Sir William Stapleton | |
---|---|
Governor of the Leeward Islands | |
In office 1671–1686 | |
Monarch | Charles II |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Nathaniel Johnson |
Personal details | |
Born | Unknown Ireland |
Died | 3 August 1686 Paris, France |
Spouse | Anne Russell (m. 1671) |
Children | James, William, Miles, and Mary |
Military service | |
Allegiance | England |
Branch/service | English Army |
Sir William Stapleton, 1st Baronet (died 3 August 1686) was an Irish colonial administrator and planter who served as the governor of the Leeward Islands from 1671 to 1686, when he died in office. Born in Ireland to a family of Norman descent, William, as a Royalist during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, followed Charles II into exile in France.
Returning to England as part of the Stuart Restoration of 1660, William, as an English Army officer, travelled to the England's colonies in the West Indies, where he served as a prominent colonial official and married into a wealthy planter family, acquiring several slave plantations before dying in Paris in 1686.