Richard Oswald 1705-1784
Encyclopedia
Richard Oswald was born in Scotland
in 1705 to the Reverend George Oswald of Dunnet
. He is best known as the British peace commissioner in Paris
in 1782 who negotiated the Peace of Paris
. He had an extensive career as a merchant, slave trader, and advisor to the British government
on trade regulations and the conduct of the American War of Independence.
as a merchant
. He then returned to England
and established himself as a merchant in London
for the next thirty years. While in London, he devoted a considerable amount of time to the African Slave Trade
. In 1748, the firm of Alexander Grant
, Richard Oswald, and Company purchased Bance Island, on the Sierra Leone River
, where the Royal African Company
had erected a fort. Oswald and his associates gained control of other small islands through treaties with native chiefs and established on Bance Island a trading station for factors in the trafficking of slaves.
Oswald also was instrumental in directing English businessmen to promising locales in America for growing rice and indigo. Oswald directed English planter Francis Levett
, who formerly worked for the Levant Company
, to promising English East Florida
locations for his rice and indigo plantations, and urged East Florida Governor James Grant to make generous land grants to Levett, whom Oswald called his "worthy friend" to whom he owed "particular obligations." Oswald's extensive network of business connections served him well in building his empire of slave-trading.
Oswald was the 'networker' of his day. He put together deals with players who had immaculate connections, thus assuring himself of immediate entree. In his petitions to the Board of Trade and Plantations for the settlement of Nova Scotia plantations, for instance, Oswald demonstrated his ability to put together those who were seeking profit, and who could pass muster with the King. Those he put forward for Nova Scotia, for instance, included: a former governor (Thomas Pownall
); the Royal cartographer (JohnMitchell
); Member of Parliament Robert Jackson
; MP
and Paymaster for the Marines John Tucker
; and a Judge of the Marshalsea Court
and cousin of adventurer Sir Michael Herries Levett Blackborne, who was himself stepbrother to Thomas Blackborne Thoroton, brother-in-law of the Marquess of Granby. This formula of connecting power-brokers was Oswald's stock-in-trade, and the key to his success.
Oswald also had a cadre of young merchants whom he trained. Among these were John Levett, brother of planter Francis, who was in Oswald's employ as a young man. Levett (1725-1807) was born in Turkey to an English merchant father, and later settled in India, where he became a free merchant and invested in shipping, as well as becoming the Mayor of Calcutta. As a former trader in the Levant, Levett was ready to help Indian silk merchants supplant the former Mediterranean silk trade, which had fallen off. The English merchants were sensitive to the vagaries of fashion. Each year merchant Richard Oswald sent wigs to Levett in Calcutta, for instance. At the same time, Oswald associates like John Levett in Calcutta kept an eye on local trends, and adjusted their schemes to fit them. Levett, for instance, who had previously managed some German bread interests for Oswald, now planted cornfields in Bengal.
And Oswald always kept his finger on the pulse of the world markets. When he needed Chinese laborers for his own estates, for instance, he approached John Levett in Calcutta, who employed Chinese laborers in his Bengal operations growing arrack for his distilleries. The relationships between the various associates in Oswald's extended trading empire grew so cozy that John Levett was corresponding with Oswald about the marble chimney-piece sculptures that his brother Francis Levett was purchasing on Oswald's behalf in Livorno
, Italy, where Francis Levett was then living as an English merchant. Oswald was particularly close to the Levett and Thoroton families, as well as to the Duke of Rutland. In letters to British General and East Florida
Governor James Grant, Oswald confided that at one dinner of investors in East Florida and Nova Scotia that "Oswald had been dining at the Duke's with Lord Granby, Mr. Thoroton, and others where jokes passed round the table about the many settlements that would be needed to satisfy Mr. Thoroton's nine children."
and his knowledge of its geography and trade he had been frequently consulted by the British Ministry about the war. The informal negotiations were to be held in Paris. Lord Shelburne chose Oswald because he thought it would appeal to Benjamin Franklin
. Oswald shared Franklin's free trade commercial views; he possessed a "philosophic disposition"; and he had previously had a limited correspondence with Franklin. Franklin was impressed with Oswald's negotiating skills and described him as a man with an "Air of great Simplicity and Honesty."
