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Single Person record details
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Back
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Person Code
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NA16670
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Forenames
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Arthur
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Surname
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Wellesley
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Dates
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1769-1852
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Epithet
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1st Duke of Wellington, field-marshal
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Activity
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Arthur Wellesley was born, probably in Dublin, in 1769, and adopted the spelling Wellesley in 1798. He attended Eton for some time but showed no capacity for anything but fighting and mathematics, and his mother, who was in straitened circumstances after the death of her husband, decided that he should become a soldier. She acquired a commission for him in the 73rd Highland Regiment in 1787. For the next five years he made undistinguished progress through a number of regiments and saw little fighting as he was aide-de-camp to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was already taking an interest in politics, and held the seat of Trim from 1790 to 1795. He finally saw action against the French in the Low Countries with the 33rd regiment, in which he was a major from 1793. The poorly-run campaign set an example to Wellesley, and he learned the necessity of excellent organisation. He joined his regiment again in India in 1797, and it was in this part of the world that he developed the skills and knowledge of soldiery that would stand him in such good stead in his later campaigns. Though his priority was always good preparation, his particular forte was the provision of supply-trains, so well arranged that his soldiers rarely went hungry or without ammunition. His elder brother was governor-general, which allowed Wellesley some influence. He was involved in the attack on Tipu Sultan?s capital of Seringapatam which General Sir David Baird captured in 1799, and also fought with considerable success against the Mahrattas and at Mysore, Trincomalee, and Assaye in 1803. However, he was growing tired of India and left in 1805, having been presented with the Order of the Bath and many other tokens of recognition for his civil and military service there. At home, the French war was not going well: Napoleon had just won the Battle of Austerlitz and Pitt was dying. Wellesley was elected MP for Rye from 1806 and for Mitchell in Cornwall in 1807: under the Portland ministry he was made Chief Secretary of Ireland, a post he held for two years. During that time he set about schemes for securing Ireland against a French invasion: he was already lieutenant-general, and was now consulted on the advisability of a campaign in the Iberian peninsula. He took advantage of the Spanish uprising against the French in 1808 and led a force of men to sail for Coruna. In this first expedition, quarrels between the leaders of various armies contributed to Wellesley?s ultimate failure, and he was blamed for the feeble negotiations which had led to the armistice. This infuriated him, as he had not been responsible for the negotiations and because he was detained in England explaining this while Sir John Moore led another army into Spain. In retrospect, however, he was the fortunate one: Moore?s campaign failed dreadfully, and Sir John himself died at Coruna. The French reinforced the peninsula, but were forced to withdraw a large number of men to reinforce the Austrian front. Wellesley was of the opinion that the situation was not desperate, and persuaded parliament to send him back to Portugal with more men. He was given command of 23,000 soldiers and returned to the peninsula in 1809. The campaign was astonishingly successful, the more so in that his soldiers were far from experienced or (at least to start with) well-disciplined, and Wellesley was created Baron Duoro of Wellesley and Viscount Wellington of Talavera in the autumn of that year, then Marquis of Wellington following his capture of Badajoz, in 1812. Again his preparations were his best weapons: he rarely acted impulsively except in personal matters, and always ensured that supply-lines were as good as they could be. He captured the last Spanish town, Pamplona, in October 1813, and was ready to invade the south of France: Soult, the French commander, had retreated before him all the way but was now determined to hold at least his own country. Poor weather delayed the campaign, but on the whole the peasantry was with Wellington, rather than Soult, particularly after Wellington sent home in disgrace his Spanish forces that insisted on looting on French soil. Gradually Soult was beaten back, until at last in April 1814 Napoleon abdicated, and a truce was signed. Wellington was then active in negotiations in France and Spain, and managed to acquire considerable diplomatic skill and influence. He was created Marquis of Duoro and Duke of Wellington, and appointed ambassador at Paris. He seemed to sense that all was not settled in that country, and resisted an attempt to send him to America. When Napoleon escaped from exile on Elba, Wellington was not surprised but quickly took over as commander of the British and Hanoverian forces in the Low Countries, which he had already surveyed with a view to battle. He planned to invade France, but again had inexperienced troops and few from Austria or Russia. The campaign began in June, with Napoleon?s army on the French frontier, but was short-lived, ending in victory for Wellington on the wet field of Waterloo. Napoleon was defeated and this time exiled to St. Helena, where he ended his days. In the face of several attempts on his life, Wellington remained in France where he helped to re-establish the country and enjoyed a varied social life. However, in under three years he was back in England and once more involved in politics, which would be his chief occupation for the rest of his life. The country was suffering the after-effects of victory, underemployment and poverty: he favoured a strong government and distrusted popularity. He was a Tory but favoured Catholic emancipation, and continued to take part in international affairs. He suffered some ill health, including deafness in one ear, but led an abstemious life combined with frequent rigorous exercise. He was made Prime Minister in 1828 but accepted reluctantly, realising the extent to which he would have to spend his time negotiating with the King and his influential brothers. He managed to bring in Catholic emancipation, but the government fell in 1830 and the Grey administration tried to bring in the Reform Bill, which Wellington strenuously opposed until he realised that he would fail: he then chose to support changes which would mitigate its effects. The bill was passed and Wellington was briefly unpopular with the mob. He became first Lord of the Treasury in 1834 and then Foreign Secretary, but the government fell again the following year. He now held a very prominent position in public life, and was Lord High Constable of England: however, his health was failing, and though he held high offices he rarely had any specific duties attached to them. This did not stop him from taking them very seriously. He devoted much time to reform of the army and navy, though he was opposed to radical change in either, and to consideration of the Corn Laws. He also defended London against the Chartists in 1848. As a politician and statesman he was as well respected as he had been as a soldier, but perhaps made more mistakes in the former than in the latter. He died in 1852, leaving the country to quarrel for many years on the best memorial to raise to him.
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NonPreferredTerm
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Wesley, Arthur
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