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Thomas Pownall (bapt. 4 September 1722 (New Style) – 25 February 1805) was a British politician and colonial official. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1757 to 1760, and afterward served in the British Parliament. He travelled widely in the North American colonies prior to the American Revolutionary War, opposed Parliamentary attempts to tax the colonies, and was a minority advocate of colonial positions until the Revolution. Classically educated and well-connected to the colonial administration in London, Pownall first travelled to North America in 1753, and spent two years exploring the colonies before being appointed Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey in 1755. He became governor of Massachusetts in 1757 after helping engineer the recall of longtime Governor William Shirley. His administration was dominated by the French and Indian War, in which Pownall was instrumental in raising Massachusetts provincial militia for the war effort. He opposed military interference in colonial administration, including attempts to quarter British troops in private homes, and had a generally positive relationship with the colonial assembly. Returning to England in 1760, he continued to be interested in colonial affairs, publishing widely read materials on conditions in the colonies, including several editions of ''The Administration of the Colonies''. As a Member of Parliament he regularly advocated for colonial positions without much success, but supported the war effort once the Revolutionary War began. In the early 19th century he became an early advocate of the reduction or removal of trade barriers, and the establishment of a solid relationship between Britain and the United States. Several writers have proposed that Pownall was Junius, a pseudonymous writer of letters critical of British governmental practices. John Adams wrote, "Pownall was the most constitutional and national Governor, in my opinion, who ever represented the crown in this province."〔Adams, p. 243〕 ==Early life== Thomas Pownall was the eldest son of William and Sarah (Burniston) Pownall. His father was a country gentleman and soldier whose poor health and early death in 1735 caused the family to fall upon hard times.〔Schutz, pp. 18–19〕 Baptised 4 September 1722 (New Style) in Lincoln, England, Thomas was educated in Lincoln and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1743. His education exposed him to classic and current philosophers, and the sciences. His first publication, a treatise on the origins of government published in 1752, began as notes developed at Cambridge.〔Schutz, pp. 26–28〕 During his years at Cambridge, his younger brother John acquired a job at the Board of Trade, which oversaw British colonial affairs, and rapidly rose in the bureaucracy. The brothers were influential supporters of each other in their efforts to advance.〔Schutz, p. 20〕 John secured a job for Thomas in the colonial office, where he was exposed to the possibilities for advancement and influence in colonial postings.〔Schutz, pp. 21–22〕 In 1753 he went to America as private secretary to Sir Danvers Osborne, just appointed governor of New York. Osborne committed suicide several days after reaching New York, leaving Pownall without a job and a sponsor.〔Pownall, pp. 5, 41–42〕 Pownall chose to remain in America, devoting himself to studying the condition of the American colonies. In the following months he travelled widely, from Maryland to Massachusetts. He was introduced into the highest circles of leadership and society in the colonies, and established relationships with a number of influential people, including Benjamin Franklin and Massachusetts Governor William Shirley.〔Schultz, pp. 34–35〕 One item of importance that Governor Osborne had been instructed to deal with was rising discontent among the Iroquois whose territory abutted New York (and is now central and western Upstate New York). Pownall had studied the matter, and he was consequently invited by his Pennsylvania connections to attend the 1754 Albany Congress as an observer.〔Schultz, pp. 37–38〕 His observations on the nature of colonial dealings with the Indians (including political infighting for control of the Indian trade, and the corrupt and fraudulent acquisition of Indian lands) led him to draft a number of proposals related to colonial administration. He proposed the establishment of a crown-appointed superintendent of Indian affairs, specifically William Johnson, New York's commissioner for Indian affairs.〔〔Rogers, p. 24〕 He also articulated visions for managing the expansion of the colonies to the west.〔Schultz, pp. 41–48〕 After the conference he returned to Philadelphia. In this time he apparently cemented a close friendship with Franklin, with whom he began to invest in business ventures.〔Schutz, pp. 43–44〕 Franklin, who had unsuccessfully proposed colonial union at the Albany conference, may have contributed to Pownall's writings, although the exact nature of his influence is unclear.〔Schutz, p. 49〕 While in Philadelphia he also established a close collaboration with cartographer Lewis Evans, both of whom recognized the need for accurate maps of the inland regions of North America then being disputed with New France in the French and Indian War.〔Schutz, p. 51〕 The map Evans published in 1755 was dedicated to Pownall, and brought the latter wide publicity.〔Schutz, p. 53〕 Pownall's recommendation of Johnson as superintendent of Indian affairs was also implemented by the crown in 1755.〔Rogers, p. 25〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thomas Pownall」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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