Maurice Margarot

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Portrait of Maurice Margarot

Maurice Margarot (* 1745 in Devon , † November 11, 1815 in London ) was a reformer and an important member of the London Corresponding Society , an organization that campaigned for civil rights and the abolition of the monarchy in England. He was one of the first political convicts to be deported to Australia . He was one of five so-called Scottish Martyrs .

Early life

Maurice Margarot was the son of a merchant who traded wine and other goods in the United Kingdom , France and Portugal . He is said to have been of French descent, was born in Devon and baptized on August 27, 1749 in Lisbon , Portugal. He spent most of his early life in London. The family and Maurice Margarot accompanied the father on his business trips abroad. Maragrot studied at the University of Geneva and stayed in France from the beginning of 1789.

Political life

Petition from the London Corresponding Society to the House of Commons .

In France he came into contact with leading figures of the French Revolution , whose ideas influenced him. In the early 1792s he became a member of the London Corresponding Society . This organization pursued political goals similar to those of the revolutionary leaders in France. Margarot was one of the founders of the London Corresponding Society , determined its political course and was elected President. He and Joseph Gerrald (1752–1832) wrote pamphlets for financial and electoral reforms, advocated downsizing parliaments and advocated free trade.

After Margarot and Gerrald presented their political and social ideas at a meeting of the British Convention of the Friends of the People in Edinburgh , they were both arrested, charged and sentenced to 14 years of convict labor in Australia.

Life in the Australia Convict Colony

After his conviction, Margarot was deported to the Surprize , a ship of the Second Fleet, along with three so-called Scottish martyrs Thomas Muir , William Skirving , and Thomas Fyshe Palmer . Joseph Gerrald , the fifth of the martyrs, came to Australia a year later on a convict transport ship. Numerous convicts died on these ships due to insufficient nursing care, insufficient food and inhuman treatment. This fleet was also called the Dead Fleet . After a month, Margarot had a nervous breakdown on the ship Surprize . In the course of this incident, he revealed the five martyrs' plans for a mutiny, which excluded him from their group. As a punishment for their plans, the five had their food rations cut until they arrived in Australia after five months of shipping.

Margarot was one of the first political convicts to be transported to Australia. Transporting political convicts to an English colony took place for the first time in English history. This practice was later abandoned because political convicts in Australia continued to campaign for changes in social and political conditions.

After arriving in Australia, Margarot applied to Lieutenant Governor Francis Grose to have his sentence overturned. This was refused. The political convicts were valued by the officers in Australia as men with skills and education, they did not have to do any heavy physical work. This was not the case with other convicts. His wife was allowed to travel with him on the ship to Australia and they were given a house. This was not possible for other convicts and they led quite a comfortable life.

In letters that he addressed to his friends and the British Colonial Office , he criticized the officers working in the colony, as they were primarily pursuing their own economic interests, did not support the settlers and this was not prohibited by the colonial administration. The corrupt officers in turn accused him of sedition. It is believed that Margarot was involved in the preparation of the Castle Hill uprising in 1804, or knew about it.

It was not until 1808 that William Bligh was commissioned to stop the corrupt machinations of the officers, who were also known as Rum Chorps . When he wanted to take action against it, the so-called Rum Rebellion developed .

All the English governors serving in Australia at the time were in contact with Margarot. It is believed that he served them as an informant about political developments in the colony. In some publications he is also referred to as a spy for the colonial government. Robert Hughes (1938–2012) describes him in his book The Fatal Shore as the only Scottish Jacobin who came to Australia at the time. There is no doubt that Margarot stood up for social justice and that with him the “intellectual left” came to Australia.

Return to England

After 17 years there, Margarot returned to England. He testified in 1812 as a witness in the parliamentary inquiry into the deportation of convicts to Australia. The deportation was called Transportation in England . He wrote two pamphlets, Thoughts on Revolution (1812) and Proposal for a Grand National Jubilee (date unknown), in which he set out his political theses. In 1815 he died completely impoverished in London.

Memorials

The Political Martyrs Monument , a 27 meter high obelisk made of sandstone , which refers to the Old Calton Burial Ground on Calton Hill in Edinburgh situated shall, together with the four so-called. Scottish martyrs his name. This is also the case on a metal memorial in Huntershill Village . His name and his wife's name are on the Burdett Coutts Memorial Sundial in Old St Pancras Churchyard in London.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Clive Emsley: Margarot, Maurice. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), As of 2008-01-03, accessed August 6, 2018.
  2. ↑ Arthur E. Sutherland Jr .: British Trials for Disloyal Association During the French Revolution , p. 308, Vol 34. on scholarship.law.cornell.edu. Retrieved October 27, 2016
  3. ↑ Kent's Directory for the Year 1765: Margarot . 32nd Edition, KENT, Henry London. Retrieved October 27, 2016
  4. ↑ a b c d Michael Roe: Maragot, Maurice (1745-1815) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 2. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1967 (English).
  5. ↑ Beverley Sherr: Muir Thomas 2012, on dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved October 27, 2016
  6. ^ Robert Hughes: The Fatal Shore, the Epic of Australia's founding . Pp. 177-178. Stud. New York 1987. ISBN 0-394-50668-5
  7. ^ Robert Hughes: The Fatal Shore, the Epic of Australia's founding . Pp. 180-181. Stud. New York 1987. ISBN 0-394-50668-5
personal data
SURNAME Margarot, Maurice
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English reformer and prisoner
DATE OF BIRTH 1745
PLACE OF BIRTH Devon
DATE OF DEATH November 11, 1815
Place of death London