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A John Bull figure, full of bumptious ambition and self-confidence, 'Tommy' Townshend spent most of his working life in parliamentary opposition. He sympathised with the American colonists while holding true to British interests, and was made a peer in 1783 for his key role in settling the peace between Americans and Britons. Among other things, he saw to it that Canada's boundary with the United States was drawn through the Great Lakes, not further north, as the Americans had demanded.
Townshend chose the name Sydney for his barony in memory of his distant uncle Algernon Sidney, who had been beheaded in 1683 for writing 'the people of England...may change or take away kings'. As a cabinet minister, though, he was measured and capable, displaying 'the rare faculty of perceiving intuitively, the latent powers in the men with whom he came in contact'. His choices of Henry Strachey to negotiate the peace with America and Arthur Phillip to lead Australia's first European settlement were inspired.' (Publisher's blurb)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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[Review Essay] Lord Sydney : The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend
2013
single work
essay
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Colonial History , no. 15 2013; (p. 224-225)'Andrew Tink has written a very interesting book that is of great value to the historiography of early Australia. It is a very readable account of an English aristocrat who walked the corridors of power with the great and powerful royal and political personages not just of Britain but also of the international scene during many of the momentous events of the second half of the eighteenth century. For example, as Home Secretary he was responsible for the negotiations for the Peace Treaty to end the American War of Independence in 1782-3 and was also the responsible minister for dealing with the illness and temporary insanity of His Majesty King George III in 1788-89.' (Introduction)
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Untitled
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society , December vol. 98 no. 2 2012; (p. 269-270)
— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend 2011 single work biography -
The Bumptious Lord We Have to Thank for Sydney
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 March 2012; (p. 25)
— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend 2011 single work biography -
Non-Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 11 February 2012; (p. 30)
— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend 2011 single work biography -
Father Figure to the Colony
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 36)
— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend 2011 single work biography
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Father Figure to the Colony
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 36)
— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend 2011 single work biography -
Non-Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 11 February 2012; (p. 30)
— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend 2011 single work biography -
The Bumptious Lord We Have to Thank for Sydney
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 March 2012; (p. 25)
— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend 2011 single work biography -
Untitled
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society , December vol. 98 no. 2 2012; (p. 269-270)
— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend 2011 single work biography -
[Review Essay] Lord Sydney : The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend
2013
single work
essay
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Colonial History , no. 15 2013; (p. 224-225)'Andrew Tink has written a very interesting book that is of great value to the historiography of early Australia. It is a very readable account of an English aristocrat who walked the corridors of power with the great and powerful royal and political personages not just of Britain but also of the international scene during many of the momentous events of the second half of the eighteenth century. For example, as Home Secretary he was responsible for the negotiations for the Peace Treaty to end the American War of Independence in 1782-3 and was also the responsible minister for dealing with the illness and temporary insanity of His Majesty King George III in 1788-89.' (Introduction)
- Sydney, New South Wales,