Charles Townshend spent the majority of his brief life in service to the crown, always an enigma. A man of unquestioned ability, even brilliance, he was at the same time prone to a startling inability to foresee the ramifications of his policies in national and colonial affairs, and his abrasive, ham-handed political style often aroused opposition as much as it worked to his benefit. After receiving his education at Leyden, where his classmates included John Wilkes (q.v.) and William Dowdeswell (q.v.), Townshend entered into a career in the House of Commons as representative from Great Yarmouth (1747-56), Saltash (1757-61), and Harwich (1761-67). The consummate self-seeking political insider, Townshend parlayed his association with the Earl of Halifax into an appointment on the Board of Trade and Plantations (1748-54), and later climbed into a succession of other administrative posts, including Lord of the Admiralty (1754) and Secretary at War during the Seven Years' War (1761-62).

Despite an engaging wit and occasional charm, and despite possessing remarkable gifts as an orator, Townshend's mercurial disposition and unprincipled behavior guaranteed him enemies in any administration. While serving as Secretary at War in December, 1762, Townshend voted against Bute's preliminary overtures to end the Seven Years' War and resigned in protest of the administration's stance, but he was brought back in the following year by George Grenville as president of the Board of Trade, 1763-1765. Yet before long, Townshend had become an unceasing critic of Grenville, contributing to the downfall of the ministry. After the accession of the Rockingham Whigs, Townshend was retained as paymaster general, but his behavior in that office quickly soured even his friends, and within a year, Townshend once again contributed to the downfall of a ministry.

On August 2, 1766, when the Earl of Chatham formed his second administration, Townshend was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, but when Chatham was forced to withdraw from active oversight due to ill health, Townshend went on an orgy of self-beneficence. While it can be debated whether Townshend's behavior was any more corrupt than that of his political contemporaries, the long-term impact of his brief career as Chancellor is undeniable, particularly in the consequences of his miscalculation of American affairs.

Having judged -- probably correctly -- that American affairs were taking a back seat in the administration to the expansion of the East India Company, Townshend turned his attention to increasing revenue from the North American colonies. He declared himself in favor of the recently repealed Stamp Act and introduced a series of measures designed to deal with the unrest in America, including the suspension of the New York legislature, the establishment of resident commissioners of customs in the colonies, and setting duties on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. In retrospect, the symbolic value of the Townshend Acts in galvanizing anti-imperial sentiment in North America far outweighed the gain in revenue that might have been reaped, but with the information available to him, drawn largely from loyal sources in the colonies, a more sympathetic mind might ask whether it would have been realistically possible for any official to foresee the ultimate consequences. Regardless, Townshend never lived to see the fruits of the American reaction -- the non-importation agreements, the riots, and an increasing intensity of rhetoric. Charles Townshend died suddenly on September 4, 1767, "of a neglected fever."

Scope and contents:

The Townshend Papers are a large and extraordinary body of letters, documents, and manuscript and printed works relating to the public life and activities of Charles Townshend, gathered largely during his period as president of the Board of Trade and Chancellor of the Exchequer. The collection is an extremely valuable resource for study of British commercial and mercantile policiy in the 1760s, administrative perspectives on the mounting crisis in the North American colonies, and the inner workings of British political life.

The box and bundle numbers used by the Scottish Record Office to arrange the Townshend Papers have been retained, as in most instances, the bundle numbers follow Townshend's own arrangement as listed on the original wrappers. In some instances, the arrangement of items within bundles has been changed to correct errors in numbering, and items that were inadvertently split up in the past have been placed back in association. Before the Clements Library purchased the papers from the Duke of Buccleuch, they were on deposit at the Scottish Record Office as collection GD/244. A microfilm of the collection has been placed on deposit there.

Related collections:

Among the many collections at the Clements that relate in a significant way to the Townshend Papers are:

The Shelburne Papers, which include a vast body of material pertaining to British public finance, commerce, the Board of Trade, colonial relations, colonial administration, the East India Company, financing of the armed forces, and the North American and West Indian colonies, 1730s-1780s. The Shelburne Papers contain particularly interesting material relating to the American reaction to the Townshend duties and the non-importation agreements of 1767-68.

The Henry Dundas, Lord Melville, Papers, which includes material from the late 18th century on the functioning of the East India Company.

The Papers of Thomas Gage, which contain material on the functioning of the British North American and West Indian colonies during and after the period of the Seven Years' War. The Gage Papers are a major source for the study of colonial administration in North America during this period, particularly pertaining to the military, and to the growth of resistance in North America to British imperial policy.

The Papers of George Germain, containing information on colonial administration, finance, and the military, 1760s-70s.

The Papers of William Knox.

The Papers of William Dowdeswell, Townshend's fellow student at Leyden and fellow political powerhouse.

The Clements also houses collections of papers of two of Charles Townshend's brothers, George Townshend (Lord Lieutenant of Ireland) and Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney. The latter collection includes useful material relating British West Indian colonies and commerce.

M-1773
Recat. 6/96 rsc

Subject index to the Charles Townshend Papers

Calendar of the Charles Townshend Papers

Printed items in the Charles Townshend Papers

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