CRADOCK, JOHN FRANCIS
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John Francis Cradock (August 12, 1762-July 6, 1839) was governor of the Cape Colony from 1811 to 1814. As governor he ordered the military against the Xhosa in the eastern Cape, reorganised the land tenure system and investigated London Missionary Society charges made against the colonists.
PHOTO CAPTION: John Francis Cradock. SOURCE: EA Library
Born in Dublin, Ireland, and the son of the archbishop of Dublin, Cradock became a professional soldier. He fought in the British campaign against the French in Egypt in 1801 and subsequently commanded British troops in Madras, India, and in Portugal. He was governor of Gibraltar before being appointed governor of the Cape Colony in 1811.
One of Cradock’s first official actions was to send troops out to remove the Xhosa from the Graaff-Reinet and Uitenhage districts of the Eastern Cape. Cradock also revised the land tenure system and in doing so prepared the way for British emigration to the Cape in the 1820s. Following charges made by the London Missionary Society that colonists were ill-treating blacks, Cradock ordered an investigation.
Cradock retired as governor in 1814 and returned to England. In 1819 he was made Lord Howden. He died in Yorkshire in 1839.
VIRGINIA CURTIN KNIGHT