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On July 25, 1782, official negotiations began. The preliminary articles were signed by Oswald for Great Britain
, and John Adams
, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay
, and Henry Laurens
for the United States
on November 30, 1782. With almost no alterations, these articles were made into a treaty
on September 3, 1783. Oswald was criticized in England for giving the Americans too much. The Duke of Richmond
urged the recall of Oswald, charging that he "plead only the Cause of America, not of Britain." Oswald resigned his cabinet and returned to his estate of Auchincruive
in Ayrshire
where he died on November 6, 1784.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1705 to the Reverend George Oswald of Dunnet
Dunnet
Dunnet ) is a village in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet.The village centres on the A836–B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats in the east and toward Thurso and Tongue in the west...
. He is best known as the British peace commissioner in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1782 who negotiated the Peace of Paris
Peace of Paris (1783)
The Peace of Paris was the set of treaties which ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the United States of America—commonly known as the Treaty of Paris —and two treaties at...
. He had an extensive career as a merchant, slave trader, and advisor to the British government
North Ministry
The North Ministry governed the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1770 until 1782. Overseeing in this time the Falklands Crisis, the Gordon Riots and much of the American War of Independence. It was headed by the Tory politician Lord North and served under George III.-Membership:...
on trade regulations and the conduct of the American War of Independence.
Merchant
As a young man Oswald lived for six years in VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
as a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
. He then returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and established himself as a merchant in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for the next thirty years. While in London, he devoted a considerable amount of time to the African Slave Trade
African slave trade
Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...
. In 1748, the firm of Alexander Grant
Alexander Grant
Alexander Grant was a Royal Navy officer, businessman, and politician in Upper Canada. During his service with the Royal Navy Grant saw action in the Seven Years' War before becoming a naval superintendent. He then embarked on a career in the ship building industry before losing much of his wealth...
, Richard Oswald, and Company purchased Bance Island, on the Sierra Leone River
Sierra Leone River
The Sierra Leone River is a river estuary on the Atlantic Ocean in Western Sierra Leone. It is formed by the Port Loko Creek and Rokel River and is between 4 and 10 miles wide and 25 miles long. It holds the major ports of Queen Elizabeth II Quay and Pepel. The estuary is also important for...
, where the Royal African Company
Royal African Company
The Royal African Company was a slaving company set up by the Stuart family and London merchants once the former retook the English throne in the English Restoration of 1660...
had erected a fort. Oswald and his associates gained control of other small islands through treaties with native chiefs and established on Bance Island a trading station for factors in the trafficking of slaves.
Oswald also was instrumental in directing English businessmen to promising locales in America for growing rice and indigo. Oswald directed English planter Francis Levett
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...
, who formerly worked for the Levant Company
Levant Company
The Levant Company, or Turkey Company, was an English chartered company formed in 1581, to regulate English trade with Turkey and the Levant...
, to promising English East Florida
East Florida
East Florida was a colony of Great Britain from 1763–1783 and of Spain from 1783–1822. East Florida was established by the British colonial government in 1763; as its name implies it consisted of the eastern part of the region of Florida, with West Florida comprising the western parts. Its capital...
locations for his rice and indigo plantations, and urged East Florida Governor James Grant to make generous land grants to Levett, whom Oswald called his "worthy friend" to whom he owed "particular obligations." Oswald's extensive network of business connections served him well in building his empire of slave-trading.
Oswald was the 'networker' of his day. He put together deals with players who had immaculate connections, thus assuring himself of immediate entree. In his petitions to the Board of Trade and Plantations for the settlement of Nova Scotia plantations, for instance, Oswald demonstrated his ability to put together those who were seeking profit, and who could pass muster with the King. Those he put forward for Nova Scotia, for instance, included: a former governor (Thomas Pownall
Thomas Pownall
Thomas Pownall was a British politician and colonial official. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1758 to 1760, and afterward served in the British Parliament. He traveled widely in the North American colonies prior to the American Revolutionary War, and opposed...
); the Royal cartographer (JohnMitchell
John Mitchell (geographer)
John Mitchell was a colonial American doctor and botanist. He created the most comprehensive and perhaps largest 18th-century map of eastern North America, known today as the Mitchell Map...
