Thomas Handasyd

Major General Thomas Handasyd
Governor of Jamaica
In office 1702–1711
Commander, St. John's, Newfoundland
In office 1697–1698
Personal details
Born	ca 1645 Elsdon, Northumberland
Died	26 March 1729(1729-03-26) (aged 83) Gaynes Hall, near Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire
Resting place	St Andrews' Church, Great Staughton[1]
Relations	Roger Handasyd 1689–1763 (son)
Military service
Allegiance	Dutch Republic 1673–1688  England 1689–1707  Great Britain 1707–1711
Branch/service	Army
Years of service	1674–1711
Rank	Major General 1710
Unit	Colonel, 22nd Foot 1702–1711 [a]
Battles/wars	Franco-Dutch War Maastricht; Cassel; Saint-Denis Williamite War in Ireland The Boyne 1689-1697 Nine Years War War of the Spanish Succession

Major-General Thomas Handasyd was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Jamaica from 1702 until 1711. Born in Elsdon, Northumberland, he served during the Stuart period from 1674 to 1710.

Handasyd first saw action during the Franco-Dutch War, before accompanying William to England in the 1688 Glorious Revolution. He also fought in the Williamite War in Ireland and Nine Years War; when the latter war ended with the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick, Handasyd had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1702, his regiment was sent to the English colony of Jamaica; when William Selwyn died soon after his arrival, Handasyd replaced him as regimental colonel and governor, a position he retained until 1710.

After returning to England in 1711, he purchased Gaynes Hall near Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire where he lived quietly in retirement until his death on 26 March 1729.

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