Bryan Edwards

Bryan Edwards, FRS (21 May 1743 – 15/16 July 1800) was a British politician and historian from Westbury, Wiltshire. Edwards supported the Atlantic slave trade, and was described by abolitionist William Wilberforce as a powerful opponent.

Family He was the eldest son of Bryan Edwards (died 1756) and his wife, Elizabeth Bayly, sister of Zachary Bayly, a slave-owner in Jamaica. After his father's death he was supported for a time by Nathaniel Bayly, another uncle, but they fell out. His maintenance and education were then undertaken by Zachary Bayly. About 1759, Edwards joined Zachary in Jamaica, and Bayly engaged a private tutor to complete the boy's education. they had one surviving son and a daughter. He left the bulk of his estates to the son, Zacchary Hume Edwards, when he died in Southampton in 1800. another pro-slavery politician with interests in Jamaica. Edwards retained this seat until his death. and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1794.