Bot: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

2022-05-03T17:18:45Z

robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

New page

{{Short description|Irish soldier, diplomat and politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use Irish English|date=March 2017}}
'''Michael Symes''' [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]] (1761–22 January 1809) was an Irish soldier, diplomat and politician.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=26880|title=Symes, Michael|first=Douglas M.|last=Peers}}</ref>

==Early life==
He was the fifth son of Richard Symes of [[Ballyarthur]], and Eleanor Cliffe of [[Ross, County Wexford]], and was educated at [[Trinity College, Dublin]].<ref name="HoP">[http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/symes-michael-1762-1809 historyofparliamentonline.org, ''Symes, Michael (?1762-1809), of Ballyarthur, co. Wicklow.'']</ref>

Symes entered the [[East India Company]] Army in 1780, as a cadet in the [[Bengal Army]]. On furlough in 1786 as a lieutenant, he re-enlisted in 1787.<ref name="HoP"/> He went to India again in the following year, with the newly raised [[76th Regiment of Foot]]. He served as aide-de-camp to [[Sir Thomas Musgrave, 7th Baronet]] at [[Madras]] in 1791, became captain in 1793, and lieutenant-colonel in 1800.<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB|wstitle=Symes, Michael|volume=55}}</ref>

==Missions to Burma==
[[File:Amarapura palace British Embassy Michael Symes 1795.jpg|thumb|[[Amarapura Palace]] 1795, reception of the British embassy led by Michael Symes]]
In 1795 Symes was sent by [[Sir John Shore]], the [[Governor-General of India]], on a mission to [[Burma]]. He obtained from King [[Bodawpaya]], then known to the British as King or Emperor of Ava, a royal order permitting a British agent to reside at [[Rangoon]] to protect the interests of British subjects.<ref name="ODNB"/> [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]] accompanied him, as botanist.<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=3836|title=Hamilton, Francis, of Buchanan|first=Katherine|last=Prior}}</ref> When [[Hiram Cox]] went as agent, however, he found the situation other than he had understood, and there were recriminations against Symes.<ref name="ODNB"/>

Symes was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in 1800.<ref>[http://royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27Symes%27%29 ''Symes; Michael (c 1753 - 1809)'']</ref> In 1802, when his regiment was at [[Kanpur]], Symes was sent by [[Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley]] on a second mission to Ava. On this occasion it was to protest against the demand made by the Burmese governor of [[Rakhine State|Arakan]] for the surrender of fugitives, who had sought refuge in the British district of [[Chittagong]]. In the capital, he obtained a verbal assurance that the demand should be withdrawn. On the journey back to [[Calcutta]], where he arrived in February 1803, he was affronted by the Burmese governor of Rangoon.<ref name="DNB"/>

==Later life==
His regiment returned to England in 1806, and Symes was in poor health, but had a recommendation from Wellesley to the government. He was twice accommodated. First he had a seat at [[Carlow Borough (UK Parliament constituency)|Carlow Borough]] from the middle of 1806. The arrangement came to an end with the [[1806 United Kingdom general election|1806 general election]]. A seat in parliament was again found for him in January 1807, after he had unsuccessfully contested [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives]]. He became Member of Parliament for [[Heytesbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Heytesbury]]. The occurrence of the [[1807 United Kingdom general election|1807 general election]] in short succession cancelled this second arrangement, with [[Sir William à Court, 1st Baronet]]. Symes stood for [[Morpeth (UK Parliament constituency)|Morpeth]], but dropped out of parliament.<ref name="HoP"/>

Symes was sent in 1808 to Spain. He served during [[John Moore (British Army officer)|Sir John Moore]]'s [[retreat to Coruña]], suffered from the hardships of the campaign, and died on the way home, on board the transport ''Mary'', on 22 January 1809. His body was taken from Portsmouth to Rochester, and buried in St. Margaret's Church on 3 February 1809.<ref name="DNB"/>

==Works==
Symes wrote ''An Account of an Embassy to the Kingdom of Ava sent by the Governal-General of India in 1795'', London, 1800.<ref name="DNB"/>

==Family==
When on leave in England Symes married, on 18 February 1801, Jemima, daughter of Paul Pilcher of Rochester. His widow married [[Sir Joseph de Courcy Laffan, 1st Baronet]], and died on 18 August 1835, aged 64.<ref name="DNB"/>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{commons category|An account of an embassy to the kingdom of Ava}}

==Further reading==
*[[D. G. E. Hall]], ''Michael Symes: journal of his second embassy to the court of Ava in 1802'', ed. (1955)

;Attribution
{{DNB|wstitle=Symes, Michael|volume=55}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symes, Michael}}
[[Category:1761 births]]
[[Category:1809 deaths]]
[[Category:British East India Company Army officers]]
[[Category:Irish diplomats]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Carlow constituencies (1801–1922)]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1806–1807]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1802–1806]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Peninsular War]]
[[Category:British military personnel killed in action in the Napoleonic Wars]]

Michael Symes (diplomat) - Revision history

Bot: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.