James Emerson Tennent

Sir James Emerson Tennent Bt FRS
James Tennent drawing by Andrew Nicholl
5th Colonial Secretary of Ceylon
In office 1846–1850
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	Philip Anstruther
Succeeded by	Charles Justin MacCarthy
Acting Governor of British Ceylon
In office 19 April 1847 – 29 May 1847
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	Colin Campbell
Succeeded by	The Viscount Torrington
Personal details
Born	James Emerson 7 April 1804 Belfast, Ireland
Died	6 March 1869(1869-03-06) (aged 64) London
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Political party	Whigs (until 1834) Conservatives (1834–1869)
Spouse	Letitia Tennent
Children	3
Alma mater	Trinity College, Dublin
Occupation	Colonial administrator, politician
Profession	Lawyer

Sir James Emerson Tennent, 1st Baronet, FRS (born James Emerson; 7 April 1804 – 6 March 1869) was a Conservative Member of the United Kingdom Parliament for the Irish seats of Belfast and of Lisburn, and a resident Colonial Secretary in Ceylon. Opposed to the restoration of a parliament in Dublin, his defence of Ireland's union with Great Britain emphasised what he conceived as the liberal virtues of British imperial administration. In Ceylon, his policies in support the growing plantation and wage economy met with peasant resistance in the Matale Rebellion of 1848. In recognition of his encyclopedic surveys of the colony, in 1862 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.