George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland

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George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland (January 9, 1758 – July 19, 1833), known as Viscount Trentham from 1758 to 1786, Earl Gower from 1786 to 1803 and Marquess of Stafford from 1803 to 1833, was a British politician, diplomat, landowner, and arts patron from the Leveson-Gower family. He is estimated to have been the wealthiest person in the 19th century. Sutherland remains a controversial figure for his role in the Highland Clearances. Sutherland was the eldest son of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, and his second wife Lady Louisa, daughter of Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgwater. His half-brother was Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville. Sutherland was educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated with a Master's degree in 1777. Sutherland sat as Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1779 to 1784 and Staffordshire from 1787 to 1799. In 1799, he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Gower. Between 1790 and 1792, he served as Ambassador to France, despite having no prior diplomatic experience. The embassy was withdrawn in August 1792 after the imprisonment of the royal family during the French Revolution. After returning to Britain, Sutherland declined the posts of Lord Steward of the Household and Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. However, in 1799, he accepted the office of joint Postmaster General, which he held until 1801. Sutherland played a significant role in the downfall of Henry Addington's administration in 1804, after which he switched his political allegiance from the Tory to the Whig party. After 1807, Sutherland participated little in politics, although late in life, he supported Catholic Emancipation and the 1832 Reform Act. From 1794 to 1801, Sutherland served as Colonel of the Staffordshire Volunteer Cavalry, an early form of yeomanry regiment. He also held honorary positions as Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire from 1799 to 1801 and Lord Lieutenant of Sutherland from 1794 to 1830. In 1790, he was invested as a Privy Counsellor, in 1806 as a Knight of the Garter, and on January 28, 1833, as Duke of Sutherland. The Leveson-Gower family owned extensive lands in Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Yorkshire. In 1803, Sutherland inherited the vast estates of his maternal uncle Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, which included the Bridgewater Canal and a significant art collection, including much of the Orleans Collection. According to the will of the Duke of Bridgewater, Sutherland's inheritance also included a large sum of money. Sutherland's estate was valued at around £1 million in the early 19th century, equivalent to approximately £120 million today. He used this wealth to improve his properties and invest in various ventures, including the construction of roads and bridges in northern Scotland. In 1811, parliament passed a bill granting half the expenses of building roads in northern Scotland on the condition that landowners paid for the other half. The following year, Sutherland commenced building roads and bridges in the county, which had previously been virtually non-existent. The clearances involved relocating tenants from Assynt to coastal villages, assuming they could take up fishing. However, when the consequences of these actions became clear, the evictions were met with opposition, which was ruthlessly repressed. Resentment mounted when one of Sutherland's factors, Patrick Sellar, was acquitted of murder and then took over one of the massive sheep farms created by the evictions. Condemnation was widespread, and the Highlanders' grievances were heard in the British House of Commons. However, little was done to prevent the emptying of the glens. In 1837, a large monument, known locally as the Mannie, was erected on Ben Bhraggie near Golspie to commemorate Sutherland's life. The existence of this statue has been the subject of some controversy. In 1994, Sandy Lindsay, a former Scottish National Party councillor from Inverness, proposed its demolition. However, he later altered his plan, asking permission from the local council to relocate the statue and replace it with plaques telling the story of the Clearances. As of January 2013, however, the statue still stands.