); Member of Parliament Robert Jackson
Robert Jackson
Robert Jackson may refer to:*Robert Jackson , Australian Army general during World War II*Robert Jackson , British musician*Robert Jackson , US political figure in New York City...
; MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and Paymaster for the Marines John Tucker
John Tucker
John Tucker may refer to:*John Tucker , American football player and coach, head coach at Arkansas Tech University *John Tucker , NHL hockey player...
; and a Judge of the Marshalsea Court
Marshalsea Court
The Marshalsea Court was a court associated with the Royal Household in England.It was a court of record held by the Steward and Marshal of the Royal Household, to administer justice between the sovereign's domestic servants "that they might not be drawn into other courts and their service lost"...
and cousin of adventurer Sir Michael Herries Levett Blackborne, who was himself stepbrother to Thomas Blackborne Thoroton, brother-in-law of the Marquess of Granby. This formula of connecting power-brokers was Oswald's stock-in-trade, and the key to his success.
Oswald also had a cadre of young merchants whom he trained. Among these were John Levett, brother of planter Francis, who was in Oswald's employ as a young man. Levett (1725-1807) was born in Turkey to an English merchant father, and later settled in India, where he became a free merchant and invested in shipping, as well as becoming the Mayor of Calcutta. As a former trader in the Levant, Levett was ready to help Indian silk merchants supplant the former Mediterranean silk trade, which had fallen off. The English merchants were sensitive to the vagaries of fashion. Each year merchant Richard Oswald sent wigs to Levett in Calcutta, for instance. At the same time, Oswald associates like John Levett in Calcutta kept an eye on local trends, and adjusted their schemes to fit them. Levett, for instance, who had previously managed some German bread interests for Oswald, now planted cornfields in Bengal.
And Oswald always kept his finger on the pulse of the world markets. When he needed Chinese laborers for his own estates, for instance, he approached John Levett in Calcutta, who employed Chinese laborers in his Bengal operations growing arrack for his distilleries. The relationships between the various associates in Oswald's extended trading empire grew so cozy that John Levett was corresponding with Oswald about the marble chimney-piece sculptures that his brother Francis Levett was purchasing on Oswald's behalf in Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
, Italy, where Francis Levett was then living as an English merchant. Oswald was particularly close to the Levett and Thoroton families, as well as to the Duke of Rutland. In letters to British General and East Florida
East Florida
East Florida was a colony of Great Britain from 1763–1783 and of Spain from 1783–1822. East Florida was established by the British colonial government in 1763; as its name implies it consisted of the eastern part of the region of Florida, with West Florida comprising the western parts. Its capital...
Governor James Grant, Oswald confided that at one dinner of investors in East Florida and Nova Scotia that "Oswald had been dining at the Duke's with Lord Granby, Mr. Thoroton, and others where jokes passed round the table about the many settlements that would be needed to satisfy Mr. Thoroton's nine children."
Peace Commissioner
In 1782, Oswald was selected by Lord Shelburne to open negotiations with the Americans. Because of his prior living experience in AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and his knowledge of its geography and trade he had been frequently consulted by the British Ministry about the war. The informal negotiations were to be held in Paris. Lord Shelburne chose Oswald because he thought it would appeal to Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
. Oswald shared Franklin's free trade commercial views; he possessed a "philosophic disposition"; and he had previously had a limited correspondence with Franklin. Franklin was impressed with Oswald's negotiating skills and described him as a man with an "Air of great Simplicity and Honesty."
Treaty of Paris
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
, and Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress...
for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on November 30, 1782. With almost no alterations, these articles were made into a treaty
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
on September 3, 1783. Oswald was criticized in England for giving the Americans too much. The Duke of Richmond
Duke of Richmond
The title Duke of Richmond is named after Richmond and its surrounding district of Richmondshire, and has been created several times in the Peerage of England for members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families...
urged the recall of Oswald, charging that he "plead only the Cause of America, not of Britain." Oswald resigned his cabinet and returned to his estate of Auchincruive
Auchincruive
Auchincruive is a former country house and estate in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located east of Ayr, on the north bank of the River Ayr. Auchincruive House was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier mansion. In 1927 the estate became the West of Scotland College of Agriculture,...
in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
where he died on November 6, 1784.
External links
- http://www.clements.umich.edu/Webguides/Arlenes/NP/Oswald.html