Charles Townshend

Charles Townshend (27 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the American Revolution. Townshend was born at Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, as the second son of Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend, and Audrey Harrison. A sickly child, he later graduated from Leiden University and served in various political roles, including as a member of the Board of Trade, Lord of the Admiralty, Paymaster of the Forces, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He played a significant role in the taxation and control of American colonies, proposing the Townshend Acts, which imposed taxes on various exports to America. These acts were met with resistance and eventually led to the American Revolution. Townshend died in September 1767. He was married to Caroline Campbell, who later became the Baroness Greenwich, and his brother, George Townshend, became the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Early life He was born at his family's seat of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, the second son of Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend, and Audrey (died 1788), daughter and heiress of Edward Harrison of Ball's Park, near Hertford. He was a sickly child, had epilepsy, and had a strained relationship with his parents. Townshend was a brash young man, whose "wonderful endowments [were] dashed with follies and indiscretions." Charles graduated from the Dutch Leiden University on 27 October 1745; while there he had associated with a small group of other English youth, who later became well known in various circles, including Dowdeswell, Wilkes, and Alexander Carlyle. The latter would chronicle their exploits in his Autobiography. Following his return in 1746, he represented Great Yarmouth in Parliament until 1756, when he found a seat for the admiralty borough of Saltash, subsequently transferring in 1761 to Harwich, another borough where the seat was in the government's gift. Public attention was first drawn to his abilities in 1753, when he delivered a lively attack against Lord Hardwicke's marriage bill, although this measure passed into law.