The Earl of Inchiquin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor of Tangier | |
| In office 1675–1680 | |
| Monarch | Charles II |
| Preceded by | Earl of Middleton |
| Succeeded by | Sir Palmes Fairborne |
| Governor of Jamaica | |
| In office 1690–1692 | |
| Monarch | James II |
| Preceded by | Francis Watson |
| Succeeded by | John White |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1640 Doneraile, County Cork |
| Died | January 16, 1692 (aged 51–52) Spanish Town, Jamaica |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Margaret Boyle (m. 1665) Lady Elizabeth Brydges (m. 1684) |
| Children | 4, including William |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  France (1659–1660)  England (1674–1680) |
| Branch/service | French Royal Army (1659–1660) English Army (1674–1680) |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Tangier Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Williamite War in Ireland |
Colonel William O'Brien, 7th Baron & 2nd Earl of Inchiquin, PC (c. 1640 – 16 January 1692), was an Irish military officer, peer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Tangier from 1675 to 1680 and the governor of Jamaica from 1690 until his death in office in 1692. O'Brien is best known for his long career in the service of the English Crown, serving as a colonial governor in England's overseas possessions in Africa and the West Indies.
Born c. 1640 in Doneraile, County Cork to the 1st Earl of Inchiquin, O'Brien was raised in London growing up. After being briefly imprisoned during the Second English Civil War, O'Brien eventually left England to enlist in the service of the French Royal Army in 1659 alongside his father. While on board a French fleet in 1660, he was captured by Ottoman corsairs and imprisoned for a year in North Africa before being released and returning to England.
In 1671, O'Brien joined the Irish Privy Council, and was appointed as the governor of Tangier in 1674. However, O'Brien's governorship was poor and in 1680 he was recalled. After King James II succeeded to the English throne in 1685, O'Brien was removed from the Privy Council. During the 1688 Glorious Revolution, he supported the Williamites and fought an unsuccessful campaign against Jacobite forces in Munster before moving to London.
O'Brien was appointed as the governor of Jamaica in 1689, assuming the office a year later. During his tenure as governor, O'Brien was frequently at odds with the Jamaican assembly and governor's council over the colony's finances, in addition to amassing a large personal fortune worth 15,000 pounds. He also reestablished the fledgling judiciary of Jamaica and suppressed a slave rebellion before dying at Spanish Town of dysentery in 1692.