Editing Claude MacDonald

{{Short description|British Army officer and diplomat (1852–1915)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = Sir Claude MacDonald
| office              = [[List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Japan|British Ambassador to Japan]]<br />{{no bold|(British Minister to Japan, 1900–1905)}}
| term_start          = 1900
| term_end            = 1912
| predecessor         = [[Ernest Mason Satow|Sir Ernest Mason Satow]]
| successor           = [[Conyngham Greene]]
| monarch             = [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]<br />[[Edward VII]]<br />[[George V]]
| primeminister       = [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|The Marquess of Salisbury]]<br />[[Arthur Balfour]]<br />[[Henry Campbell-Bannerman]]<br/>[[H. H. Asquith]]
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCMG|GCVO|KCB}}
| image               = SirClaudeMacdonald.jpg
| image_size          = 220px
| caption             = Sir Claude MacDonald, {{circa}} 1900
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1852|06|12|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Morar, Gwalior]], [[Company rule in India|India]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1915|09|10|1852|06|12|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[London]], England
| resting_place       = [[Brookwood Cemetery]]
| resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|51.297562|-0.626209|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| education           = [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
| occupation          = Soldier, diplomat
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Ethel Armstrong MacDonald|16 December 1892}}
| parents             = James Dawson and Mary Ellen Macdonald
| serviceyears        = 1872&ndash;1896
| branch              = {{army|UK}}
| allegiance          = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| battles             = [[Anglo-Egyptian War]]<br/>[[Mahdist War]]<br/>[[Boxer Rebellion]]
| unit                = [[74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot|74th Regiment of Foot]]
| rank                = [[Colonel]]
}}
[[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonel]] '''Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCMG|GCVO|KCB|PC}} (12 June 1852 – 10 September 1915) was a British soldier and [[diplomat]], best known for his service in [[China]], [[Korea]], and [[Japan]].<ref>Nish, Ian. (2004). ''British Envoys in Japan 1859–1972,'' pp. 94–102.</ref>

==Early life==
MacDonald was born the son of Mary Ellen MacDonald (''nee'' Dougan) and Major-General James (Hamish) Dawson MacDonald.<ref name= Kowner>Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 214.</ref> He was educated at [[Uppingham School]] and [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Sandhurst]]. He was commissioned into the [[74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot|74th Foot]] in 1872. He thought of himself as a "soldier-outsider", as regards his subsequent career in the [[Foreign Office]].

==Africa==
MacDonald’s early career was in [[Africa]]. He served in the [[1882 Anglo-Egyptian War]], and served as [[military attaché]] to Sir [[Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer|Evelyn Baring]] from 1884 to 1887. From 1887 to 1889, he was Acting-Agent and Consul-general at [[Zanzibar]], and then served some years as Commissioner and Consul-General at [[Twon-Brass|Brass]] in the West African [[Oil Rivers Protectorate]],<ref name=dnb>{{Cite ODNB |id=34699 |title=MacDonald, Sir Claude Maxwell |first=E. W. |last=Edwards}}</ref> where in 1895 he was an observer of the rebellion of [[Frederick William Koko Mingi VIII of Nembe|King Koko]] of [[Nembe]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/nigeriaunderbrit0000gear/page/194/mode/1up |title=Nigeria under British Rule |first=William Nevill Montgomerie |last=Geary |publisher=[[Barnes & Noble]] |pages=194–196 |date=1965 |access-date=2023-11-10 |via=Internet Archive |url-access=registration}}</ref> He retired from the British Army in 1896.<ref name= Kowner/>

==China and Korea==
In 1896, MacDonald was appointed Her Majesty's Minister in China. He was simultaneously the British Minister to the [[Korean Empire|Empire of Korea]] in 1896 through 1898.<ref>Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921–22. (1922). {{Google books|9OdAAAAAYAAJ|''Korea's Appeal'' p. 32.|page=32}}</ref>

[[File:Claude Maxwell MacDonald Vanity Fair 10 October 1901.jpg|right|thumb|MacDonald caricatured by [[Leslie Ward|Spy]] for ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', 1901]]
In China, MacDonald obtained a lease at [[Weihai]]wei, and obtained railway contracts for British syndicates.  He was instrumental in securing the [[Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory|Second Peking Convention]], by which China leased to Britain the [[New Territories]] of [[Hong Kong]].<ref name=dnb/> MacDonald secured a 99-year lease only because he thought it was "as good as forever".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/boxerrebelliondr0000pres/page/370/mode/1up |last=Preston |first=Diana |title=The Boxer Rebellion |publisher=[[Berkley Books]] |place=New York City |isbn=0802713610 |page=370 |date=2000 |access-date=2023-11-10 |via=Internet Archive |url-access=registration}}</ref> This and the contrasting lease-in-perpetuity of Kowloon created some problems in the negotiations for the [[1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration]].

