Abraham Wildey Robarts
Member of Parliament for Maidstone
In office
1818–1837
Preceded byGeorge Simson
Egerton Brydges
Succeeded byBenjamin Disraeli
Wyndham Lewis
Personal details
Born(1779-08-01)1 August 1779
Died2 April 1858(1858-04-02) (aged 78)
Political partyWhig
Spouse
Charlotte Anne Wilkinson
​
​
(m. 1808; died 1858)​
Parent(s)Abraham Roberts
Sabine Tierney

Abraham Wildey Robarts (1 August 1779 – 2 April 1858), of Hill Street, Berkeley Square, Middlesex, was an English politician and banker.

Early life

Robarts was born on 1 August 1779 into a well known political family. He was the eldest son of Abraham Roberts and his wife Sabine Tierney (sister of George Tierney). Among his brothers were George James Robarts, William Tierney Robarts, and James Thomas Robarts of the East India Company.[1]

In early life he was a writer for the East India Company in Canton.[2]

Career

"The Trojan Women Set Fire to their Fleet" by Claude Lorrain, c. 1643

He became a director of the East India Company, also a partner in the bank Robarts & Curtis, and worked as a West Indies factor.[3]

Robarts was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Maidstone from 1818 to 1837.[2] He was succeeded by Benjamin Disraeli, who later went on to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

In 1825 he was a director of the New Zealand Company, a venture chaired by the wealthy John George Lambton, Whig MP (and later 1st Earl of Durham), that made the first attempt to colonise New Zealand.[4][5][6]

Slave ownership

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 £1.51 billion in 2024[7]) 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 £1.11 million in 2024[7]).[8]

Personal life

On 20 January 1808, Robarts was married to Charlotte Anne Wilkinson (1788–1865), daughter of Edmund Wilkinson of Potterton Lodge, Tadcaster, Yorkshire. From 1827 to 1857 he resided at Parkstead House.[3] Together, they were the parents of one son and several daughters, including:

In 1823, Robarts acquired the c. 1643 painting, "The Trojan Women Set Fire to their Fleet" by Claude Lorrain, from Lord Radstock.[10]

Robarts died on 2 April 1858.[2]

Descendants

Through his son Abraham, he was a grandfather of Abraham John Robarts (1838–1926) of Robarts, Lubbock & Co., who married Hon. Edith Barrington (a daughter of the 8th Viscount Barrington); parents of John Robarts (married Margaret Cholmeley, daughter of Sir Hugh Cholmeley, 3rd Baronet), banker Gerald Robarts.[11]

References

  1. ^ Taylor, Lawrence. "ROBARTS, Abraham (1745-1816), of Finsbury Square, Moorfields, London and North End, Hampstead, Mdx". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Robarts, Abraham Wildey (1779–1858), of Hill Street, Berkeley Square, Mdx., History of Parliament Online". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Abraham Wildey Robarts, Summary of Individual, Legacies of British Slave-ownership". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  4. ^ Adams, Peter (2013). Fatal Necessity: British Intervention in New Zealand, 1830–1847. BWB e-Book. Bridget Williams Books. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-927277-19-5. Retrieved 9 December 2020. ...first published in 1977.
  5. ^ McDonnell, Hilda (2002). "Chapter 3: The New Zealand Company of 1825". The Rosanna Settlers: with Captain Herd on the coast of New Zealand 1826-7. Retrieved 9 December 2020. including Thomas Shepherd's Journal and his coastal views, The NZ Company of 1825. ((cite book)): |website= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Wakefield, Edward Jerningham (1845). Adventure in New Zealand, from 1839 to 1844: With Some Account of the Beginning of the British Colonization of the Islands. John Murray. p. 4. Retrieved 9 December 2020. Digitised 22 July 2009
  7. ^ a b 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 11 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Abraham Wildey Robarts". University College London. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  9. ^ Burke, Bernard (1871). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. Harrison. p. 1171. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée) | The Trojan Women Setting Fire to Their Fleet". www.metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  11. ^ Burke, Bernard (1900). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain. Harrison & Sons. p. 1348. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byGeorge SimsonEgerton Brydges Member of Parliament for Maidstone 1818 – 1837 With: George Longman (1818–1820)John Wells (1820–1830)Henry Winchester (1830–1831)Charles James Barnett (1831–1835)Wyndham Lewis (1835–1837) Succeeded byBenjamin DisraeliWyndham Lewis
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