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Sir John Bowring KCB (Chinese translated name 寶寧 or 包令) (17 October, 1792 - 23 November, 1872) was an English political economist, traveller, miscellaneous writer and polyglot, and the 4th Governor of Hong Kong.
Early life
Bowring was born in Exeter of an old Puritan family. In early life he came under the influence of Jeremy Bentham, and later became his friend. He did not, however, share Bentham's contempt for belles lettres. He was a diligent student of literature and foreign languages, especially those of Eastern Europe.
Bowring ranked with Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti and Hans Conon von der Gabelentz among the world's greatest hyperpolyglots — his talent enabling him at last to say that he knew 200 languages, and could speak 100. The first fruits of his study of foreign literature appeared in Specimens of the Russian Poets (1821–1823). These were followed by Batavian Anthology (1824), Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain (1824), Specimens of the Polish Poets, and Serbian Popular Poetry, both in 1827.
Political Economist Career
During this period he began to contribute to the newly founded Westminster Review, of which he was appointed editor in 1825. By his contributions to the Review he obtained considerable reputation as political economist and parliamentary reformer. He advocated in its pages the cause of free trade long before it was popularized by Richard Cobden and John Bright.
He pleaded earnestly on behalf of parliamentary reform, Catholic emancipation, and popular education. In 1828 he visited the Netherlands, where the University of Groningen conferred on him the degree of doctor of laws. In the following year he was in Denmark, preparing for the publication of a collection of Scandinavian poetry.
Bowring was appointed Jeremy Bentham's literary executor, and was charged with the task of preparing a collected edition of his works. This appeared in eleven volumes in 1843.
British MP
In 1835, Bowring entered parliament as member for Kilmarnock; and in the following year he was appointed head of a government commission to be sent to France to inquire into the actual state of commerce between the two countries. He was engaged in similar investigations in Switzerland, Italy, Syria and some of the German states.
The results of these missions appeared in a series of reports laid before the House of Commons. After a retirement of four years he sat in parliament from 1841 until 1849 as member for Bolton. During this busy period he found leisure for literature, and published in 1843 a translation of the Manuscript of the Queen's Court, a collection of old Czech lyrics.
Consul
In 1849, Bowring was appointed British consul at Canton (today's Guangzhou), and superintendent of trade in China, a post which he held for four years.
After his return, Bowring distinguished himself as an advocate of the decimal system, and published a work entitled The Decimal System in Numbers, Coins and Accounts (1854). The introduction of the form as a preparatory step was chiefly due to his efforts.
Governor of Hong Kong
On 13 April, 1854, Bowring was sent to Hong Kong as governor.
During his governorship, a dispute broke out with the Chinese and the irritation caused by his spirited or high-handed policy led to the Second Opium War (1856–1860). At the same time, he allowed the Chinese citizens in Hong Kong to serve as jurors in trials and become lawyers. Finally, Bowring is credited with establishing Hong Kong's first commercial public water supply system and establishing the Hong Kong buildings ordinance, ensuring the safer design of all future construction projects in the territory.
He had developed the eastern Wan Chai at a river mouth near Happy Valley and Victoria Harbour. He elongated the river as canal and the area was named Bowring City.
He legalised business that involved human trafficking of Chinese to overseas.
In 1855 he visited Siam, and negotiated with King Mongkut a treaty of commerce. Bowring retired in March 1859 and received a pension for his duties.
Post-Governorship
His last employment by the British government was as a commissioner to Italy in 1861, to report on British commercial relations with the new kingdom. Bowring subsequently accepted the appointment of minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary from the Hawaiian government to the courts of Europe, and in this capacity negotiated treaties with Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
Personal life
Bowring had three sons. His eldest son, J.C. Bowring, presented Bowring's collection of coleoptera to the British Museum after Bowring's death. His third son, E. A. Bowring, was a Member of Parliament for Exeter from 1868 to 1874. E. A. Bowring is also known as an able translator in the literary circles of the time.
Bowring died at Claremont, near Exeter, on 23 November, 1872, aged 80.
Honours
- KCB, 1854
- Member, Royal Society and Royal Geographical Society
- Knighted by several foreign governments
Literary Works Published
- Specimens of the Russian Poets (1821–1823)
- Batavian Anthology (1824)
- Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain (1824)
- Specimens of the Polish Poets (1827)
- Serbian Popular Poetry (1827)
- Poetry of the Magyars (1830)
- Cheskian Anthology (1832)
- Manuscript of the Queen's Court (1843)
- The Decimal System in Numbers, Coins and Accounts (1854)
- The Kingdom and People of Siam (1857)
- Translation of Peter Schlemihl (1824)
- Translations from Hungarian poet Alexander Petofi (1866)
- Various other pamphlets
Places Named After Him
The Bowring Road in Hong Kong, as well as Bowring Street, Bowrington Road, Bowrington Canal (now called Canal Road), Bowring City, and Bowrington Market were all named after him.
References
External links
- Biography Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography
- 8 portraits of John Bowring National Portrait Gallery
1792 births | 1872 deaths | Fellows of the Royal Society | Governors of Hong Kong | Knights Commander of the Bath | Polyglots
"John Bowring"