In 1899 MacDonald was the author of a diplomatic note which he proposed, on behalf of  [[British India]], a boundary line between [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and the [[Chinese Turkestan]], ceding roughly half of the [[Aksai Chin]] plateau, in return for China relinquishing its shadowy suzerainty over [[Hunza (princely state)|Hunza]]. The proposed boundary came to be known as the [[Macartney–MacDonald Line]]. The Qing China never made any response to the proposal. But the proposed boundary is still seen by scholars and commentators to have some relevance to the present day [[Sino-Indian border dispute|boundary disputes]] between China and India.

As a military man, MacDonald led the defence of the foreign legations in 1900 which were [[Siege of the International Legations|under siege]] during the [[Boxer Rebellion]], and he worked well with the Anglophile Japanese colonel [[Shiba Gorō]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/britishenvoysinj0000unse/page/95/mode/1up |title=British Envoys in Japan 1859–1972 |first=Ian |last=Nish |author-link=Ian Nish |editor-first=Hugh |editor-last=Cortazzi |publisher=[[Global Oriental]] |isbn=1901903516 |page=95 |date=2004 |access-date=2023-11-10 |via=Internet Archive |url-access=registration |quote=Shiba Gorō, an artillery major in the Japanese legation, was the chief staff officer and most effective collaborator of Claude MacDonald.}}</ref>

==Japan==
MacDonald was appointed Consul-General to the [[Empire of Japan]] in October 1900.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27263|date=4 January 1901|page=81}}</ref> He headed the British Legation in [[Tokyo]] during a period of harmonious relations between Britain and Japan (1900 to 1912), swapping appointments with Sir [[Ernest Satow]] who replaced him as Minister in [[Peking]]. On 30 January 1902, the first [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance]] was signed in [[London]] between the [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]] [[Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne|Lord Lansdowne]] and [[Hayashi Tadasu]], the Japanese Minister.
[[File:Dame Ethel MacDonald Grave.jpg|thumb|right|MacDonald's grave in [[Brookwood Cemetery]]]]
MacDonald was still in Tokyo when the alliance was renewed in 1905 and 1911. He became Britain's first [[ambassador]] to Japan when the status of the legation was raised to that of [[embassy]] in 1905. Before 1905 the senior British diplomat in Japan had simultaneously held the joint positions of (a) [[Consul-General]] and (b) [[Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary]]; the latter being a rank just below that of ambassador. MacDonald was made a [[Privy Councillor]] in 1906.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27978 |date=1906-12-21 |page=8967}}</ref>

He died of heart failure at his residence in London on 10 September 1915.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofbo0000pres/page/334/mode/1up |first=Diana |last=Preston |title=A Brief History of the Boxer Rebellion |publisher=[[Constable & Robinson|Robinson]] |isbn=1-84119-490-5 |page=334 |date=2002 |access-date=2023-11-10 |via=Internet Archive |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-observer-death-of-sir-claude-macdona/134961367/ |title=Death of Sir Claude MacDonald |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |publication-place=London |page=13 |date=1915-09-12 |access-date=2023-11-10 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He is buried with his wife in [[Brookwood Cemetery]].

==Ethel, Lady MacDonald, DBE==
[[File:Ethel Armstrong MacDonald (1857–1941).png|thumb|right|200px|Ethel Armstrong MacDonald in ''[[The Sketch]]'', 11 July 1900]]

In 1892, MacDonald wed Ethel (1857–1941), daughter of Major W. Cairns Armstrong; they remained married until his death in 1915.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-colonies-and-india-gossip/134960674/ |title=Gossip |newspaper=The Colonies and India |page=34 |date=1892-12-24 |access-date=2023-11-10 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> They had two daughters. Awarded the [[Royal Red Cross]] (RRC) and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Overseas Nursing Association, Lady MacDonald was named [[Order of the British Empire|Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (DBE) in her own right in 1935.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34166 |date=1906-12-21 |page=3613 |supp=y}}</ref>

