| Authorised form of name | Brydges; James (1674 - 1744); 1st Duke of Chandos; politician |
| Dates | 1674 - 1744 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Dewsall, Herefordshire, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 6 January 1674 |
| Place of death | Canons, Edgware, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Date of death | 9 August 1744 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
Stanmore Parva, Whitchurch, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Occupation | Politician; investor |
| Activity | Education:
New College, Oxford (matriculated 1690); Inner Temple (admitted 1710)
Career:
MP for Hereford (1698-1714); Paymaster-General of the Forces Abroad (1707-1712); Clerk of the Hanaper (1714); Governor of the Turkey Company (1718-1736); built a splendid house at Canons and began another in St James's Square, Westminster, the cost being some £200,000; Governor of the Charterhouse (1721); Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire and Radnorshire (`1721-1742); Chancellor of the University of St Andrews (1724-death); got into difficulties with his speculative investments and lost most of his money (1734); Governor of the Foundling Hospital (1739)
Honours:
Viscount Wilton and Earl of Caernarvon 1714; Marquess of Caernarvon and Duke of Chandos 1719 |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 30/11/1694 |
| Age at election | 20 |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council 1695, 1697, 1700, 1702 |
| Relationships | Parents: James Brydges, 8th Baron Chandos, and Elizabeth Barnard; succeeded his father (1714)
Married: 1) Mary Lake; 2) Cassandra Willughby; 3) Lydia Catharine Davall (née Vanhattem)
Additional relatives: father-in-law Sir Thomas Lake (FRS 1667); Francis Willughby (FRS 1663); brother-in-law: Thomas Willoughby, 1st Baron Middleton (FRS 1693) |
| PublishedWorks | https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n85043271/ |
| OtherInfo | Brydges is often remembered for his patronage of the arts and of music in particular. He employed composer George Frideric Handel, who composed 'Chandos Anthems' for his atron. The Duke was also one of the main subscribers of the Royal Academy of Music and employed some of the most famous architects of the time in building the Cannons estate.
Brydges came into contact with the Royal African Company (RAC) through his patronage of the mercantile economist Charles Davenant. In 1720, the company was in a state of decline so Brydges, along with his wife, made efforts to make its shares seem particularly valuable and scarce and ultimately, the aristocratic circle around them gained control of the RAC. He proposed changes that would move away from the trade of enslaved people, and would move towards the acquisition of botanical and mineral resources in Africa. For this purpose, he also used his friendship with Sir Hans Sloane (FRS 1685) to help catalogue botanical specimens and recommend skilled botanists for the job. Brydges hoped that the increase of variety of African commodities would also bring back the RAC's monopoly on the trade of enslaved people, which so-called 'interlopers', separate British traders, had since taken over. Through this scheme, he lost £125,000 of his personal investments in the company.
The RAC was a British trading company established by Royal Charter in 1660 which enslaved and sold African people. The company was chartered by Charles II, the founding royal Patron of the Royal Society, which was also chartered in 1660. The RAC was made up of and funded by members of the Stuart royal family and London merchants many of whom were, or went on to become, Fellows of the Royal Society. The Royal Society itself held shares in the company from 1682 until 1699. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Hunter; Foster; GEC; ODNB; Hayton et al.
Mitchell, M D. 2013. ''Legitimate commerce' in the Eighteenth Century: The Royal African Company of England Under the Duke of Chandos, 1720-1726', in Enterprise & Society, vol. 14(3), pp. 544-578 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/25708606 |
| Code | NA6830 |