Commander of the forces in Jersey from 1793 to 1794, he was then appointed Governor of Jamaica. He was governor when the Second Maroon War broke out, and he mishandled the situation so badly that he allowed a minor dispute over land to mushroom into a costly conflict that lasted months. In early 1795, worried at the prospect of an uprising, Balcarres sent representatives to Havana to purchase 100 Cuban bloodhounds, which in his words were ' breed which are used to hunt down runaway negroes'. When the dogs arrived in December 1795, with Spanish handlers, Balcarres was so impressed by their ferocity he considered sending them to support British troops in Haiti.