==Selected works==
In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about MacDonald, [[OCLC]]/[[WorldCat]] encompasses roughly 10+ works in 20+ publications in 2 languages and 300+ library holdings.<ref>[http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/identities/default.htm  WorldCat Identities] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230150412/http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/identities/default.htm |date=30 December 2010 }}: [http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n86-129349 Profile: Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald] (1852–1915)</ref>

{{dynamic list}}
* 1900 — ''The Japanese detachment during the defence of the Peking legations, 1900''
* 1900 — ''Reports from Her Majesty's minister in China'' [Sir C. M. Macdonald] ''respecting events at Peking. Presented to parliament, Dec. 1900''
* 1898 — ''Despatch from Her Majesty's minister at Peking forwarding copies of the notes exchanged with the Chinese government respecting the non-alienation of the Yang-tsze region''<ref>{{cite book|title=Reports from Her Majesty's minister in China respecting events at Peking: Presented to both houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty, December 1900|first=Claude M.|last=MacDonald|volume=364 of Cd. (Great Britain. Parliament)|issue=Issue 4 of China (Great Britain. Foreign Office)|year=1900|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3F4LAAAAIAAJ|access-date=1 April 2013}}</ref>

==Honours==
*[[File:UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg|40px]] Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]] (GCMG).
*[[File:UK Royal Victorian Order ribbon.svg|40px]] Knight Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] (GCVO).
*[[File:Order of the Bath (ribbon).svg|40px]] Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Bath]] (KCB; Civil division).
*[[File:Order of the Bath (ribbon).svg|40px]] Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Bath]] (KCB; Military division) – awarded on 29 November 1900 "in recognition of services during the recent Operations in China".<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27337 |date=25 July 1901 |page=4915 |supp=y}}</ref>
*[[File:Egypt Medal BAR.svg|40px]] [[Egypt Medal]] (1882–1889) with clasps "Suakin 1884", "El-Teb" and "Tamaai".
*[[File:Order of the Osmanie lenta.png|40px]] [[Order of Osmanieh]], Fourth Class ([[Ottoman Empire]]).
*[[File:Khedives Star.png|40px]] [[Khedive's Star]] ([[Khedivate of Egypt]])

==See also==
* [[List of Privy Counsellors (1901–1910)]]
*[[China–United Kingdom relations|Anglo-Chinese relations]]
*[[Japan–United Kingdom relations|Anglo-Japanese relations]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* [[Ian Nish|Nish, Ian]]. (2004). ''British Envoys in Japan 1859–1972.'' Folkestone, Kent: Global Oriental. {{ISBN|9781901903515}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/249167170  OCLC 249167170]
* {{cite book|last=Kowner|first=Rotem|author-link=Rotem Kowner|year=2006|title=Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War|publisher = Scarecrow|isbn= 0-8108-4927-5}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Claude Maxwell MacDonald}}
* UK in Japan, [http://ukinjapan.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/our-embassy/our-ambassador/previous-ambassadors  Chronology of Heads of Mission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213151646/http://ukinjapan.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/our-embassy/our-ambassador/previous-ambassadors |date=13 February 2013 }}

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{{s-aft|after=[[Ernest Mason Satow|Sir Ernest Satow]]}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Nicholas Roderick O'Conor|Sir Nicholas O'Conor]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to South Korea|British Minister to Korea]]|years= 1896–1898}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Jordan (diplomat)|John Jordan]]|as= Chargé d'affaires}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Ernest Mason Satow|Sir Ernest Satow]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to Japan|British Minister to Japan]]|years= 1900–1905}}
{{s-aft|after=Himself|as=Ambassador to Japan}}
{{S-bef|before=Himself|as=Minister to Japan}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to Japan|British Ambassador to Japan]]|years= 1905–1912}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Conyngham Greene|Sir Conyngham Greene]]}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Claude}}
[[Category:1852 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Japan]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China]]
[[Category:Anglo-Scots]]
[[Category:British Army colonels]]
[[Category:People educated at Uppingham School]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:42nd Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Mahdist War]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Boxer Rebellion]]
[[Category:74th Highlanders officers]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Korea]]
[[Category:People from colonial Nigeria]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Nigeria]]
[[Category:Burials at Brookwood Cemetery]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:20th-century British diplomats]]
[[Category:19th-century British diplomats]]