List of colonial governors and administrators of British Honduras

Governor of British Honduras
Flag of the governor of British Honduras (1884–1981)
Longest serving
Robert Hodgson Sr.

1749 – 1758
Member ofLegislative Council
ResidenceGovernment House, Belize City
AppointerBritish Monarch
Formation1749
First holderRobert Hodgson Sr.
Final holderSir James Hennessy
Abolished21 September 1981
SuccessionGovernor-General of Belize
British Honduras map.

[1] This is a list of viceroys in British Honduras and Belize from the start of British settlement in the area until the colony's independence in 1981. Until 1862, the territory was under the vice-regency of the Governor of Jamaica, and administered by a Superintendent. After this it was a colony in its own right, and administered by a Lieutenant Governor, still subordinate to Jamaica. In 1884, the colony gained its own governor, independent of Jamaica.

In 1973 the colony's name was changed to Belize and in 1981 it gained independence. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Belize.

List of officeholders

Tenure Portrait Incumbent Notes
Superintendents of British Honduras (1749–1862)
1749–1758 Robert Hodgson Sr.
1758–1760 Richard Jones
1760–1767 Joseph Otway
1767–1775 Robert Hodgson Jr.
1776 John Ferguson
1776 – 10 March 1787 James Lawrie
1787 – June 1790 Edward Despard
June 1790 – March 1791 Lt Gen Peter Hunter Acting
March 1791 – January 1797 Thomas Potts Chief magistrate
January 1797 – 1800 Thomas Barrow First time
1800–1802 Richard Basset
January 1803 – 1805 Thomas Barrow Second time
1805–1806 Gabriel Gordon
1806–1809 Alexander Mark Kerr Hamilton
1809–1814 John Nugent Smyth
1814–1822 Sir George Arthur
1822–1823 Allan Hampden Pye
1823–1829 Edward Codd
1829–1830 Alexander MacDonald First time
1830–1837 Sir Francis Cockburn
1837–1843 Alexander MacDonald Second time
1843–1851 Charles St. John Fancourt
1851–1854 Sir Philip Wodehouse
1854–1857 Sir William Stevenson
1857–1862 Frederick Seymour
Lieutenant Governors of British Honduras (1862–1884)[note 1]
1862–1864 Frederick Seymour Continued
1864–1867 John Gardiner Austin
1867–1870 Sir James Robert Longden
1870–1874 Sir William Wellington Cairns
1874–1877 Sir Robert Miller Mundy
1877–1883 Sir Frederick Palgrave Barlee
13 May 1883 – 1884 Col Sir Robert William Harley
Governors of British Honduras (1884–1973)[note 2]
1884–1891 Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy
1891–1897 Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney
1897–1904 Sir David Wilson
15 April 1904 – 1906 Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott
13 August 1906 – 9 May 1913 Sir Eric John Eagles Swayne
19 May 1913 – January 1918 Sir Wilfred Collet
29 January 1918 – 4 September 1918 William Hart-Bennett
22 March 1919 – 1925 Sir Eyre Hutson
16 April 1925 – 1932 Sir John Alder Burdon
9 March 1932 – 1934 Sir Harold Baxter Kittermaster
2 November 1934 – 1939 Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns
24 February 1940 – 1 July 1946 Sir John Adams Hunter
1 July 1946 – 14 January 1947 Sir Arthur Norman Wolffsohn Acting
14 January 1947 – 1948 Sir Edward Gerald Hawkesworth
28 February 1949 – 1952 Sir Ronald Herbert Garvey
21 October 1952 – 1955 Sir Patrick Muir Renison
17 January 1956 – 1961 Sir Colin Hardwick Thornley
9 December 1961 – 1966 Sir Peter Hyla Gawne Stallard
11 July 1966 – January 1972 Sir John Warburton Paul
26 January 1972 – 31 May 1973 Sir Richard Neil Posnett
Governors of Belize (1973–1981)[note 3]
1 June 1973 – 1976 Sir Richard Neil Posnett Continued
1 June 1976 – 1980 Peter Donovan McEntee
1980 – 21 September 1981 Sir James Hennessy

On 21 September 1981 Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom. For viceroys of Belize after independence, see Governor-General of Belize.

Notes

  1. ^ In 1862, the territory became a crown colony, and was subsequently administered by a Lieutenant Governor, subordinate to the Governor of Jamaica.
  2. ^ In 1884, the colony was severed from its dependency to Jamaica and gained its own Governor.
  3. ^ On 1 June 1973, the colony of British Honduras was renamed Belize.

See also

References

  1. ^ Belize Advertiser, 1839/41