Peter Beckford (junior)
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Peter Beckford | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Benjamin West, 1797 | |
| Speaker of the House of Assembly of Jamaica | |
| In office 1707–1713 | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | Matthew Gregory |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Totterdell |
| Speaker of the House of Assembly of Jamaica | |
| In office 1716–1717 | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | John Blair |
| Succeeded by | William Nedham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1672/3 |
| Died | 3 April 1735 (aged 62) Spanish Town, Jamaica |
| Spouse | Bathshua Hering |
| Children | 13 |
| Parent(s) | Peter Beckford Anne Ballard |
Peter Beckford (c. 1672/3 – 3 April 1735) was a Jamaican politician, merchant and planter who served as speaker of the House of Assembly of Jamaica from 1707 to 1713, and again from 1716 to 1717. Beckford was the son of Colonel Peter Beckford, a merchant and militia officer who served as the acting lieutenant-governor of Jamaica in 1702. Beckford's father sent him to study in England, where he was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School and New College, Oxford before being called to the bar in 1695. Quickly returning to Jamaica, Beckford was appointed as the Receiver General of Jamaica in 1696. However, he fled the colony in 1697 after killing another official, but eventually returned after his father managed to get the case declared nolle prosequi.
Beckford continued his political career after House of Assembly to Jamaica, being elected to the House of Assembly of Jamaica in 1701 and sitting in the house for three decades. Twice serving as speaker of the house, Beckford engaged in successive disputes with several governors of Jamaica, including Thomas Handasyd, Lord Archibald Hamilton and Sir Nicholas Lawes. His most prominent dispute was with Hamilton, with the two engaging a pamphlet war from 1714 to 1717 that was extensively covered by the London press. Thanks in part to assistance from his relatives in England, Beckford eventually won the dispute. From 1722 to 1729, he served as a deputy to the writer William Congreve, who had been appointed to a variety of Jamaican offices in 1714.
Having dispatched his political enemies, Beckford continued expanding his business holdings and political influence in Jamaica. Having inherited most of his father's estate, Beckford's economic and political successes led him to achieve social pre-eminence among the British-Jamaican elite, with even his political rivals admitting to his fame and wealth; thanks to his legal training, Beckford also worked as a banker and lawyer for many of his fellow planters. Having married a woman named Bathshua Hering and had nine children with her, Beckford died in 1735 in Spanish Town and in his will gave most of his estate to his family and their dependents. Modern historians have made generally positive assessments about Beckford's political and mercantile acumen.
Peter Beckford was born in the English colony of Jamaica in c. 1672/3.[1] His father, also named Peter Beckford, had emigrated from England to Jamaica during the 1660s, finding work as a merchant.[2] The elder Beckford eventually entered into a political and military career, rising to the rank of colonel in the colonial militia and serving as the acting lieutenant-governor of Jamaica in 1702. By 1710, his vast estate included 20 sugar plantations, 1,200 slaves and £1,500,000 in bank stock, making him one of the wealthiest people in the British Empire.[3][4][5] Beckford's mother was Anne Ballard, who had married his father shortly after the death of the elder Beckford's first wife, Bridget, in 1671. Beckford had two brothers and two sisters, who were also Anne's children.[2]
Beckford was sent to England as a young man, studying at the Merchant Taylors' School and New College, Oxford before being called to the bar in 1695.[6] He soon returned to Jamaica and was appointed as the Receiver General of Jamaica in 1696.[7] On 13 December 1697, Beckford murdered the Jamaican politician Samuel Lewis by stabbing him to death with Lewis' own sword.[1][8][9] In an effort to avoid prosecution, Beckford fled to France, where he wrote a petition to William III, claiming that he had killed Lewis in a duel and was at most guilty of the crime of manslaughter.[10] The families of Beckford and Lewis then "went to work" over Beckford's potential prosecution; though no pardon was given due to fierce opposition from Lewis' family, after Beckford's father went to London to defend him the case was officially declared nolle prosequi in 1698.[8][11]
Political career
Once Beckford received news of the declaration, he returned to Jamaica and continued his career in politics. In 1701, Beckford was elected to serve in the House of Assembly of Jamaica at the colonial capital of Spanish Town, where he would sit consistently for almost three decades. Six years later, Beckford was appointed as the new speaker of the House of Assembly, holding the office until 1713.[1][12] On 3 April 1710, a discussion in the House of Assembly grew heated to the point where Beckford attempted to adjourn the house, to which a group of assemblymen responded by barring the chamber's doors and drawing their swords on Beckford, forcing him to reoccupy the speaker's chair at swordpoint. Beckford's father, hearing of what had occurred, attempted to rescue his son but died of a stroke in the process.[2]
Having "weathered the storm of 1710", Beckford succeeded to his father's estate as one of the most powerful and influential men in Jamaica, with the historian Perry Gauci describing him as "every bit as resourceful and determined" as his father.[13] He proceeded to engage in a series of disputes with several colonial governors, including Thomas Handasyd, Lord Archibald Hamilton and Sir Nicholas Lawes, in an effort to ensure Beckford's political influence was not curtailed by the governors. Beckford, whose political rivals claimed that he had "a better estate in Jamaica than the Governor and Council... were all their estates computed together", publicly identified himself as the leader of the populist "country" faction in the House of Assembly, which contested the pro-governor "court" faction for political influence.[12][13]
From 1714 to 1717, Beckford and his political allies engaged in a pamphlet war in both Jamaica and Great Britain with Hamilton, which was extensively covered by the London press. Hamilton began the dispute by claiming that Beckford had engaged in acts of profiteering and his family members were involved in corruption. In response, Beckford claimed that Hamilton had overstepped his authority and attempted to use his office to intimidate Jamaica's colonists into submission. Beckford was assisted during the dispute by William Beckford, a family relative and naval contractor who "maintained the family's prominence in the City [of London]". Though Beckford won when Hamilton was sent back to England, the affair led British observers to conclude that Jamaica was a "factious and unpredictable colony".[14][15]
During this period, Beckford was appointed to the office of comptroller of customs in the colony, and again served as speaker of the House of Assembly from 1716 to 1717, when he was succeeded by William Nedham.[16] In 1722, Beckford began serving as a deputy to the English writer William Congreve, who in December 1714 had been appointed to a variety of Jamaican offices, most prominently as secretary of Jamaica, thanks to the influence of Congreve's patron Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax.[17] As his deputy, Beckford charged fees paid to the holder of Congreve's offices at twice the statutory rate, partly so he could send remittances to Congreve to repay him for being appointed deputy and partly for his own personal gain. Congreve eventually returned to Great Britain and died in London in January 1729, with Beckford continuing to send remittances to his successor, John Anthony Balaguier.[1][18] Balaguier continued serving as secretary of Jamaica until his death in 1764.[17]