Abraham Wildey Robarts

Abraham Wildey Robarts (1779–1858), of Hill Street, Berkeley Square, Middlesex, was an English politician and banker.

Life

From a political family, he was the son of Abraham Roberts and his wife Sabine Tierney, sister of George Tierney; and brother of George James Robarts and William Tierney Robarts. In early life he was a writer for the East India Company in Canton.[1] He became a director of the East India Company, also a partner in the bank Robarts & Curtis, and worked as a West Indies factor.[2]

Robarts was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Maidstone from 1818 to 1837.[1]

According to the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership at the University College London, Roberts was awarded a payment as a slave trader in the aftermath of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 with the Slave Compensation Act 1837. The British Government took out a £15 million loan (worth £1.43 billion in 2020[3]) with interest from Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Moses Montefiore which was subsequently paid off by the British taxpayers (ending in 2015). Robarts was associated with four different claims, he owned 566 slaves in Jamaica and Dominica and received a £11,023 payment at the time (worth £1.05 million in 2020[3]).[4]

Family

Robarts married Charlotte Anne Wilkinson in 1808. From 1827 to 1857 he resided at Parkstead House.[2]

References
  1. "Robarts, Abraham Wildey (1779–1858), of Hill Street, Berkeley Square, Mdx., History of Parliament Online". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  2. "Abraham Wildey Robarts, Summary of Individual, Legacies of British Slave-ownership". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  3. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  4. "Abraham Wildey Robarts". University College London. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.