa (1877–1880), he implemented a set of policies which attempted to impose a British confederation on the region and which led to the overthrow of the Cape Colony's first elected government in 1878 and to a string of regional wars, culminating in the invasion of Zululand (1879) and the First Boer War (1880–1881). The British Prime Minister, Gladstone, recalled Frere to London to face charges of misconduct; Whitehall officially censured Frere for acting recklessly.

For the British barrister and colonial judge, see Bartle Henry Temple Frere.

Henry Bartle Frere

Victoria

Victoria

29 March 1815
Clydach, Monmouthshire, Wales

29 May 1884 (aged 69)
Wimbledon, London, England

British

Early life[edit]

Frere was born at Clydach House, Clydach, Monmouthshire, the son of Edward Frere, manager of Clydach Ironworks, and Mary Ann Green. His elder sister, Mary Anne Frere, was born c. 1802 in Clydach, and his younger sister, Frances Anne Frere, was born c. 1819 in Clydach. He was the grandson of John Frere and a nephew of John Hookham Frere; William Frere; Bartholomew Frere; James Hatley Frere; and Temple Frere – canon of Westminster Abbey. He was educated at the East India Company College, the precursor of Haileybury and Imperial Service College.[1]

Death[edit]

Upon his return, Frere replied to the charges relating to his conduct with regard to Afghanistan as well as South Africa, previously referred to in Gladstone's Midlothian speeches, and was preparing a fuller vindication when he died at Wimbledon on 29 May 1884.[21] He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.[22]

Martineau, John (1895). . Vol. 1. hdl:2263/8556.

The life and correspondence of the Right Hon. Sir Bartle Frere

Martineau, John (1895). . Vol. 2. hdl:2263/8556.

The life and correspondence of the Right Hon. Sir Bartle Frere

For the South African anti-confederation view, see P. A. Molteno's Life and Times of Sir John Charles Molteno (2 vols., London 1900).[21]


A more recent work on Bartle Frere's life, The Zulu and the Raj; The Life of Sir Bartle Frere by D. P. O'Connor,[25] examines details of Frere's life and motives more fully than was permissible in Victorian times when Martineau was writing. In particular, O'Connor points to Frere as a leading thinker on imperial defence. He sets the Zulu war in the context of the overall global crisis, contingent on the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), which was widely expected to result in war between Britain and Russia. Frere was sent to South Africa to turn this vital area into a secure bastion on the route to India, but was distracted from the task by the routine instability of the South African theatre.

Popular culture[edit]

Frere was played by Sir John Mills in Zulu Dawn. His portrayal in the film is negative.

Horniman Circle Gardens

Mount Frere

at Project Gutenberg

Works by Bartle Frere

at Internet Archive

Works by or about Henry Bartle Frere

at Internet Archive

Works by or about Bartle Frere