Abraham Wildey Robarts

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.

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

Career

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

Robarts was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Maidstone from 1818 to 1837.

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 £ in ) 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 £ in ).

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.

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

Robarts died on 2 April 1858.