William O'Brien The Earl of Inchiquin
1675-1680
The 2nd Earl of Inchiquin (Irish Peerage) 1675 – 1680 accompanied
his father to Portugal in 1660 to help the Portuguese against the
Spanish. Both were captured by pirates in the Tagus; William lost
the sight of his left eye in the fight, and was held captive in
Algiers for a year.
In 1674 he succeeded to the title, and the following year was appointed Governor of Tangier to replace the late Earl of Middleton. He was not a great success in this appointment as he was regarded as ineffectual and tactless and indeed was absent for two of the five years of his Governorship, with Sir Palmes Fairborne acting as his Deputy. In 1680 he was recalled to London to answer for his conduct.
In 1690 he was appointed Captain General and Governor of Jamaica by King William III, but again he was not a success. He died after sixteen months on 16th January 1692 and was buried in the Parish Church of St Jago de la Vega in Jamaica.
« Previous 
Back to list Next »
