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Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville

(1742-1811), Statesman

Regency Portraits Catalogue Entry

Sitter associated with 82 portraits
Henry Dundas held a prominent position in Scotland's legal system before moving into politics. His interest in Scottish affairs saw him establish Scottish power and influence in government. In 1781 he repealed the Disarming Act to allow Highlanders to wear kilts and tartans again; lobbied for the restoration of forfeited Jacobite estates to their rightful owners; promoted the foundation of the Highland Society and the British Fisheries Society; and encouraged Thomas Telford to improve communication systems with the north. He deplored the Highland Clearances and heavy Scottish emigration to America. Dundas began his political career at the outbreak of the American War of Independence and became an important ally, adviser and friend to the Prime Minister, William Pitt. In 1784 he helped pass the India Act that established the system of Imperial administration. The Act gave the East India Company greater independence while creating a Board of Control to oversee matters rather than direct rule by government. The Board, however, was made up of key political figures including Dundas and Pitt. The structure would remain unaltered until the Indian Rebellion of 1857. When Wilberforce called for the abolition of the slave trade in 1792, Dundas as Home Secretary agreed with Wilberforce in principle but not in means. Rather than an immediate end he felt it should be abolished gradually so as not to undermine the economy. He voted against Wilberforce in 1796. Abolition of the transatlantic slave trade was not achieved until 1807. In 1794 Pitt made Dundas the first Secretary of State for War and in 1806 he was impeached for misappropriation of public funds. Although acquitted, he never held public office again.

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