Richard Henry Bonnycastle

Canada and the Canadians (Dodo Press) Richard Henry Bonnycastle

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle (1791-1847) was an officer of the British army active in Upper Canada. He attended the Royal Military Academy and graduated as a second lieutenant of Royal Engineers in 1808. The following year he served at the siege of Flushing in the Netherlands campaign and was promoted first lieutenant. In 1818 he published Spanish America, a two-volume description of Spain's Latin American colonies with historical comments. He was then sent to Upper Canada, serving at Fort George and Kingston, and was later posted to York (Toronto). In 1834 he was chosen president of the Society of Artists and Amateurs, the first art society in York. A number of his paintings, depicting Lower Canadian and European subjects, were displayed at the society's only exhibition. In 1837 he was promoted brevet major and placed in command of the engineers at Kingston, with the task of completing construction of the new Fort Henry. Between 1841 and 1846 he published numerous books, publishing with Henry Colburn The Canadas in 1841 (2 volumes) (1842), Newfoundland in 1842 (2 volumes) (1842) and Canada and the Canadians (1846).